// Kerr immediately knew what happened as soon as the ball hit his foot. People like to think of me as doing that throughout my career, but that was not how I played basketball. In an interview with Gary Miller of ESPN in 1997, he said the following about the Lakers superstar: Shaq gets away with what I believe is murder. They'd hack him and send him to the line, and hope he makes one out of two. I know it may make nice copy to compare Shaquille and I, but I wonder why he has to be like somebody else, and Christian Laettner doesnt have to. To be fair, Shaq's parents are taller than average. " In all my years of watching and studying the National Basketball Association, I have never seen anything like Shaquille O'Neal for 2000, 2001, 2002, maybe even 2003. But during my heyday of scoring, 90% of my shots were jump shots. Here's a breakdown of how Wilt Chamberlain's height compares to the top NBA centers of all time. Averaging about 22 minutes a game more than double last seasons average George seems healthier after a summer of intense cardio workouts. -George Carlin. Wilt Chamberlain Labeled Tallest Player in NBA History Better Than "We'd go into a dressing room and see a box score from the night before where Wilt had 55 or 60 points. However, they are still well below the average NBA height. His mother, Lucille O'Neal, is 6'2". ", "The first time I guarded Wilt, I stood behind him and he was so wide that I couldn't see the rest of the game. I shot the jump shot off the board better than anyone except Cazzie Russell, Sam Jones and Dick Barnett. Wilt never broke a rim in an NBA game as far as I know. He could put the ball on the floor and lead the break, especially in his younger days.No doubt he'd get to the line more than anyone. Third, the average height of NBA centers back in Wilt's day was 6'10". Gus was going to try to dunk it again. Thanks to his physique, Shaq dominated both ends of the court for his team. I hate to be a tattletale, but I mention to Chamberlain that I heard Nate Thurmond say Wilt had an advantage over ONeal, in that Shaq gets double and triple-teamed, while opponents played Wilt straight-up, one-on-one. He said: "I was measured last September and was 7 feet 1 and five eighths. Against the Celtics it would be Bill Russell, with (Tom) Heinsohn on one side and K.C. After taking over the team during Duncan Robinson's exit, the "Big Fundamental" continued to bring success to San Antonio alongside Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. George was on the varsity squad by his sophomore year at the Latin School of Chicago. Wilt's career . The question now is: Will we ever see a center who could threaten his place in the pecking order? The injury was aggravated later that year by Willie Naulls of the Knicks. I guess I overdid it I became too likable to kill off! he said in 2009. A firm believer in the 'Greek Freak' being the best player in the league As of today, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still holds the record for the most career points in NBA history. Shaq vs Wilt: Physical Data : r/nba - Reddit He'd average six or seven. To do this remaining one of the most memorable and formidable 007 foes. Gigantism or acromegaly in which a tumor on the pituitary gland causes an oversecretion of growth hormone may be the cause of his condition. Refs allowed those physical tactics go unpunished because the owners and NBA management believe that blood and violence was what brought people to basketball games back then. In earlier years, they did this to make up for the fact that Wilt was so big and talented. He made the first of his 15 All-Star Games in his debut season for Orlando and was the league's Rookie of the Year. There were of course people we wanted to includelike Hodor,Treebeard & Big Hero 6 but unfortunately they were either not tall enough to make the cut or not played by actual humans, thanks to CGI. (Photo by Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). Beating Wilt Chamberlain would be no easy feat for Shaquille O'Neal. But when ONeal was in Oakland last Saturday I asked him how he feels when he hears people compare him with Chamberlain, who played his last NBA game when Shaq was 1 year old. Shaq actually takes the points category this time, averaging 29.7 to Wilt's 24.1, but Chamberlain dominates in every other domain - showing the stark transition from '62 to '67, as the Big Dipper conciously became less of a score-first player and more of a piece of the puzzle rather than the whole puzzle itself. Shaq's career win share total is solid at 181.7, which ranks 13th all-time. He has won five NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, two league MVPs, is a 15-time All-Star, and an All-Star Game MVP. Georges body kept growing. Darral Imhoff, the center against whom he dropped the 100 points is 6'10. It wasn't because everybody else was weak; Wilt was so strong that he could dominate them with ease. Wilt Chamberlain is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most dominant players in NBA history. Like Shaq, Wilt could physically take over a game. He would later go on to reprise his role as The Predator in Predator 2 with Danny Glover. 1 North Carolina on Wednesday. From guest appearances to debates with Charles Barkley on NBA on TNT, Shaq remains a household name even today. MCDONOUGH, GEORGIA APRIL 07: Shaquille ONeal speaks during Pepsi Stronger For more up-to-date news on all things "Undisputed,"click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app! YouTube Gold: Wilt Chamberlain Meets Patrick Ewing And Shaquille O Georges wingspan, fingertip to fingertip, is 101 inches, and with shoes on he stands 7-9. Shaq finished his Hall of Fame career with stints with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Celtics. He could bench press 550lbs back in college. Shaquille O'Neal vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Comparison: Who Is The - MSN However, they are still well below the average NBA height. Moderators: trex_8063, Doctor MJ, PaulieWal, Quotatious, Clyde Frazier, penbeast0, Post#1 by 90sgoat Wed Sep 21, 2016 3:51 am, Post#2 by Quotatious Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:25 am, Post#3 by 90sgoat Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:50 am, Post#4 by Quotatious Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:09 am, Post#5 by DirtyDez Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:13 am, Post#6 by Quotatious Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:17 am, Post#7 by trex_8063 Wed Sep 21, 2016 3:02 pm, Post#8 by penbeast0 Wed Sep 21, 2016 3:32 pm, Post#9 by tsherkin Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:38 pm, Post#10 by Hawk Wed Sep 21, 2016 5:20 pm, Post#11 by penbeast0 Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:46 pm, Post#12 by tsherkin Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:50 pm, Post#13 by 90sgoat Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:10 pm, Post#14 by Hawk Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:43 pm, Post#15 by 90sgoat Wed Sep 21, 2016 8:17 pm, Post#16 by trex_8063 Wed Sep 21, 2016 8:48 pm, Post#17 by 90sgoat Wed Sep 21, 2016 8:53 pm, Post#18 by yoyoboy Wed Sep 21, 2016 9:02 pm, Post#19 by trex_8063 Wed Sep 21, 2016 9:25 pm, Post#20 by Hawk Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:33 pm. During the final (1972-73) season of his career, his coach came up with the idea of taking him out of the game with about two minutes to go in the first quarter, then re-inserting him after about two minutes had been played in the second quarter. "Wilt dominated because everybody else were weak 6'6'' white centers". He is too tall to fit into a drivers seat, so he does not have a drivers license and must ask friends for rides. Wilt heaves a long sigh. That was a mere four years before he passed away. They only remember the power Wilt of later years, they dont remember my ability to run and leap. Wilt Chamberlain still holds the record for the most points scored in a game with 100 points. What do you think of this comparison stuff thats going around, Wilt? No one in the NBA has anything like the stamina that he had on OR off the court.Wilt's passing was the most underrated part of his game, but to this day, he's STILL the ONLY non-guard ever to lead the NBA in assists. All rights reserved. Additionally, he has appeared in a number of films. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these. Wilt Chamberlain meets a young Shaquille O'Neal and Patrick Ewing ESPN.com - Page2 - Shaq beats Wilt Clearly having a knack for playing large latex monsters, Kevin played Bigfoot in Harry and the Hendersons. Asheville has a contract with Nike, which makes 12 pairs of size-26 shoes for George. He was ejected with two technicals with eight minutes to go in one game, but played every minute (including overtimes) of each of the other 79 games that season. Shaq is faster, jumps better, is quicker and is more of a force in the NBA. Ive seen Shaquille make one jump shot. In fact, Sports Illustrated in 1986 described him as the finest athletic construction made of flesh and blood. His career was cut short when died in 1991 from aids at just age 35. When I averaged 50, and 44, my points came off jump shots, and hooks from time to time. This is not a knock at Kareem, but Kareem had the most poetic shot in basketball, the hook, so people thought he was the most graceful of centers. I only point this out to show theres no comparison between Shaquille and I, offensively.