Shaquille O’Neal is considered one of the NBA’s most dominant players.
On Tuesday, he became the latest league Hall of Famer to reveal his top 10 greatest players in history, days after NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving generated reactions online after listing his all-time list. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers legend revealed his top 10 list and separated the names by first and second team.
On his first team, in no particular order, Shaq listed Magic Johnson, his former teammate in the late Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and then “[expletive]” himself, leaving off others like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the league’s second-best all-time scorer.
“That ain’t no disrespect to Malone, [Charles] Barkley and Kareem,” O’Neal told the LA Times. “… That’s my list.”
On the second team, the four-time NBA champion emphatically listed Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Isiah Thomas and Malone coming off the bench. But even with a solid 10, O’Neal felt compelled to add Dr. J to his second team, even if the 76ers’ legend did not include Shaq in his list.
While players like Hawks’ Trae Young called Dr. J’s top 10 list “fake” based on the caliber of players left off, O’Neal said he was “all good” with his predecessor’s list. He also credited Erving for clearing the way for his NBA tenure.
“He’s the great Dr. J.,” O’Neal said. “He paved the way for all of us. He can say what he wants and nobody should say a damn thing about it.”
