According to Shaquille O’Neal, he never wanted to be the GOAT. The Lakers legend always aimed to be the ‘most dominant player ever’.
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When one talks about the most bullish figure in basketball history, Shaquille O’Neal is the one name that is constantly brought up in that conversation. Standing at 7-foot-1 and weighing a whopping 325 pounds, Shaq was a nightmare for any player who had the duty to guard him. And because of his inhuman size, The Diesel was able to command the paint on both sides of the court, night in and night out for nearly two long decades.
Shaq was very well aware of the huge size advantage he had over his opponents and used it relentlessly to bully several superstars in the league. And because of this, O’Neal managed to rack up one of the best-decorated resumes ever seen in league history.
At the conclusion of his illustrious 19-year career, Shaq had 15 All-Star appearances, 14 All-NBA selections, 2 Scoring titles, 4 NBA Championships, 3 Finals MVPs, 1 MVP, 28,596 points scored, numerous posterizers and several shattered backboards.
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Despite being one of the most accomplished players ever, Shaq’s name is barely brought up in the GOAT debate alongside Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, or the others. However, O’Neal is absolutely okay with not being the GOAT or the best player. All he cares about is being ‘the most dominant player ever’.
“The most dominant player ever? There’s only two people”: Shaquille O’Neal
In an interview with Taylor Rooks, Shaq stated how he was content with being termed as ‘the most dominant player ever’ alongside Wilt Chamberlain. O’Neal explained:
“When I was playing, I didn’t want to be the greatest player ever or the best player ever. Y’all pass it around too much. But you know what words you’re not passing around? The most dominant ever. It was only one at the time. Now there’s two. That’s it… I can live in that community. I can live in that residential area.
I don’t want to be… man who’s the best? Kobe or Bron? Michael? There’s too many people. My lane, there’s only two people. And that’s why I wanted to pass him up in points because I was gonna have an arrogant speech for the whole world – “I’m the most dominant ever. I don’t wanna hear nobody name. I got more championships, I got more points. Shut it up. be quiet, me, me, me, me.”
But I didn’t pass him up in points, I passed him up in championships but I didn’t pass him up in points, so imma give him the respect I will allow you to say Wilt Chamberlain or Shaquille O’Neal is the most dominant ever. I can live with that.”
