The Los Angeles Lakers have had some of the best and most dominant centers in history play for their franchise. A lot of their championships have been won by big men.
Two legendary big men who played for the Lakers are Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain. Both were obviously legends for the purple and gold, with both players contributing to championships in their own era. There are times where the two are compared to one another. We all know that Wilt Chamberlain put up insane numbers in his era, and there was no answer for a prime Shaquille O’Neal either. From the sheer level of their dominance, it’s easy to see how the two are similar.
Shaquille O’Neal has recently stated that he’s a better player than Wilt Chamberlain, and claimed that he’d “bust Wilt’s a**”. There’s no doubt that a 4-time champion like Shaquille O’Neal would be very confident in his abilities, even if when comparing himself to Wilt Chamberlain, who managed to drop 100 points in a single game.
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Of course, a 1 on 1 between Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain would be amazing to see. Both players changed things in the NBA, and it’s clear that one wouldn’t be wrong for picking either player in that scenario. It’s notable that Shaquille O’Neal agreed with Wilt Chamberlain being ahead of himself in a “greatest center in NBA history” list which featured himself being 4th and Wilt Chamberlain being 2nd. This is different from his current opinion, though it’s possible that he was simply paying respects to a fellow legendary center.
Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain are both unique in their own right. While some may compare them on all-time lists, it’s hard to actually compare the two players due to the differences in basketball eras, as the game continuously evolves. At the end of the day, both are Hall of Famers and were clearly huge forces in their respective time periods.
