“lf I had passed Wilt, I would have got on TV arrogantly and say, ‘I am the most dominant person ever’”- Shaquille O'Neal believes him and Wilt Chamberlain are the two most dominant players ever
Shaquille O'Neal is often considered by many to be the most dominant player the NBA has ever seen. However, O'Neal believes the title is still up for debate, and it only involves two players - him and Wilt Chamberlain.
In an interview with Joe Holder of GQ Magazine, O'Neal revealed that he never wanted to be known as the best ever but as the most dominant. The LA Lakers legend added that he's happy that he has more rings than Chamberlain but is disappointed not to move past him in the all-time scoring list.
"Now, most dominant, my category, is only one or two people. I'm fine with that. It's either me or Wilt. I already passed Wilt in championships. When I signed a two-year deal with Boston, I was chasing that fifth ring to catch up with Kobe, but I was also chasing points to catch up with Wilt," Shaq said.
.@SHAQ linked with GQ fitness columnist @JoeHolder_ to talk about not doing CrossFit, his hot tub-based recovery program, and more gq.mn/z8fcQNZ
Shaquille O'Neal was also honest in saying that he'd probably proclaim himself to be the most dominant ever if he had scored more points than Chamberlain. The scoring record is the only reason why he's happy to share the title of most dominant with "The Big Dipper."
"lf I had passed Wilt, I would have got on TV arrogantly and say, 'I am the most dominant person ever," said O'Neal. "I don't wanna hear nobody else's name, period.' Boom, boom, boom. 'Nobody did what I did, nobody did it like I do. Forget Wilt.' But because I didn't pass him, I have to allow people to still say his name," he added.
O'Neal has four NBA championships, while Chamberlain won only two. O'Neal won the MVP once, but Chamberlain won it four times. In terms of career scoring, Shaquille O'Neal is eighth all-time with 28,596 points. Chamberlain is at number six with 31,419 points.
How dominant was Shaquille O'Neal?
Shaquille O'Neal averaged a double double since his rookie year up until his 13th season in the NBA.
He was a 20-point plus scorer for 14 straight seasons, and defending him was very difficult. There was no player that could stop O'Neal one-on-one, with double teams and triple teams proving ineffective because he was a good passer.
Former NBA player Kenyon Martin summed up O'Neal's dominance in an appearance on Gilbert Arena's No Chill podcast. Martin noted that the only thing that stopped O'Neal during his career was Father Time.
"There was no guarding him, man. Father Time guarded Shaq. Trust me. There wasn't no stopping that man, dog. No. He's the only player ever to not shoot anything outside of the paint and dominate," Martin said.
"Only Father Time could guard @SHAQ"
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@KenyonMartinSr tells Gilbert Arenas NO ONE could guard #shaq. Watch the sneak peek clip here: youtu.be/vrhGKxTBjmU https://t.co/Cu4lgdoiTa
It was true that only Father Time slowed O'Neal. His dominance waned after he won his fourth NBA championship in 2006. He was no longer a massive force after that. O'Neal was a shadow of his former self in his final two seasons in the league for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.