Shaquille O’Neal Reveals Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Was A Big Inspiration For Him: “He Was A Unique And Unrepeatable Player”

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Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest big men to have ever played in the NBA, having won an MVP award to go with 4 championships and 3 Finals MVPs. He also ended his career with 28,596 points, which ranks in the top 10 all-time, and few in NBA history can stake their claim to have been better than Shaq.

One who can definitely stake that claim though, is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. Kareem is arguably the greatest player of all time and Shaq recently stated during an interview with Marca that Kareem was a big inspiration for him.

via Marca:

Q: Which player was a big inspiration to you on the court?

A: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was always a big inspiration to me. Not only because he was a Laker, but he was also one of the biggest, strongest, craziest power forwards that played in that time period. I watched him, I learned from him but, to be honest, I probably talked to Kareem a total of three minutes while he was in the league. It would be interesting to study how many times you show respect on the court and don’t do the same verbally. He was a unique and unrepeatable player.

There will never be another Kareem, as Shaq stated, and while we listed down the highlights of the latter’s resume, it still pales in comparison. Abdul-Jabbar won a record 6 MVP awards to go with 6 championships and 2 Finals MVPs. He dominated the NBA for over a decade and deservedly ranks in the estimation of many as, at worst, a top 3 player of all-time.

O’Neal also spoke about Stephen Curry and the Warriors during the interview, as he called Steph the ‘biggest problem’ in the NBA right now and said he always believed that the Warriors would end up winning it all this past season.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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