Shaquille O'Neal in the Hall of Fame: 5 reasons there will never be another Shaq

4. The utter dominance: Domishaqtrix

Most Dominant Big Man Ever to play in the NBA

Raw, primal dominance. Shaq did everything to firmly establish his reign in the paint short of marking his territory in a primal way. After he called out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for not reaching out to mentor him, Kareem reiterated that Shaq's game was less finesse and more raw power, and he felt that Shaq didn't really need a hand.

That underscores Shaq's offensive prowess, that the all-time leader in the NBA in points scored would feel that Shaq doesn't really need to learn anything from him. It also glosses over the skills Shaq had in the post. He had a soft baby hook that he could launch over the defense from outside the paint as well. And his rumbling spin moves would resemble a meat grinder tearing into anything in its path.

In his prime, there was absolutely nobody who could challenge Shaq. The game plan to account for him would usually be a team effort to frantically try and deny him the ball, and say one's prayers. Or to let him do the damage one on one and limit the rest of the team, hoping for the best. Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming were the only players who could stand tall to him one on one whilst the likes of Ben Wallace, Tim Duncan and Alonzo Mourning came close as well.

Shaq's dominance, in fact, forced Don Nelson to get innovative and come up with Hack a Shaq, fouling him and sending him to the free-throw line where he was a career 52.7 % shooter. He's almost unanimously acknowledged as the top three most dominant offensive players of all time along with Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

His blend of size, strength and athleticism were a nuclear mix exploding in the paint. His career field goal percentage of 58.2 % gives an indication of how utterly dominant he was inside.

Here's a look at Shaq annihilating the Clippers with 61 points 28 rebounds on his birthday: