During a recent interview, Shaquille O?Neal was asked whether he would have made the league and made the same impact if he had been 6’5″ instead of 7’2″. O’Neal replied, “Probably not.”?When the puzzled host asked whether he would have made a great small forward, he said no because his height makes him unique. Also, he noted that if he was 6’5″, he would have to be extremely talented like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James and that is too much to compete with.

Shaquille O?Neal’s humble claim

NBA legend Shaquille O?Neal is the type of guy who is very confident but at the same time truly humble. Time and again, we have seen the 4x NBA champion rate himself lower in All-Time lists he often shares on social media. On the other hand, he doesn’t hesitate to call out when he is disrespected as well. Sometimes, O’Neal’s humility forces his fans to argue for him. Even when he rates himself lower, a lot of fans tend to disagree with the Hall of Famer in the comments. He has done that once again with his recent claims and as fans, we have taken the bait.

According to a report from Yahoo, O’Neal said, “No, I think because what makes me unique is that I’m extremely different from the norm. And what I mean by that, there’s a lot of seven footers. But I’m extremely different. So which it makes me stand out. If I was 6′ 5,” I’d have to be super extremely different like a Jordan, and a Kobe, and LeBron. It’s just too much to compete with.”

That was certainly an extremely humble statement from one of the most dominant players ever. However, Shaq’s argument is not something new. Many believe that taller players get better opportunities in basketball. There is no doubt The Big Diesel‘s superpower was his size. However, size is not something that you can improve by practicing like free throw shooting (no pun intended) or endurance. You either have it or you don’t. So, it looks like O’Neal has a point.

The height comparison

Shaquille O?Neal was an unstoppable force during his prime and his size played a huge role in it. However, that was not the only reason. Let’s see how many other 7-footers played during the 1997-98 season. Also, how many were 6’6″ and? 6’7″. We are using this year because it was Michael Jordan‘s last year with the Chicago Bulls and it would also help us compare it to his frame. During that season, 38 players were 7 feet tall or more. Notably, 10 players were taller than O’Neal while 4 were as tall as him.

When it comes to Jordan’s height of 6’6″, there were 34 players. At Kobe Bryant‘s 6’7″, there were 42. MJ was the best player in the league winning the MVP award averaging 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He also led the Bulls to their sixth title and won the Finals MVP as well. In just his second year, Bryant was averaging 15 points and made the All-Star team.

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Let’s also look at the 2004-05 season which was LeBron James‘ sophomore year to see how unique his height of 6’9″ is. Interestingly, he was listed as 6’8″ that year so let’s check that as well. Notably, there were 50 players in the league who were 6’9″. Also, 51 players were listed at 6’8″. James was certainly the best player in this size range as a small forward averaging 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. Notably, he came sixth in the MVP voting that year as per Basketball Reference.

Shaquille O?Neal had an advantage, but so did others

If there were any doubts before, it is clear now that there are usually a lot of players from heights of 6’6″ to 6’9″ in the NBA. With the numbers we analyzed, it is conclusive now. So it is safe to say any 7′ star would have relatively low competition. That is arguably the case in college and even more in high school which gives tall centers an edge over others. However, not everyone as tall as Shaquille O’Neal or taller was as good as him.

He was the best 7-footer in the league and averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game during the 1997-98 season. The next best were NBA legends Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing averaging close to 21 points and 10 rebounds per game. So, clearly, O’Neal was not just about his height. Also, this was when he was just entering his prime.

Sure, anyone over 7 feet would get the spotlight because of the relatively low number of such tall human beings around the world. This could turn into opportunities. One similar to how Shaq earned a college offer from LSU’s head coach Dale Brown when he was in Germany. His family lived there for a few years because his father was stationed in a US military base. At the time, he was just 13 and stood around 6’10”. Also, his basketball skills were not great. Despite this, coach Brown offered him a spot partly due to his size and athleticism. Also, his vocabulary.

However, the same can be argued about anyone over 6’6″ as well. When compared to people around 6’2″, or lower, the ones above 6’6″ are fewer. This gives them a great advantage in a sport like basketball and because of this, they get a lot of visibility as well. Notably, during the 1997-98 season, there were just 16 players at 6’2″ and 22 who stood at 6’1″. They certainly get far fewer looks than their taller counterparts.

Shaquille O?Neal would have had the same impact

Shaquille O?Neal obviously knows himself better than anyone else. So, if there’s anyone who can judge him, it is him. However, we are going to humbly disagree with his recent claims. During his career, O’Neal received a lot of criticism for his poor work ethic. Notably, this was one of the major reasons behind his beef with Kobe Bryant. While Bryant was obsessed with winning and working hard, Shaq was chilling after practice and games. This frustrated Kobe because he truly believed his teammate had the tools to be the best player ever but was wasting it. However, O’Neal was not consumed with being the best ever.

He wanted to be the most dominant ever, and he arguably achieved it. It was so easy for him that he didn’t feel like he had to work harder. Even when he was in poor shape and had injury troubles, O’Neal still owned the league. Even when he was slower because of his weight, he still racked up mind-boggling numbers. His height possibly played a part in it.

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So, had he been shorter, he could not have relaxed as much as he would have liked. But O’Neal would have still had the same impact in the league. O’Neal admitted that he was unique amidst other 7 footers. Yes, because he was stronger, athletic, and simply better. Similarly, in our opinion, even if he was 6’5″, he would have been better than most and be in the same category as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.

Editorial Disclaimer:?The?views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.