NBA legend and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, widely remembered for his dominant three-peat stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, was one of the tallest players to ever step on the hardwood. The Big Diesel made even NBA players look tiny in front of him. In light of this, now, let’s take a look at how the 5’5 ex-Denver Nuggets player, Earl Boykins, looked standing beside the ex-Lakers star.

Shaq was a real freak of nature, especially during his playing days. At one point in time, the four-time champion weighs 325 pounds and is over 7ft tall. Therefore, naturally, almost everyone looked minuscule beside him.

Shaquille O’Neal made Earl Boykins look incredibly small beside him

Boykins was one of the shortest players to have ever played in the NBA. Interestingly, the now 46-year-old is the second-shortest player in NBA history behind the 5’3 ex-NBA star, Muggsy Bogues. Therefore, let’s take a look at how the former NBA star looked beside Shaq when they stood close to one another on the hardwood.

The above photo, featured in a Sports Illustrated article from 2014, was taken during a 2003 game between the Lakers and Nuggets. In the photo, the stark difference in height of the two players isquite evident. The former Nuggets star could hardly reach the upper torso of Shaq’s body. In other words, the 15x All-Star towered over the 46-year-old ex-NBA star by a heavy margin, 1’8″ to be exact.

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Boykins might have been short, but this didn’t affect his gameplay on the court. He was quite effective on the hardwood despite his stature. The former Nuggets star wrapped up his career with 8.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.

Basketball players who could tower over Shaq

Over the years, Shaq has made plenty of notable people and NBA players look tiny in front of him. However, there are a handful of players who are taller than him and would definitely make him look small. In this list, the Houston Rockets star, Boban Marjanovic comes first. He is approximately 7 feet 3 inches tall and would surely make Shaq look a little bit smaller. Another star who would tower over the Big Diesel is the former Sacramento Kings center, Sim Bhullar, who is 7 feet 5 inches tall. In addition to all these players, the 7’4 prodigy, Victor Wembanyama could also easily make the Big Diesel look small in front of him.

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What are your thoughts on the stark difference in height of Shaq and Boykins? Please let us know in the comments below.