The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is the most dominant player in NBA history is agreed upon by many major analysts and former legends. But when talking based on pure entertainment value, does The Big Aristotle clear LeBron James in that aspect? Well, Patrick Bet-David strongly believes that Big Diesel was selling out tickets right out of the gate as compared to The King.
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Shaq was posterizing All-Stars and breaking backboards as soon as he came into the league. Standing at 7’1, he wasn’t the behemoth he turned out to be when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. But after watching the clip of O’Neal breaking a backboard during a shoot for Inside Stuff, Bet-David was convinced he was far more entertaining than LBJ.
“God, I’ve seen this so many times. This is when you know this guy was not human. This guy was a freaking machine. And look, you realize nothing happened to his body. An average player is gone for a month and a half…When this guy came in, it was a show every single flipping night. Shaq was one of a kind. Way more than LeBron James. Not even close to anybody else.”
Both O’Neal and James went on to win the Rookie of the Year in their first seasons in the league. But when talking about the level of entertainment each player provided, Bet-David does not doubt that Shaq was filling up arenas way more than LeBron James initially.
Now, the entrepreneur’s take is not based on the number of points or the rest of the stats both players averaged. It was the aura and attraction of their game that brought fans into the arenas from day one.
Even though James averaged more points than Shaq in his rookie year, the way the Magic rookie dominated the game as soon he stepped foot on an NBA court was way more captivating when compared to the Cleveland rookie’s exploits.
James would give fans a tomahawk jam once or twice in the game. He’d make a couple of tough shots while also leading his team in points. But O’Neal destroyed NBA stars in the paint. As soon as Diesel got the ball in the paint, he’d just bulldoze his way to the rim, trampling anyone who stood in the way.
The LSU product had big-name centers in the league looking weak in front of him. The fact that he not only broke multiple backboards but also brought down an entire standard NBA rim had even the players on the floor shocked while the fans went crazy in the stands at the sight of it.
Shaq admits to a bit of professional jealousy with James
The 4x Champion got to share the court with James during the twilight years of his career. While their time on the Cavaliers wasn’t entirely successful, James did win his first MVP with O’Neal at his side.
But when looking back at his career as opposed to James, Shaq had once admitted to being a little jealous of The King.
He stated that he is often regarded as the most dominant player in NBA history, but is not part of the Greatest of All-Time conversation. James has the same number of championships under his belt as O’Neal does.
Yet, LeBron James is often in the GOAT debate while Shaquille O’Neal usually gets left off during that conversation. And that is the only reason why The Big Aristotle has some professional jealousy against LBJ. Other than that, there has always been a genuine level of respect and love between the two icons of the league.
