Shaquille O’Neal is an avid social media user. The TNT analyst has been known to share all his opinions and interesting facts on his Instagram account. Recently, Shaq shared a fan’s take on his Story. In the same reel, the fan breaks down and explains why he believed that the centers from the 1990s were more dominant than the centers of the 2000s.
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Having been crowned as the most dominant player ever, Shaquille O’Neal is arguably one of the best big men to ever play the game. Not taking any time to begin dominating the NBA circuit, Shaq was a force to be reckoned with for the entirety of his 19-year career. Despite witnessing more success in the 2000s, the Big Aristotle shared a reel where a fan lauded the 1990s centers for being greater. Seems rather funny that his less successful decade got the edge due to Hakeem Olajuwon.
Shaquille O’Neal believes that centers from the 1990s were more dominant than the centers from the 2000s
Several weeks ago, Shaquille O’Neal shared a graphic on his social media. This graphic contained two sets of centers, three from each era – the 1990s and the 2000s. Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Shaq (Orlando Magic version) were representing the 1990s. Whereas, Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace, and Shaq (LA Lakers version) represented the 2000s.
Since he was part of both groups, Shaq couldn’t seem to select one out of the two sets. However, by recently sharing a reel on his social media, the Los Angeles Lakers legend has now given a clear indication that he is picking the 1990s center.
The centers from the 1990s mentioned managed to win a combined total of only 3 Championships. Hakeem led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. And Robinson was a part of the San Antonio Spurs that won the 1999 title.
On the other hand, Shaq led the Los Angeles Lakers to a three-peat to begin the 2000s and won another title while representing the Miami Heat in 2006. While Dwight Howard did get his hands on three DPOYs as well he had no championship to show for it. Wallace was part of the 2004 Championship-winning Detroit Pistons.
Despite being conflicted at first, the creator of the video admitted Olajuwon’s dominance tipped the scale in favor of the 1990s centers. One of the deadliest forces of the 1990s, The Dream made 12 All-Star selections, won two DPOYs, made it to 9 All-Defensive teams, and was the 1994 MVP.
Shaq’s illustrious career
Shaquille O’Neal retired in 2011 as one of the greatest and most accomplished centers in NBA history. The 7ft 1″ big man averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks throughout his career. Being a force to be reckoned with, the Diesel won four titles, three Finals MVPs, an MVP, two scoring titles, and was selected to 14 All-NBA teams.
Shaq also managed to dominate each and every center in the graphic shown above. Whether it was his young self going up against the likes of Olajuwon and Robinson or his slightly older self facing Wallace and Howard, Shaq always prevailed victoriously.
