Shaquille O’Neal is not mentioned in GOAT conversations when they come up, the Lakers legend himself admits that he never wanted to be the greatest. However, during his peak, he was arguably more dominant than any other player in the history of basketball has been. There was simply no stopping Shaq, with opponents forced to foul him repeatedly just to slow him down.
The GOAT conversation has a lot of nuance in it. The criteria keep changing according to whichever player the person arguing supports. The consensus may be that Michael Jordan is the best, but there are 3-4 other players that have their cases to be thought of in this regard.
But Channing Frye, who was teammates with one of the GOAT candidates, LeBron James, seemingly doesn’t enjoy the conversation. And Shaq often being left out is an example of why that is, as he explained to Richard Jefferson on ‘Road Trippin’.
“I just get mad when people don’t include Shaq in the conversation,” Frye said. “It’s hard to be, one, for that long in this league and to be unanimously respected. Like, there cannot be one person who is just the greatest. That’s so disrespectful it, like, bothers me. Everyone loves this conversation, but stop it, because the things that you judge it by is never the same.”
There are double standards that a lot of people have when they discuss who the greatest players are. Calling that out is fair, although even Shaq himself would agree that there are a few names that are above him on the list.
Ultimately, the argument itself is not perfect, but stopping the discussion entirely would take a large chunk of the fun out of the game. Fans have their opinions and their biases, and the passion they feel towards their superstars is an integral part of the NBA experience. As far as the ‘truth’ is concerned, perhaps the simplest answer is that there is none in the realm of sports debate.
