Shaquille O’Neal knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a ‘true big man’ in the NBA, having ruled the roost with his formidable presence and hustle in and around the paint. A good decade or so back, he had predicted that the days of players like him were coming to an end. Fast forward to 2024, the way the game has evolved, along with big men, power forwards are also expected to be out on the perimeter, shooting threes. The prototype which Shaq and many others made popular, has become all but obsolete.
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In 2011, O’Neal penned down his thoughts on the changing landscape of the NBA in his autobiography, Shaq Uncut: My Story. Big men Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan were still at the peak of their careers at the time. Other top players were Dwight Howard, Amar’e Stoudemire, and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Shaq, however, had expressed apprehension over their future relevance. He wrote,
“One thing I’ll tell you about the NBA: you are witnessing the death of the true big man. The game has changed. I can remember watching games when guys used to get down there and fight for position. Big men using their bodies, pounding each other. No more.”
Shaq has always taken pride in representing and taking forward the values of the great big men who graced the hardwood before him. Right through his career, he tried to do justice to the legacy of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and many more.
And during Shaq’s time and before, the power forward position required players to be enforcers. Shaq used Charles Barkley and Charles Oakley as examples to substantiate his argument. Hall-of-Famer Barkley used to get physical when needed while Oakley instilled fear in his opponents.
“Even power forwards are dead,” Shaq wrote in his biography.“There won’t be another Charles Oakley or Charles Barkley. Being a power forward now is all about stepping out, shooting jumpers, picking and popping. There’s no banging in there.”
At the dawn of the 2010s, the transformation was becoming evident. The teams were prioritizing spacing and the ability to shoot became a necessity even for those playing in the forward positions. Power forwards were deemed liabilities if they could not land a 15-foot face-up jump shot.
And now, the teams are playing complete five-out offenses. The Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA championship by having capable three-point shooters at each position, transforming the blueprint required to succeed in the NBA.
Shaq’s prediction, though turning out to be true, had failed to fathom the degree or extent of the change. In the 2010-11 season, the Orlando Magic were viewed as revolutionary for their high volume, 25.6 three-pointers a game. In the current season, the Toronto Raptors, the lowest-ranked team, is at 31 three-pointers per game.
Shaq’s thoughts on big men in the 2024-25 season
Shaq is very vocal about big men in the modern NBA, giving praise as well as criticism when needed. However, there are only three big men whom the legend takes seriously at the moment.
One of the key criteria for Shaq is that a big man should play like one — a player who uses their body to impose their will in the paint. Shaq feels Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are masters at this.
“Embiid is a mixture of me in the post and Hakeem Olajuwon outside. And Joker, man, I was trying to figure who he reminded me of. I was thinking a little Brad Daugherty, a little [Domantas] Sabonis in ’84. Like, his game is just nice,” Shaq said on the Draymond Green Show.
O’Neal understands that the definition of a big man has evolved. So, even though he admires Embiid and Jokic for representing the traditional essence of the position, he is also not averse to appreciating Victor Wembanyama.
Despite playing mostly along the perimeter, the Lakers legend admires Wemby’s skills. He refers to the San Antonio Spurs star as “different”, that’s all.
The league is in a different space, for sure. But the few true big men left in the current generation are carrying the mantle handed by Shaq and many other legendary players.
