Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal, AKA Shaq, took to Instagram to list his top-10 centers in NBA history.
The Hall of Famer put him No. 2 on the list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and ahead of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Nikola Jokic, Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing and George Mikan.
The list caused an uproar among fans, with many arguing that Olajuwon was ranked too low, given the Rockets legend’s overall body of work. Some also argued that Jokic — a three-time MVP — had done enough to surpass Robinson on the list.
“Isn’t jokic allready better than d rob?” asked user china4friends.
“Jokic >>> David Robinson cmon,” wrote babyax3.
Is Hakeem Being Disrespected?
One fan argued that Olajuwon was a better player than O’Neal, citing the two-time NBA champion’s ability to shoot the midrange and play defense at an elite level.
Although “The Dream” won two fewer NBA titles than Shaq, he won the same number of MVP awards (one) and captured two Defensive Player of the Year honors to boot. Furthermore, Olajuwon is widely regarded as the greatest rim protector in NBA history, a claim backed up by his all-time leading 3,830 blocked shots, 1,098 more than O’Neal.
“Hakeem was better than Shaq,” wrote user mkizz87.
“Hakeem is Top 3, sorry,” argued user ayoflaco.
“I can’t stand when people have Olajuwon below shaq. There’s plenty of video evidence to show who was CLEARLY the better center when they went head to head,” wrote chris_loveless_31.
To the last user’s point, Olajuwon’s Rockets swept O’Neal’s Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals, when Olajuwon dominated Shaq in every statistical category.
Has Shaq Cooled Down on Jokic?
It’s worth noting that Shaq previously crowned Jokic as a top-5 center in NBA history, along with himself, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Russell. As such, it was rather surprising that he put “The Joker” at No. 7, behind Olajuwon and Robinson.
Earlier this year, O’Neal said on his “Big” podcast that Jokic had already done enough to be named among the top-5 centers in history.
“He’s already a champ,” O’Neal said of Jokic. “He has access to the building. If he wants to open more floors, I’ll motivate him. He plays the right way, very unselfish, and humble guy. He’s already great, and the things he’s doing — putting up these triple-doubles — have never been seen before.”
“I would definitely put him in the top-5,” Shaq said of Jokic.
Shaq had a similar take on Jokic on an episode of “Inside the NBA” on TNT.
“I would never take Hakeem off,” he had said, while making a case for Jokic.
Jokic will get a chance to climb Shaq’s list in the 2025-26 season. The Serbian (23/10) is the favorite to win his fourth MVP award over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11/4) and Luka Doncic (7/1). Another award would put Jokic in elite company, joining LeBron James and Chamberlain, and trailing only Russell, Michael Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar.
Many believe Jokic also has the requisite pieces to win his second NBA title.
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