Phil Jackson, in his comparison between Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain, claimed that the latter was far more athletic than the Los Angeles Lakers big man who he had coached.
Speaking at Live Talks Los Angeles, Jackson and John Salley spent some time together on stage discussing his life and times with the Lakers, and Shaq was one of the topics.
“Shaquille didn’t have quite the same athleticism that Wilt had,” Jackson remarked. “He had the bounce and he had the speed, but he didn’t have the endurance.” Talking about their skill sets in the post, the legendary coach added:
“Shaq was a post-sprinter. He’d go and get in the lane. … Wilt was never much of a post-sprinter. He used to take his time. When he rebounded, a lot of times he’d make the guards come back to him to get the ball, so he’d be down there when the ball got to the other end of the court.
Speaking about Chamberlain, he said, “Wilt didn’t have a jump hook. He had an array of shots, he had a hook, a finger roll, and a turnaround jump shot. He led the league in assists one year.”
And he then proceeded to say that both of them were poor free-throw shooters. “That was one big weakness.”
[Starts 45:23 onwards]
As far as their charity stripe percentages go, there wasn’t a massive difference as Shaq shot 52.7%, while Chamberlain trailed at 51.1%. But that said, it’s worth noting that both players were legendary during their playing days. As far as their career comparisons go, our take sides towards Shaq as a better dominant big.
Shaquille O’Neal Gets Real On Who Would Win In A 1v1 With A Prime Wilt Chamberlain
Shaq’s not a man ever short of confidence and when sharing his thoughts on who would win 1v1 in the battle of the bigs against a prime Wilt Chamberlain, he backed himself to emerge victorious.
“I hate when you ask the question, and you can’t ask sub-questions,” O’Neal said on the Fluent And Chill Show. “For example, what era are we playing in? And then, like, I’m looking at Wilt’s highlights, and I’m not impressed. I was a lot more hip-hop and had a lot more style. I was the first dude to bring it up off a rebound through a foul… Young Wilt, Young Shaq, I’m going with Young Shaq.”
On the other end, Chamberlain believed he was the better center and could take on Shaq. There’s no telling how this contest would have played out, given they were from two different eras, but it surely would have made for a riveting battle.
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