Himself one of the best pivots in history, Shaquille O’Neal did not hesitate to give his opinion on the top 5 big men. A heavy task, and a rather consistent classification on the part of the Big Cactus …
If the current game is more oriented on the outside, the big men have long reigned supreme over the NBA. It was first the great George Mikan in the 1940s / 1950s, then the Russell / Chamberlain era, to which Kareem Abdul-Jabbar succeeded. The last dinosaur, finally, is none other than Shaquille O’Neal.
He is also the one who was recently the guest of the “All Things Covered” podcast. The occasion send a big tackle to Rudy Gobert, but also to evoke the hierarchy of “bigs” in the history of the league.
We know that Diesel is rather picky on the subject, he who recently made the controversy by asserting that Anthony Davis “is not a big man”. Anyway, here are his top 5 in the order below:
On the subject of big men, @SHAQ said his top 5 bigs in NBA history (in order) are:
1) Kareem
2) Russell
3) Wilt
4) Shaq
5) HakeemAny complaints? https://t.co/j4C9PGgRqX
— Bryant McFadden (@BMac_SportsTalk) January 3, 2021
For O’Neal, the domination of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at all levels (high school, college and NBA) as well as his 6 rings and his longevity make him the best big in history. Follow Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, in that order, and Hakeem Olajuwon in number 5. Shaq, him, is inserted in the 4th position.
If there is obviously neither good nor bad answer to this type of classification, it must be admitted that the top 5 of the former Laker is rather consistent, to say the least. As usual, everyone will have their own opinion on the matter.
All in humility and reflection, Shaquille O’Neal released a very nice top 5 all-time big men. Do you validate?
