Key Takeaways
- Shaquille O’Neal said he feels underappreciated in the NBA GOAT conversation.
- Shaq recalled his mother, Dr. Lucille O’Neal, saying bigger players face expectations while smaller players receive praise.
- Shaq also urged fans to include fellow big man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in GOAT debates.
“Nobody roots for Goliath” — or so Shaquille O’Neal learned from his mother. On Tuesday (Oct. 20), the former Los Angeles Lakers star spoke to Variety about whether he feels overlooked in conversations about the greatest NBA player of all time, which more often than not pits Michael Jordan against LeBron James.
“The answer is yes and no,” the four-time NBA champion explained to the publication’s Marlow Stern. He then recalled crying to his mother, Dr. Lucille O’Neal, after failing to win Athlete of the Year despite “being the best athlete” at his high school. Shaq recalled, “My mom grabbed me and said, ‘Baby, nobody roots for Goliath.’ And I said, ‘What does that mean?’”
Dr. O’Neal was presumably drawing a comparison to the biblical tale of David and Goliath, in which the former is seen as an underdog facing seemingly impossible odds. Goliath, on the other hand, is the much larger opponent who appears almost impossible to defeat. Shaq continued, “She said, ‘When you’re big, they expect you to do certain things, but the little guy will always get the praise.’”
Shaquille O’Neal says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deserves more recognition in the GOAT debate
Later in the interview, Shaq pointed out that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who holds the record for the most regular-season wins in NBA history, deserves to be mentioned far more often when discussing the greatest players in basketball history.
“And I’m seeing it now because when you’re talking about the GOATs, it doesn’t matter who you pick, but please mention Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,” he said. “Yet they always go for the little guy — ‘Ooh Mike,’ ‘Ooh Kobe,’ ‘Ooh LeBron.’ So, do I feel underappreciated? Yes. But nobody roots for Goliath. And I’m flattered when a lot of people talk about their best big men and my name is mentioned, and when it comes to the most dominant ever, then my name is one of two.”
By “little guy,” Shaq is quite literally referring to players who are shorter than him, if not smaller in stature altogether. For reference, the former Orlando Magic center stands around 7 feet 1 inch tall (check out REVOLT’s roundup of tall NBA players next to short people here!), whereas Jordan and Kobe Bryant are both 6 feet 6 inches, while James is 6 feet 9 inches.
Shaquille O’Neal has some advice for the NBA’s next generation of big men
Shaq isn’t entirely wrong, either. The NBA has seemingly gravitated toward relatively smaller players over the past decade — perhaps because they offer greater mobility and, in some cases, a lower risk of injury. That being said, there are still some big men that basketball fans go absolutely crazy for, including Philadelphia 76ers player Tacko Fall and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Speaking of the latter, Shaq had some advice for the center-forward, who came close to taking home a championship title last season. “Be mean all the time,” he said. “It’s difficult to shoot a lot of threes and hit a lot of threes in high-pressure games, so when you’re 7’5”, you have to take advantage of your skill set.”