NBA Twitter roasts Mad Dog for claiming Shaquille O'Neal is only the 5th best center ever: "Not picking no center over Shaq"

ESPN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had an interesting take about former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, who he thinks isn’t a top-three center in the history of the league. His co-hosts, Stephen A. Smith and Jay Williams, were in shambles after hearing his statements about O’Neal.

During a segment on First Take, ‘Mad Dog’ boldly claimed that Shaq is the fifth-best center in the league. Smith and Williams were surprised and asked their co-host to name the other four centers he thought were better than the LA Lakers star.

"Shaq is what? The fift-best center in the NBA?" Mad Dog said.

"You want me to name them for you? Kareem -Abdul-Jabbar], Wilt... You're not gonna put Wilt Chamberlain who averaged 50 points a game and scored a 100 in 30 minutes? You're nuts."

‘Mad Dog’ added that Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon was a better player than O’Neal. The analyst didn’t stop there, as he mentioned Moses Malone being a better center than O’Neal. Williams hilariously prayed while Smith raised his voice to argue with his co-host.

Fans went into a frenzy when they heard the comments made by ‘Mad Dog’ about O’Neal. Here are some of the best reactions from the fans.

You might also be interested in reading this: “I’m still #1” - Shaquille O’Neal calls out ‘any challengers’ after dropping freestyle rap over Drake’s “I’m Goin In”

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Shaquille O’Neal criticized Zion Williamson

Shaquille O’Neal dominated the league during his stint, which is one of the many reasons he’s remained relevant to this day. Now that he’s an NBA analyst, he knows how to criticize players’ dominance. One player he often shares his thoughts about is Zion Williamson, who has been struggling this season.

In a recent episode of Inside the NBA, O’Neal doubled down on his criticism of the All-Star forward.

"I'm the president when it comes to being the dominant big man," O'Neal said. "There is no other. There was another, rest in peace, Mr. Wilt Chamberlain. When it comes to being a dominant big man, I am the authority, I am the go-to guy. I sat there and watched him. I said, 'he doesn't run hard. He doesn't create easy baskets for himself. And he looks like he's not ready.' That was me telling him that 'if you do this, you will get to the next level.' We only criticize people that we like."

In the past, O’Neal had criticized the young forward for being unable to condition his body well.

Also read: “Best player of all-time”: Shaquille O’Neal reckons Steph Curry has passed him, ponders GOAT consideration