EXCLUSIVE: Shaquille O’Neal or Hakeem Olajuwon? This 7ft, 300lbs Basketball Prodigy Makes His Choice Ahead Of Exciting NBA Career

Amid the endless GOAT debate in the NBA circuit, another one that has caught the fancy of many fans and critics is the discussion regarding the better center. And two names that instantly come to mind are those of the former Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal and former Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. This has often divided fans and looks like will continue to do so for decades to come.

The debate once again gained a lot of traction when ES FanCast did an interview with emerging star Peyton Marshall. And just like the previous times, this time too it would have divided the fans.

What did Marshall say?

In a recent interview given to NCAA journalist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Saturday, the college basketball star Peyton Marshall chose his favorite. Although his decision had its own reasons, he too gave out a genuine argument that made him favor one player over the other. For him, Shaq was the winner between the two.

“Me, I will just say Shaw cause I was just a little more familiar with him growing up. Hakeem Olajuwon was a good player but I was just did most of my research on Shaq… For my knowledge, I will just have to say Shaq,” stated Marshall.

While Shaq recorded a whopping 28,596 points in his career, Hakeem wasn’t far off as he amassed a humongous 26,946 points. Meanwhile in the rebounds tally, Olajuwon nabbed 13,748 rebounds which were a notch up than O’Neal’s 13,099. Regarding their averages, Shaq has a better points average whereas Hakeem has chalked up a better rebounds average.

Another important point to consider is that both of them had an abysmal three-pointer tally which is usually low in conventional centers, even then Hakeem has recorded a better three-pointer percentage than his competitor. 

Experts too find it difficult to compare the two centers since both belonged to different eras. The thing that made fans draw parallels between the two was their height which was around 7 feet for them. Shaq was a little taller since he was 7 feet 1 inch.

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Other than that, Hakeem was more dominant in defense whereas Shaq was more fiery in offense. Hence, the debate might continue further as fans bring in their own perspective regarding the two. Marshall on the other was followed by a list of other disputable questions.

What other things did Marshall say?

On being asked about the best all-time NBA player, Marshall was quick to name LeBron James and also opined that he considered The Chosen One to be better than Michael Jordan.

And now after divulging that Shaq has been his favorite center, he too would be looking to capitalize on the opportunity at the college basketball level since he stands 7 feet tall.

Hopefully, Marshall will have a flourishing career and his name will be taken among the greats when he dominates the big stage. 

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