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Just before 2022 ended, Shaquille O'Neal took offense on not being included on the list of the greatest dunkers of all time. The Hall of Fame big man was not happy that he was labeled as a fifth-tier dunker.
A few hours before the New Year, O'Neal shared a photo of the "Best Dunkers Ever" pyramid. The levels were divided into six tiers, with the LA Lakers legend in just Tier 5 with players such as Spud Webb, Dwight Howard and Zach LaVine.
"Hell nawww who made this list?," O'Neal wrote.
The graphic was made by a Twitter page called SOG Basketball. The pyramid was divided into six tiers, with Vince Carter as the lone Tier 1 player. Carter is often considered the greatest dunker of all time. The list was based on in-game dunking and the Slam Dunk contest.
Carter has one of the best highlight dunk reels of all time. He posterized a lot of players during his career and his performance in the 2000 Slam Dunk contest was legendary.
Meanwhile, Tier 2 had three players. They were Michael Jordan, Julius Erving and Dominique Wilkins. All three players are among the best in-game dunkers ever. They also won the Slam Dunk contest in their respective careers. Jordan and Wilkins even dueled in the 1988 edition of the competition.
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and Darryl Dawkins were in Tier 3. The next tier also had some great high-flyers such as Clyde Drexler, Aaron Gordon, Shawn Kemp, David Thompson and Jason Richardson.
Shaquille O'Neal, a big man, was not known for his high-flying dunks. He was a power dunker and often slammed it hard. He was so powerful that he allegedly broke at least 19 rims and backboards during his career.
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Shaquille O'Neal reveals his greatest contest dunker and in-game dunker
In one of the first episodes of "Open Court," Shaquille O'Neal was asked who he thinks is the greatest contest dunker ever. O'Neal believes that Vince Carter is the best slam dunk contest winner, while also giving a shout out to Tracy McGrady for his signature backboard toss dunk.
"Vince Carter in the dunk contest," O'Neal said. "Tracy McGrady in the game 'cause he always had the same move where he throws it with left, go around and catch in on the right."
As for Shaquille O'Neal's best in-game dunker, it's Julius Erving. "Dr. J" was O'Neal's favorite player growing up. In some interviews, Shaq has even called Erving the greatest player of all time.
"To me, 'Dr. J' is the best ever," O'Neal said on the "Drink Champs" podcast. "Cause he started it, and then, you know, came Magic and then Mike. So, I think when we have these conversations, we need to go by eras."
