TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal again took to Twitter to remind fans of his utter dominance back during his playing days. On Instagram, ‘Shaqwithme’ had earlier posted a clip of O’Neal’s highlights during his 3rd year in the NBA, while playing for the Orlando Magic. Talking about his dominance in the paint, as well as the ability to run the floor and get on the receiving end of lobs, the video talked about various aspects of his game that were termed “unstoppable.”
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O’Neal, who seldom squanders a chance to talk about his impressive dominance in the league, shared the clip on his Instagram story, according to a tweet by Tragicpatek. The clip showed Shaq’s wide array of skills in detail.
It talked about his ability to run the floor and get on the end of lobs, as well as his defensive impact. Overall, O’Neal was simply an unstoppable force at his best. The video, after showing some of his highlights, talked about how O’Neal was averaging 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game just in his 3rd year in the NBA.
“What does Orlando Magic Shaquille O’Neal average in today’s NBA? This is him from 1994, 3rd year Shaquille O’Neal, 22-years-old, 7 foot 2, 300 running rim to rim, catching lobs, and everything. What does he average in today’s NBA? This in his 3rd year NBA, he averaged 29 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks,” Shaqwithme claimed.
The video then talked about how O’Neal was simply ahead of his time and was playing a game that is more familiar in today’s NBA, than the 1990s.
“I just somehow think these numbers get inflated in today’s NBA. Like, it isn’t that crowded around the lane and I know a lot of people will say, nobody play on the block. You ain’t watching Shaq playing on the block right here, you watching Shaq run the floor, catching lobs like it’s 2020, man. He is playing that game in 1994,” it said.
Shaq puts forth how dominant he was in just his 3rd year in the NBA pic.twitter.com/sang4BP2qG
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) November 12, 2023
Hence, Shaqwithme believes that O’Neal can easily better his numbers if he was at his prime today. The clip then talked about how the clip was not from the best years of his life. Instead, Shaq’s prime came with the LA Lakers, when he won three straight championships and three straight Finals MVPs.
“Who’s gonna stop that? He can move like, who will be stopping him? Let’s be real, if he comes through the lane like that, not an NBA player today would step in front of that. When you saw that train coming boy, you gotta get out of the way. Shaquille O’Neal was different, and this ain’t even the best Shaq. The best Shaq was with the Lakers,” The video concluded.
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Hence, while the general expectation is that O’Neal would not have dominated in the same way today as he did back in the 90s, Shaqwithme differed drastically. That also seems to be O’Neal’s opinion himself, considering he was quick to share the story on Instagram.
Shaquille O’Neal previously claimed he would still dominate in the NBA
Shaq’s subtle hints about him dominating today also come after more direct claims in the past. Just in August 2023, he shared a short clip of his handles during 1-on-1 games.
The first clip showed him pull off an effortless trick against Isiah Thomas during an All-Star game practice. The second one saw him face Michael Jordan before a game between the Bulls and the Magic.
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Shaq ended up getting past the two legends effortlessly before sinking his shots. This was alongside a warning, claiming that NBA players today were lucky that he was not playing in this era. O’Neal, therefore, has no doubt that he would have been just as big a menace today, as he was back then.
