Keep in mind that this article was written on July 28, not August 5th.
Not Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, or even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The 7’1 and 325-pound beast Shaquille O’Neal is the greatest center of all time. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “How in the world is he, out of all the centers in the NBA, the greatest?” Let me tell you why.
But first, what is a center exactly? For that, let me turn things over (no pun intended) to USA Basketball. “Perhaps no player is more important to getting results than the center. Centers need to be physical and tough. They are close to the basket, so they’re counted on for high-percentage shots. Their rebounding skills are crucial, and they need to play strong defense to prevent easy baskets by the opposing team. They are the last line of defense and, often, a team’s best chance on offense.” If there’s anybody that embodies that description the most, it’s Shaq.
If you look at his highlights, he was an absolute demon under the rim, on defense and offense. Wherever he was in the paint, that was his paint and no one was allowed to go in there. If you tried to, he was going to swat the living life out of you. He was probably the strongest player in the NBA when he played. He was so strong that he broke rims and shattered backboards. Last time I checked, Russell, Chamberlain, Olajuwon or Abdul-Jabbar weren’t doing that in the slightest. In fact, he has a broken rim tree that has about 19 rims on it. Let me tell you right now, that’s something that we’ll never be able to again. When he got the ball in the post, he was looking to do one of two things. He was going to go through you like a raging bull and dunk all over your face or dribble around you for an easy slam. He reminds of a defensive end trying his hardest to get past an offensive lineman. Take for example, JJ Watt. He can bulldoze you to the quarterback or be elusive and go around you in a blink of an eye. Last but definitely not least, he can sometimes be an outlier of USA Basketball’s description of a center. He can no-look pass like Magic Johnson and run in transition for easy lob chances like Giannis Antetokunmpo. Now, let’s see if there are any outliers in his stats.
He first got drafted to the brand new (at the time) Orlando Magic with the 1st pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and spent 4 seasons there, including 3 with Penny Hardaway. In those 4 seasons, he averaged 27.2 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.8 blocks per game (BPG). But then, he decided to ditch the Magic and was traded to the mighty Lakers. With this trade, he was going to play with the eventual icon, Kobe Bryant. In 8 seasons with the Lakers, he averaged 27 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.5 blocks per game. After his time with Los Angeles, he turned into a journeyman. He played for 4 teams in 8 seasons. As he was aging, so was his production. In those final 8 seasons, he had averaged 16.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.6 BPG. For his entire career, he had averaged 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 2.3 BPG.
Finally, let’s dive into a little bit of his accolades. He was a Rookie of the Year winner, an All-Rookie in 1992-93, a regular season MVP, a 3x All-Star and Finals MVP, a 3x All-Defensive player, a 2x Scoring Champion, a 14x All-NBA, 15x All-Star, and a 4x NBA Champion. All of those accolades are tied together by becoming a Hall of Famer in 2016 along with Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Sheryl Swoopes, and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.
If those things don’t prove to you just how great Shaq was, then I don’t know what does.
Sources: usab.com, youtube.com, basketball-reference.com, reddit.com