NBA Fun Facts: Shaquille O'Neal and the Accomplishments of NBA Greats

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Everyone always associates certain players with certain accolades. For example, the first thing that pops to mind when someone mentions Bill Russel is 11 rings. Dwight Howard is probably most associated with his three defensive Player of the Year awards. The list goes on. 

Many players are associated with only certain aspects of their careers. Other aspects are sometimes disregarded or overshadowed by their overall career accomplishments.

Let's take a look at some of the known, and unknown, accomplishments of certain NBA careers. 

Dominique Wilkins

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What He Was Most Known for:

Dominique "The Human Highlight Film" Wilkins was most known for his powerful dunks.

He is among the best dunkers in the history of the league. When he went up for the jam, everyone expected something special and, 99 percent of the time, he delivered.

 

What He Isn't Known for:

Not many would associate Dominique with a championship.

However, he did get one before he retired—just not in the NBA.

Dominique won the Euroleague Championship with his Greek team, the Panathinaikos.

Robert Parish

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What He Was Most Known for:

Robert Parish is most associated with winning three rings with the Boston Celtics.

He was part of Boston's original big three and gave the Celtics a strong interior presence, along with Kevin McHale. His shooting and defensive abilities were also strong parts of this big man's game.

 

What He Isn't Known for:

Robert Parish has played more games than anyone else in the history of the league, with 1,611 games played. His ability to stay healthy throughout the years remains unmatched.

He is also the oldest player to ever win a ring, which he did at age 43 with the 1997 Chicago Bulls.

Karl Malone and John Stockton

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What They Were Most Known for:

Karl "The Mailman" Malone is most known for being the second all-time scoring leader, behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He's also known for his two consecutive finals appearances in 1997 and 1998.

John Stockton is most known for being one of the best pure point guards in the history of the NBA. He was a force to be reckoned with and leads the NBA in assists. He is 4,000 assists ahead of the second assist leader, Jason Kidd.  

 

What They Aren't Known for:

Karl Malone may not have the edge over Kareem in scoring, but he does lead the league in turnovers. Karl averaged 3.07 turnovers per game, with 4,524 total.

What about John Stockton? He's second in turnovers. John averaged 2.82 turnovers per game, with 4,244 total.

Even with all those turnovers, the two still made a deadly (if not the best) combo for over a decade.  

Shaq

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What He Was Most Known for:

Shaq is most known for his three rings with the Lakers.

His ability to power past opponents remains unmatched.

Shaq knew he had a big body—and he made sure that you knew that.

Even at the age of 38 (he only played four games for the Celtics when he turned 39) his presence was still massive on the court.

 

What He Isn't Known for:

Did you know he's not a good free-throw shooter?! 

Okay, on a more serious note, Shaq did once average 50 percent from the three in 1996, his last season with the Orlando Magic.

Also, during his first season in the league, he averaged a career high in rebounds (13.9), blocks (3.5) and games played (81)—which means that Shaq never played a full season in the NBA.

Ben Wallace

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What He Was Most Known for:

It's all about the defense for Big Ben.

He's most known for his 2000-2006 run with the Pistons, where he earned four Defensive Player of the Year awards (a feat only matched by Dikembe Mutombo) and a championship in 2004.

Ben Wallace is one of the best defensive players of the decade—maybe even one of the best defenders in the history of the league. 

 

What He Isn't Known for:

While Wallace wasn't someone you wanted to mess with on defense, he's never been an offensive threat. Over the course of his career, he's never averaged over 10 points in a season (and only twice in the playoffs).

He's never averaged over 50 percent from the free-throw line, either.

One can only wonder what would have happened if Ben had developed an offense game.

Thanks for Reading

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