Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan are two of the greatest basketball players to have ever lived. They have shown a fair bit of respect to each other over the years, but Shaquille O’Neal took to Instagram recently to share an old video where Abdul-Jabbar was throwing shade at Jordan.
You can check out what Abdul-Jabbar said in that clip below.
“I’m not better than him (Jordan), but I was at least as effective as he was,” Abdul-Jabbar said when asked if he was better than Jordan. “The effect that you have on the game is how you should be judged. Bill Russell affected the game, you couldn’t get a shot near the basket. He terrorized everybody for 13 years.”
Abdul-Jabbar then stated he doesn’t care where he is ranked all-time but does believe he is underrated. He also claimed he could possibly be the greatest big man, but added he can’t match Russell’s titles.
“I’m not the most successful,” Abdul-Jabbar stated. “Bill Russell was the most successful and he understood how to make his team win. Eleven world championships in 13 years, beat, Michael Jordan. LeBron (James) is not going to come close, come on.”
Well, if we do just look at rings, then no one is greater than Bill Russell. He won 11 championships as Abdul-Jabbar mentioned while Jordan only won six. The big man thinks effectiveness on the court is what determines the greatest ever and doesn’t seem to believe that the Chicago Bulls icon clearly comes out on top in that regard.
To go with those six titles, Jordan won six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and one DPOY award. He was a 14-time All-Star who also made 11 All-NBA teams and nine All-Defensive teams. It shows Jordan was clearly very effective but you could make the case that someone like Russell bettered him in that regard as his teams won at a ridiculous rate.
It is unclear if O’Neal agrees with what Abdul-Jabbar had to say here. In the past, he had actually stated that Jordan is the greatest ever, so he might just be sharing what Kareem had to say.
Michael Jordan On Why He Can’t Be Called The GOAT
We often hear current and former players talk about the GOAT debate, but Jordan hasn’t spoken all that often about it. In one of the few instances that he did, Jordan explained why he can’t be called the GOAT.
“You’re never gonna say ‘who’s the greatest of all time?’ to me. I think that’s more for PR and for selling stories. I never played against Wilt Chamberlain or Jerry West, and to now say that one is greater than the others is unfair.
“I won six championships, Bill Russell won 11. Does that make me better than him or him better than me? No. We played in different eras. When you try to equate who’s the greatest of all time, it’s an unfair parallel.”
The different eras are really what makes it almost impossible in my mind for someone to truly be regarded as the greatest ever. That won’t stop the debates from raging on, though, as they have become part of the fabric of sports itself. For now, Jordan is widely regarded as the GOAT and the only way he might be supplanted is if LeBron James ends up winning a couple more championships before he walks away from the game.
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