Everyone loves an all-time NBA debate.
And Shaquille O’Neal has come under fire for his own top 10 greatest players of all-time list after a stunning omission of one the finest basketball stars in history.
O’Neal himself is considered as one of the greatest players of all-time and also one of the most influential former athletes.
Fans regularly see him appear on their screens as one of the hosts of the popular sports studio show, Inside the NBA.
The four-time NBA champion has a resume that includes three Finals MVPs, 1 regular season MVP, 15 All-Star selections, three All-Star MVP awards, 14 All-NBA selections, and three All-Defensive selections
He’s also a basketball Hall of Famer, so when he offers an all-time list, people tend to listen
O’Neal offered his latest top-10 on his Instagram.
From No.10 to No.1, it goes: Julius Erving, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan.
The biggest and most glaring omission is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the six-time NBA champion (five with Los Angeles Lakers, one with Milwaukee Bucks) and former all-time leading scorer before LeBron snatched his title in 2023.
Fans online were quick to rip into O’Neal for his omission of Kareem.
“You forgot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? He’s the best player,” one fan wrote in his comments.
“No Kareem?????,” one fan also posted.
“List sucks” another added.
Along with his six rings, Abdul-Jabbar is also a six-time MVP winner, two-time Finals MVP and 19-time All-Star.
His exclusion from the top 10 doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given most basketball fans have him third all time behind MJ and LeBron.
A far less egregious choice, but still interesting nonetheless, is O’Neal placing Bryant at No.2 and not James.
James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, both in the regular season and playoffs, along with being a four-time NBA champion, MVP and Finals MVP winner.
He’s also been selected into the All-Star team a staggering 21 times.
Kobe, meanwhile, is a five-time champion, and likely gets the nod from Shaq given their historic yet complicated history together.
Another notable omission isSteph Curry, who’s own starting-five doesn’t include O’Neal.
Many would argue that the Golden State Warriors star could be ahead of Dr. J, who sits tenth on the list.
But when it comes to Jordan being top, there’s little room for disagreement.
O’Neal has always been clear that the Chicago Bulls legend and six-time NBA champion is the greatest of all-time — a view the overwhelming majority of basketball fans also share.
