Shaq Leaves Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out of His Top 10 All-Time
Shaquille O’ Neal, the most dominant center in NBA history, made headlines this past week on his Netflix docuseries Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal. He was asked to name his top 10 players of all time. In his list, he had most of the expected names on an NBA top 10 list. He did leave one name out that made fans scratch their heads. Arguably, the greatest center in Lakers history was left out of Shaq's list: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Shaq said this when it came to his top 10.
"Number 10, I have myself," O'Neal said. "I will take myself off and put the great Julius Erving. Number nine, I have the great Tim Duncan. Number eight, I have Hakeem Olajuwon. Number seven, Larry Bird. Number six, Wilt Chamberlain. Number five, I will go with Bill Russell. Number Four, I'm going to go with Earvin 'Magic' Johnson."Number three, I'm going to go with the King, LeBron James," O'Neal continued. "Number two, I'm going with rest in peace, Kobe 'Bean' Bryant, and number one, the greatest player of all time is Michael Jordan." Another notable point was how Shaq had mentioned in previous shows on Inside the NBA. It may be time to start including Steph Curry in a top 10 list; he failed to do so himself here. Curry has often been one of the NBA's most marketable players, and with his accolades and revolutionary play, it is time we at least have that conversation.
People were shocked that a six-time NBA Champion, a two-time MVP award winner with two Finals MVPs, and a 19-time All-Star selection was left out. Especially considering players with fewer accolades made the list. Dr. J Julius Irving, the dream Hakeem Olajuwon, and Larry Bird made Shaq’s list. Both players, while deeply impactful in basketball history, are less recognized in terms of All-Star selections, awards, and championships compared to Kareem.
Ultimately, I think the reason Kareem was left out and Larry Bird and Julius Irving were included was due to the respect and impact they had on Shaq personally. Dr.J was Shaq's hero growing up as a player in New Jersey, and he always took that with him. At the same time, Larry Bird amazed Shaq early on how someone who looks like Larry Bird can be that great. In addition to the few times Kareem pissed off Shaq with his lack of acknowledgement. I think it was more of a list of Shaq's personal favorites rather than an actual thought-out top 10 all-time NBA players list.
