LeBron James potentially passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in all-time scoring list stands as a big deal for Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal admitted that he’s envious of the impending feat that the four-time league MVP is about to achieve next season.
“To pass up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I can truthfully say I’m jealous of that feat,” O’Neal said in his appearance in the “Impaulsive” podcast with Logan Paul.
O’Neal revealed that the primary root of his jealousy on James is his notion of not overtaking fellow legendary big man Wilt Chamberlain.
Chamberlain’s dominance has been the measuring stick of O’Neal throughout his career, and the all-time great center is very much reflective that he wasn’t able to get through it.
“I wanted to pass up Wilt Chamberlain, ’cause then I was going to arrogantly say I’m the most dominant big man ever, and I don’t wanna hear anybody else’s name,” O’Neal said. “So now when you talk about most dominant, you bring Wilt, Bill, and Shaq. It’s cool, but I wanted to be up there by myself.”
James is entering the 2022-23 season 1,326 points away from passing Abdul-Jabbar in the scoring mountaintop. As such, he at least needs a 16.2 points average within 82 games to shatter the record.
