There Will Only Be One Shaq
When Shaquille O’Neal announced via Twitter that he was retiring. the game of basketball lost one of its best players. His statistics are overwhelming: O’Neal was on four NBA championship teams and was the 1993 Rookie of the Year, 2000 Most Valuable Player, a three-time Finals MVP, a 15 time All-Star, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and has 14 All-NBA selections and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections under his belt. He scored 28,596 points (seventh most in NBA history), 13,099 rebounds (13th), .582 field-goal percentage (1st) and 2,732 blocks (8th). But the numbers don’t do the player or the personality justice.
When Shaq entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft, everyone knew he’d be a beast. There were what could only be called viral videos of Shaq furiously dunking on any and everyone. He was a one-man wrecking crew and backboards around the country feared him.
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The NBA fans who watched him play over the last 19 seasons would certainly come to the consensus that Shaq is one of the best ever. LeBron may be the man now and before him it was Kobe, but Shaq could do it all and did it all in the years following Jordan and we shouldn’t forget, when the Lakers added Shaq, he was the superstar, not Kobe. Any Lakers fan worth his salt knows that Kobe built his reputation in the mountainous shadow of Shaq during those years and not the other way around.
But how does Shaq compare head-to-head with some of the greatest centers in NBA history? Both statistically and how he affected every game, it should be clear that that he’s easily in the upper pantheon of the sport. He’s one of the Top Ten players of all-time, no questions asked. In the long line of athletic big men that have graced the game of basketball, nobody compares to Shaq given his size, agility, athleticism and strength. Not Chamberlain, not Russell, not Abdul-Jabbar, not Olajuwon, not Mikan.
What really set Shaq apart however was his larger-than-life personality both off and on the court. He’s had reality TV shows, rap albums, video games, movies, shoes, numerous feuds, about a dozen nicknames and he’s even an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal. He held half-court dance contests with Lebron James and Dwight Howard at the All Star Game and joked about his terrible free throw shooting at his retirement conference.
There have been some missteps. In a time of personality-free superstars (Kobe, Lebron), Shaq was a refreshing breath of candor. This lead to some not so perfect moments (“Hey Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes?!”) but nobody really cared in the face of his good-natured humor and honesty. And we all appreciated his blunt opinions on NBA officiating:
The truth is, Shaq was the last of a dying breed. In today’s era of lean power forwards and defensive-minded centers, the days of a high-scoring pivot are just about gone. Although the game may have passed him by in recent years, NBA fans will remember Shaq not only for his on-court dominance but for his big goofy smile and all the different ways he entertained us for years to come.
Matt De Lima is that obnoxious know-it-all friend that we all have who is way too into sports. Between writing articles about touchdowns and home runs, he enjoys watching “Mad Men” and eating cereal because it’s easier than cooking.
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