Shaquille O'Neal unveils all-time scoring list with surprising snub for LeBron James at the top spot
Shaquille O'Neal is undoubtedly one of the most dominant big men in NBA history, but he arguably had one major flaw. While joking about his weakness, the Hall of Fame center shared an interesting graphic on his social media recently.
The picture he posted was an all-time scoring list that did not have LeBron James at the top spot.
Last season, James broke a record many thought was unbreakable when he passed fellow LA Lakers legend Kareem-Abdul Jabbar on the NBA's all-time scoring list. In his 20th season, LeBron cemented himself as the highest-scoring player in NBA history.
A little bit lower down the all-time list is Shaquille O'Neal himself. He possibly would have finished higher if it had not been for his poor free-throw shooting. During his 19-year career, the former MVP shot just 52.7% from the line.
Shaq recently posted a picture on his Instagram, stating he'd be higher all-time if he would have made more free throws. Instead of LeBron James at the top spot, however, it was former international star Oscar Schmidt.
Who is the player from Shaq's Instagram post?
The reason Oscar Schmidt is in Shaquille O'Neal's post is because he is believed to be basketball's true all-time leading scorer. However, he never stepped foot in the NBA.
Schmidt played professionally in Europe for an outstanding 29 years. Between club and international play, he amassed over 54,000 career points. On top of that, Schmidt is the top scorer in both the Olympics and the FIBA World Cup. During one Olympics, he averaged over 42 points per game.
Schmidt was a 6-foot-9 forward who played for countless different teams in Europe. He began playing professionally in 1974 at age 16 and didn't retire until 2003.
Over the years, Schmidt put on an array of big-time scoring performances. One of his best came in a championship game in 1997. At the age of 39, he erupted for 74 points.
While he never stepped foot in the NBA, Schmidt was drafted in 1984 by the then-New Jersey Nets. He reported to training camp, but never signed his contract.
Schmidt soon returned to Europe because he was making more money there and didn't want to lose his ability to play for Brazil's national team.
Over 10 years after his historic career was over, Schmidt was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010.