Julius Erving recently announced his top 10 NBA players, with a clear bias toward players from his era. Several current superstars were surprisingly absent, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal.
In response, Shaq didn’t disagree with Erving’s selections but instead offered his own, very different top 10. Both lists show how different times and preferences may affect basketball rankings, and both are interesting in their own way.
Shaq O’Neal excludes Julius Erving from his top 10 list
Some people took exception to Julius Erving not include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal in his list of the top 10 NBA players. Even though Erving clarified that he didn’t include Curry and LeBron since their careers are still unfolding, Shaq and Kobe’s inclusions were still puzzling.
O’Neal, on the other hand, was unbothered by Erving’s selections and boldly offered his own top-10 list, which humorously expanded into a top-11. Without putting down greats like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he named Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and himself as his all-time NBA starting five.
Shaq’s top 10 players of all time (no order)
Magic Johnson
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Michael Jordan
Shaquille O’Neal
Stephen Curry
Tim Duncan
Allen Iverson
Karl Malone
Isiah Thomas
*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*(Via @BA_Turner ) pic.twitter.com/bFUnkP4INC
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 1, 2023
“In no particular order, was Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and then [expletive] me.That ain’t no disrespect to Malone, [Charles] Barkley and Kareem,” O’Neal said. “Hey, that’s my list. Understand what I’m saying?”
O’Neal said coming off his bench would be Curry, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Malone and Isiah Thomas. “Yeah,” O’Neal said. “And you can quote me on that.” Shaquille O’Neal paused for a moment, adding, “also, you got to put Kareem on that second team too,” which, of course, is now a top 11.Dr. J has his list and I have my list,”I’m all good with Dr. J’s list.” Shaq said.
In addition to Curry and Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal named Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, and Isiah Thomas as his ideal bench players. Even so, he saw fit to include Kareem on his second squad, giving him a total of eleven players. Shaq defended his list, saying both he and Dr. J had equal rights to their own opinions on the matter.
O’Neal conceded that lists are subjective and gave Erving credit as a pioneer for his picks. Because of the wide range of eras and playing styles, any list like Shaq’s is sure to spark discussion. There is beauty and subjectivity in debating who the best players in basketball history were, and both legends’ rankings reflect that.
Shaquille O’Neal announced Dr.J to be “greatest basketball player ever” in 2014
Philadelphia hoops fans are fully aware of Julius Erving’s prowess, but he is rarely mentioned when discussing the best basketball player of all time, with Michael Jordan and LeBron James usually receiving more attention. Former NBA power forward Shaquille O’Neal has lately weighed in on the discussion, siding with Jordan over James in a hypothetical showdown between the two players during their respective primes.
“I’ve seen young Mike and young LeBron and I must say Dr. J is still my favorite player,” Shaquille O’Neal said while on a promotional visit to Hong Kong on Tuesday. “A lot of people today don’t even mention his name but to me I still think he was the best. But these are questions that we’ll never know the answer to.”
However, Shaquille O’Neal caught everyone by surprise when he said that Julius Erving was the best basketball player of all time in his opinion. While Shaq acknowledges that the name Julius Erving isn’t as frequently brought up in modern talks, he makes it clear that he still thinks of the famous Dr. J as the finest. There will always be space for discussion over who is the greatest player of all time since the topic is inherently subjective.
