Former Los Angeles Clippers play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler has been around forever at this point, having turned 86 earlier this year. Lawler has seen all of the basketball greats in action, so when former NBA player Antonio Daniels claimed Shaquille O’Neal is the most dominant force the league has ever seen, he brought up two names he felt were even more dominant.
“I think both Wilt (Chamberlain) and (George) Mikan were more dominant than SHAQ and I saw all three of them play – Live.”
I think both Wilt and Mikan were more dominant than SHAQ and I saw all three of them play – Live. https://t.co/IkblBZqtxJ
— Ralph Lawler (@Ohmeomy) August 29, 2024
When the topic of the most dominant player in NBA history comes up, there are generally only two names that come up, O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain. Lawler believes, though, that George Mikan is in that conversation and would rank him over Shaq.
I am not sure I’ve ever seen anyone put Mikan over O’Neal, but then again, Lawler is one of the few still around today who got to see him in action. He was the NBA’s first superstar and the first dominant big man.
Mikan won five NBA/BAA titles with the Minneapolis Lakers in just seven seasons in the league. He also won three straight scoring titles from 1949 to 1951 and finished his NBA/BAA career with averages of 23.1 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Mikan was unquestionably the most dominant force of his era and deserves a lot of respect for all that he achieved in his career. As for whether he was more dominant than O’Neal, I think the vastly different eras they played in, make it difficult to compare them.
O’Neal won four titles, three Finals MVPs, an MVP, and two scoring titles in his career. He was a force of nature at his peak and led the Los Angeles Lakers to a historic three-peat from 2000 to 2002. There was no stopping him in those years and it’s no exaggeration to say he is unquestionably the most dominant player in modern NBA history.
As for Chamberlain, well, his otherworldly numbers ensure that his name will forever be a part of this discussion. Wilt averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in his career. He averaged a ridiculous 50.4 points per game in the 1961-62 season and won seven scoring titles in total. Chamberlain also won two NBA titles and it still boggles the mind that someone was able to dominate in this fashion.
Shaquille O’Neal Believes Only He And Wilt Chamberlain Truly Dominated The NBA
While Lawler has Mikan in that mix for most dominant, Shaq does not. O’Neal stated he and Wilt Chamberlain are the only ones to truly dominate the NBA.
“When you talk about the best in basketball, there’s 50 names you could say. Really, 50 names you could say. Form your father’s era to your grandfather’s era to my era to my kids’ era, but when you talk about the most dominant, it’s only two in all these eras… Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal. That’s what people don’t understand about me. I don’t want to be the best. Forget all that best. I want you to fear me I want you to be scared. I want you to be so scared, other 28 teams, that you go to the commissioner and you get the rules changed.”
O’Neal has also stated in the past that Chamberlain is the only player he would be fine with being called the most dominant ever beside him. He has also said, though, that he is confident he would have gotten the better of Wilt if they had ever faced off. That’s certainly a matchup, that I would have paid a lot of money to watch.
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