"That ain't no disrespect to Malone, Barkley & Kareem": Shaquille O'Neal lists controversial top 10 greatest, days after Dr. J got fired for his list

Recently, former NBA player Julius Erving faced criticism from fans for excluding Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James from his top 10 all-time players list. In response, Shaquille O'Neal created his own top 10 greatest players list, while also showing respect for Erving's list.

O'Neal split his list into two teams: the first team and the second team. Surprisingly, his first team did not include Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

"Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and then [expletive] me," O'Neal said. "That ain't no disrespect to Malone, [Charles] Barkley and Kareem. Hey, that's my list. Understand what I'm saying?"

For his second team of players, O'Neal included a current player Stephen Curry, similar to the first team's inclusion of LeBron James. He also inserted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the second team after not including him in his top 5, despite being aware that it would now make it the top 11.

"Curry, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Malone, and Isiah Thomas," O'Neal said. "Yeah. And you can quote me on that. Also, you got to put Kareem on that second team too. Dr. J has his list and I have my list. I'm all good with Dr. J's list."

From Shaquille O'Neal's perspective, he did not feel at all disrespected by the NBA legend's all-time list.

"Hey, man, I got no problem with Dr. J's list," O'Neal said. "He's the great Dr. J. He paved the way for all of us. He can say what he wants and nobody should say a damn thing about it."

It's all a matter of respecting one's own opinion of Shaquille O'Neal, especially considering the legacy that Julius Erving left on the NBA. After spending five seasons in the ABA (American Basketball Association), Julius Erving played 11 seasons in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers.

For his career, he averaged 22.0 points per game (50.7% shooting) and 6.7 rebounds. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest small forwards in NBA history for his NBA championship and two ABA championships. Erving also won the NBA MVP award (1981) and two ABA MVP awards (1974-1976).

Shaquille O'Neal's first-time interaction with Julius Erving

In a Basketball Network article by Virgil Villanueva, Shaquille O'Neal talked about the first time he met Julius Erving as the NBA legend was supposed to talk for either Baton Rouge or LSU.

"He woke me up in my college dorm room one day," O'Neal said. "I was like, 'God? God is a black man?' And then I said, 'Dr. J?' And after I said that, I thought I was dead. I said, 'Damn, I'm dying in college? Can you believe this?' And it was Dr. J. We talked and we had a good conversation."

Dr. J's influence on Shaquille O'Neal as a basketball player does not get recognized enough as an integral aspect of his growing up. Back when his stepfather, Sergeant Philip Arthur Harrison, brought him to see Julius Erving perform on the court, O'Neal was immediately inspired.

He wanted to be just like Julius Erving and under the tutelage of his stepfather, the rest was history.