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Shaquille O'Neal was drafted as the No. 1 pick in 1992 by the Orlando Magic. He continued to play until the 2010-11 season, which meant his professional basketball career spanned two decades. When he started out, the NBA was very different from the way it is today.
The league's style and rules back then allowed players to get away with rougher plays. The pace was much slower, and even the expectations from the different positions have changed quite a bit since Shaq first started playing in the league.
Due to how much the league has changed, comparisons between eras have become inevitable. One of the common points for comparison has always been whether a certain player or group of players would do better or worse if they ended up playing in a different era.
This was addressed in a recent post shared by Shaquille O'Neal on his Instagram stories.
The post was originally from the Instagram account named "bilekoazizawissajr." It was a clip of a man comparing some of the most notable centers from the 1990s against centers from the 2000s:
"Which era of Centers is better?" the man on the video said. "With 2000s you got Lakers Shaq, Orlando Dwight Howard, Pistons Ben Wallace, right? Versus 1990s David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaq. The 1990s Shaq didn't win a championship but he did go to the Finals. Hakeem, two Finals, one Defensive Player of the Year. David Robinson, Defensive Player of the Year, and won a championship in the 90's, 1999."
Then he proceeded to list some notable accomplishments for the 2000s centers:
"But that 2000s Shaq three-peat. Dwight Howard three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Ben Wallace upset my Lakers." He added. "I'm going with the 1990s... Hakeem Olajuwon, what he did to Dave Robinson, Shaq. Yup, 1990s Centers are better. I said it."
The comparisons between the two eras were not really in-depth since only a few stars were compared such as Ben Wallace and David Robinson. These men are a very small group compared to the centers who had solid careers during those eras.
The accolades that were mentioned were also similar to one another and there was no explanation as to why the Defensive Player of the Year awards given out to the 90s era centers were better than the ones awarded to Howard or Ben Wallace when he was with the Detroit Pistons.
A brief comparison of Shaquille O'Neal's in the 1990s and 2000s
Shaquille O'Neal started his career strongly. During his rookie season, he averaged 23.4 points and 13.9 rebounds. His stats earned him the Rookie of the Year award and he was the first rookie to be given an All-Star nod since Michael Jordan.
He continued his dominance throughout the 90s wherein he won the NBA's scoring title (1995), a spot on the All-NBA First team (1998) and several All-Star team selections (1993-1998).
In the 2000s, he remained a dominant force but his numbers slowly started to decline. However, he won three straight championships with the LA Lakers and then a fourth with the Miami Heat. All his titles were won in the 2000s.
He also won his only MVP award in 2000. Additionally, he was awarded with a spot to more All-NBA First Teams (2000-2006).
Regardless of how one looks at it, Shaquille O'Neal had one of the most dominant careers in the NBA and he did so from the 1990s to the 2000s.
