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Sonny Hill Says “Wilt Would Move Shaq Like A Ragdoll”, Wilt Shakes Shaq’s Hand Like He Is One
Back in 2012, on what would have been Wilt Chamberlain’s 76th birthday, Philadelphia basketball guru, Sonny Hill, visited War Room Sports to talk about Wilt Chamberlain. Hill, then shared an interesting story about Wilt and Shaquille O’Neal.
“I ran across people and people will say to me, ‘Well, Shaquille weighs 50 to 75 pounds more than Wilt and he’s been able to do whatever.’” Hill then said, “Wilt would take Shaquille O’Neal and move him around like he was a ragdoll.”
h/t: War Room Sports
We could only imagine. Wilt and Shaq, two giants going head to head, would have been a dream match for a lot of us.
The closest we’ve come to see these two players on a basketball court was when Chamberlain shook hands with Shaq before the start of a Orlando Magic vs New York Knicks game, which also was the first matchup between O’Neal and Patrick Ewing.
Wilt who was listed as a 7’1” center, weighing in at 275 lbs, used to bench 500 lbs. The Big Dipper really was a freak of nature, but so was Shaq, who, during his active career, was listed at 7’1” and 325 lb. We’ve seen Shaq break rims and backboards, post-up centers like they’re small guards and bully 2-3 defenders in the paint. Wilt moving Shaq like a ragdoll might be a little exaggeration, but if anyone could have bullied Shaq at his absolute peak of athleticism and conditioning, we’re putting our money on Wilt.
Stories are stories but there’s no mistake just how dominant and strong Wilt was. He didn’t dominate an era for nothing.
