“I wanted to be like Patrick Ewing” - Shaquille O’Neal says Patrick Ewing was his idol despite growing up watching the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and other legendary centers

We all remember Shaquille O'Neal as one of the NBA's most dominant big-men ever, destined for the Hall of Fame, and part of one of the most iconic LA Lakers teams of all time.

Despite Shaquille O'Neal being such a force of nature during his career, there was a time when he was just a young baller, watching others, trying to learn from their games, and molding his own as a result.

Speaking to the NBA, as part of their NBA75 Stories series, Shaquille O'Neal recalls Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks, being the big-man who impressed him most as a youngster, and the only player to ever intimidate Shaquille O’Neal.

"When I was coming up, my father always said ‘Hey! I’m gonna make you like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain.’ And as a youngster, I used to practise all these old school moves…old school moves…really old school moves. And then one day, I was watching Patrick Ewing at Georgetown, big guy, mean, physical, throwing people around, running up the court. And I said, ‘Dad, I wanna be like that’ and he said, ‘I know, that’s why I got you watching the game.’ So I’m watching Patrick Ewing, he wore number 33, so as I became better, I wanted to be like Patrick Ewing. He was the first guy that when I played against him, I was actually intimidated." Shaquille O’Neal told the NBA.

Ewing would end his NBA career without winning a single NBA championship, although he did win numerous individual accolades, and was an 11-time All-Star. Still, while Ewing is considered one of the better big-men of his generation, it's safe to say that Shaquille O'Neal comfortably eclipsed his idol, both in terms of talent and silverwear.

Comparing Shaquille O’Neal's NBA career to Patrick Ewing's

Shaquille O’Neal ended his career with four NBA Championships to his name, along with a regular season MVP award and three NBA finals MVP awards. It's Shaquille O'Neal's dominance that once led the late, great Kobe Bryant to claim that his former teammate could have been the greatest player of all time, if only he had the Black Mamba's work ethic.

Shaquille O’Neal and Ewing would go on to have some epic battles between them, with O'Neal tasting victory on 15 of the 26 times the pair faced off throughout the years. During those 26 contests, Shaquille O'Neal averaged 28.7 points, 12 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game, while Ewing accumulated 21.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2 blocks.

Despite Shaquille O'Neal surpassing Ewing's talent level, it's safe to say that the next generation of big-men are in good hands, with the Knicks legend currently operating as head coach of Georgetown University. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal keeps us all entertained with his role as an NBA analyst.