The NBA has changed a bit since Shaquille O'Neal's day. While being one of the best players to ever play the game, which made him quite a rival for the Utah Jazz back in the day, one can only wonder how he would fare against some of the big men in the modern game.
Three-time NBA Champion Danny Green believes that O'Neal would not have done well against some of the NBA's best young centers in the game, including Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, both of whom are very good rim protectors.
"Wemby and Chet Holmgren would've given Shaq a lot of hell. ... Wemby didn't quit against Joel Embiid. Shaq and Joel aren't much different in size."
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 8, 2025
Danny Green isn't rolling with Shaq saying he'd make Wemby & Chet quit 😅@MichelleDBeadle | @DGreen_14 | @ChandlerParsons pic.twitter.com/7C4VDT9Qvs
It's fair to wonder what Shaq would have looked like against them. Keep in mind that he was pretty much unstoppable at the top of his game. Even the NBA's best rim protectors really didn't have an answer for him.
A Jazz alum explained why he didn't agree with Green.
Derrick Favors believes O'Neal would have dominated Wembanyama & Holmgren
Esteemed Jazz alum Derrick Favors explained why he believes neither Wembanyama nor Holmgren would have kept up with prime O'Neal for an entire game.
Chet and Vic are really good players!! But Every shot will come up short after the first quarter. The amount of energy it would take to box Shaq out and hold your ground rather he has the ball or not will take their legs and strength away by the third quarter.
— Derrick Favors (@dfavors14) April 9, 2025
What made Shaq an all-time great was how athletic he was given his build. Most players as big as him were pretty slow and couldn't jump that high, but O'Neal was the total package. The NBA had to bend rules to limit his dominance when he was on the floor because he was a freak.
A lot has indeed changed since O'Neal left the NBA, but it'd be hard to see how someone like him would struggle that much because the modern NBA wouldn't be able to match his physicality, which Favors alludes to. Because floor spacing is more emphasized now than in his day, maybe teams would try to exploit how big he was. However, Shaq also had a lot of finesse offensively.
However, something that goes unnoticed about Shaq is that he was quite an accomplished defender too. He wasn't quite Rudy Gobert, but O'Neal made three All-Defense teams in his career. He was a presence on both sides of the floor.
It hasn't been too long since Favors last played in the NBA, so he knows firsthand what it's like to play against some of the modern big men. Also, Favors started his NBA career just as O'Neal was about to end his in 2010, so he knows what it's like to go up against
Sure, O'Neal was on his last legs when Favors came in, but Favors got a taste of what yesterday's and today's NBA is like. If there's a player who definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to this particular subject, it's him.