Seems that whoever is doing the ranking, when the subject of “power players” comes up in NBA circles, our man Shaq is always in the conversation. In a recent interview, former New York Knicks great Charles Oakley was the latest to sing the praises of the big man.
For history buffs of The Association, you may remember that Oakley was one of the best defensive players of his time. He was selected for two All-Defensive teams for his work. No doubt he was in the upper echelon of big men protecting the rim from the other team… Yet even Oakley says that when it came to work in the paint, O’Neal was the man to beat. At least try to beat.
In an interview with Sportscasting recently, Oakley talked about Shaq’s power, calling him “a force.”
“Shaq was tough. He was just big, and the one thing he liked to do was dunk on you. He never dunked on me, but he was a force, though. I give him credit. Skill-wise, Kevin McHale in the post, Tim Duncan. Karl Malone, but he just flopped too much for me.”
It always depends on who you’re talking to, and what NBA era you’re talking about, but Shaq is always included on the list of most dominant players in league history. Would you rank him at the top of the list? We would!
And we’re not alone. Popular ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith has also boldly declared Shaq as the most dominant force in NBA history.
For some juice Shaq / Oakley moments caught on video, check this out:
Oakley isn’t alone in his respect for the big man’s talents and power on the court. Not long ago, Scottie Pippen, who was also one of the best defenders in NBA history, said that Shaq is the only player he ever feared on the court.
As for his work against Oakley and the Knicks, O’Neal had a good – shall we say dominant? – history. The two men faced off 25 times across their careers in the NBA, and Shaq won 14 of those meetings. Stats? Another win. O’Neal averaged 25.8 ppg, and pulled down an average of 11.7-rebounds against Oakley.
The respect also goes both ways. Shaq has talked about Oakley’s brute strength in the past, and has named him as one of four NBA players he’d want as partners in a big-time wrestling cage match. Quite the compliment! By the way, wrestling fans, the other players on that very short list are Larry Johnson, Gary Trent, and Xavier McDaniel.
Not sure if any cage matches will ever take place at this time in history. Still, good to know the stories of the respect between the former superstars. (And yes, we’d definitely pay good money to see the match, even today!)