Any list of the greatest NBA players of all-time is sure to include at least a few Los Angeles Lakers legends. Everyone has their own list, but almost all of them will include the likes of Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all of whom wore the purple and gold and brought championships to the franchise.
Over the years, much of the debate has focused on the very top of the list, particularly whether LeBron or Michael Jordan is the GOAT. But filling out an entire top 10 list is not an easy task either as great players are sure to be left off no matter who someone chooses.
This was certainly the case as Shaq recently revealed his top-10 greatest NBA players on the upcoming Netflix documentary Power Moves. O’Neal put Jordan at the top of his list with Kobe and LeBron following him, but surprisingly left off Abdul-Jabbar:
Shaq reveals his top 10 greatest NBA players of all time 👀
Watch one of the all-time greats make his next play on Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal premieres June 4. pic.twitter.com/yxonDJvM9m
— Netflix (@netflix) June 3, 2025
Shaq did take himself off the list as he would have placed himself at No. 10 over Julius Erving and the list is still an excellent one. These lists are all subjective and no one can argue with who O’Neal feels are the best because that’s his opinion, and also because he is one of the greatest players ever as well.
Even still, to leave Kareem off the list is a bit of a surprise as many would argue he is top three as the second-leading scorer in NBA history along with being a six-time NBA Champion and six-time NBA MVP. But Shaq has his list and that is what the Lakers legend believes.
Magic Johnson and Bill Russell round out his top five after Jordan, Kobe and LeBron. Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan and Erving then complete Shaq’s top 10.
Shaquille O’Neal recalls pushing Kobe Bryant’s buttons on the Lakers
Of course, Shaquille O’Neal was a long-time teammate of the man he put at No. 2 on his list, the late, great Kobe Bryant. Kobe and Shaq remain one of the greatest duos of all-time and their issues didn’t stop them from winning back-to-back-to-back NBA Championships together.
And O’Neal insists that their issues were nothing personal and says he would regularly push Kobe’s buttons in order to bring the best out of the young superstar. Shaq said he knew Bryant would always want to outdo him so he would always tell him it was his team and Kobe needed to get in line, and ultimately it worked.
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