While there is no question that Demetrious Johnson was a phenomenal fighter–his flying armbar finish of Ray Borg is one of the greatest moments in MMA history–there are a few things working against him when it comes to being in the pound-for-pound GOAT conversation. 

1). Johnson fought the majority of his career in the flyweight division which was, by far, the weakest MMA weight class while he was active. The competition was so watered down during Johnson’s run in the UFC that the company planned to eliminate it until the Brandon Moreno-Deiveson Figueiredo quadrilogy saved it. In fact, the UFC valued the division so little that it took the unprecedented step of trading Johnson to another organization.

2). Johnson spent the last four years of his career fighting in ONE where he didn’t face a single fighter with even one fight in the UFC.

3). Johnson never faced Moreno, Figueiredo, Alexandre Pantoja, or Askar Askarov, who were the best flyweights during Johnson’s career aside from Henry Cejudo.

4). Not only did Johnson not face Moreno, Figueiredo, Pantoja, or Askarov, he didn’t beat a single fighter who has a victory over them, which not only underscores how relatively weak Johnson’s fight schedule was, but also how weak the resumes of the fighter’s Johnson defeated were. 

5). Johnson lost to the two biggest names that he fought: Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo.

6). Johnson started off as a bantamweight and moved to the easier flyweight division after getting outclassed by Cruz. Had he stayed in the bantamweight division, he would’ve had a number of marquee opponents like Cruz (again), Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw, Sean O’Malley, and Jose Aldo. Johnson not only missed out on facing the murderer’s row at bantamweight, but having also not faced Moreno, Figueiredo, and Pantoja at flyweight means that he didn’t face the top competition in either division. 

7). As of the September 10, 2024 rankings, Johnson had zero wins over the top 15 ranked UFC flyweights and 0 wins over the top 35 ranked flyweights in ANY company according to Tapology’s flyweight rankings. 

8). Johnson’s knockout loss to Adriano Moraes and draw against Ian McCall are results that very few fighters in the GOAT conversation have, if any.     

Mighty Mouse gets a lot of love–and he deserves a lot of love–but it’s hard to overlook the fact that he lost to the two best opponents he faced, had a schedule absent of many of the best fighters in the world, and fought in the weakest division in MMA. It would be disrespectful to the deeper weight classes to ignore the huge drop-off in the competition level at flyweight. The elite fighters from those divisions faced a gauntlet that Johnson never did. Even still, I have him rated well ahead of Moreno, Figueiredo, and Pantoja, and slightly ahead of Cejudo. It’s not unreasonable to call him the flyweight GOAT, but how would he have fared against the true killers of the flyweight division? We’ll never know. 

Dealing in the realm of opinion precludes us from ever truly knowing the greatest at anything, but Robinson is very likely the greatest two-way center since the NBA/ABA merger. He is what everyone thinks Bill Russell was. Robinson wasn’t just a defensive wall who led the NBA in defensive rating a record five times, but he was also an offensive force who is one of only three centers in the last 45 years to lead the league in scoring. In fact, Robinson’s two-way prowess is so unique that he is the only player in NBA history to have led the league in defensive rating and scoring. His impact on the NBA was swift and stunning. Prior to his rookie season in San Antonio, the Spurs were coming off a dreadful season in which they won just 21 games. With Robinson, that total ballooned to 55 wins the following season. This was the largest year over year improvement over the first 40+ years of the NBA. The team that beat that record? The 1997-1998 San Antonio Spurs, who improved their win total by 36 games when Robinson returned after missing all but six games the prior season due to injury (Note: The Spurs also had the luxury of adding Tim Duncan through the draft, which, come on!).  

Speaking of Duncan, Robinson’s greatness is often overshadowed by The Big Fundamental’s extraordinary career. However, Robinson’s trophy case is impressive in its own right. He won an NBA MVP, finished 2nd twice, and 3rd twice. He won the Defensive Player of the Year, and finished 2nd three times. All this despite missing two years of his prime serving in the Navy and his age-31 season due to injury. Robinson’s two-way dominance, stacked trophy case, and the eye-popping ledger below easily places him among the 20 greatest basketball players in NBA history.

David Robinson’s Resume

1). Only center in the last 50 years to have a season of 20+ Win Shares

2). Only center in the last 50 years to have two seasons of 18+ Win Shares.

3). Only center in the last 50 years to have three seasons of 17.5+ Win Shares

4). Only center in the last 50 years to have four seasons of 17+ Win Shares

5). Only center in the last 50 years to have five seasons of 15+ Win Shares

6). Only center in the last 50 years to have six seasons of 13.5+ Win Shares

7). Only center in the last 50 years to have seven seasons of 13.5+ Win Shares

8). Only center in the last 50 years to have eight seasons of 13+ Win Shares

9). Only center in the last 50 years to have nine seasons of 12.5+ Win Shares

10). Only center in the last 50 years to have 10 seasons of 12+ Win Shares

11). Led the NBA in Defensive Rating a record five times. 

12). Led the NBA Playoffs in Defensive Rating a record five times.

13). Most points by a center in a single game since 1962 (71).

14). 20 point margin between Offense Rating (116) and Defensive Rating (96) is the largest of any player in NBA history with a career ppg average of at least 14 points.

Editor’s note: This is my favorite David Robinson stat.

15). Only player in NBA history to have led the league in Defensive Rating and scoring. 

16). Only player in NBA history to have career averages of 21+ points, 10+ rebounds, 3+ blocks and a .515+ field goal percentage. 

17). Only player in NBA history to lead the NBA in scoring, blocks, rebounds, free throw attempts, free throws made, Win Shares, Value over Replacement Player (VROP), and Player Efficiency Rating. 

18). All-time leader in Defensive Box Plus/Minus

19). 3rd all-time in Win Shares/48 minutes

20). 4th all-time in Defensive Rating

21). 6th all-time in NBA Playoffs Defensive Rating

22). 6th all-time in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) 

23). 6th all-time in Box Plus/Minus

24). 10th all-time in free throws per 100 possessions

25). 12th all-time in Value over Replacement Player (VORP)

26). 16th all-time in Win Shares

27). Only player in NBA history with 170+ Win Shares while playing fewer than 1,000 games.

28). Only player in NBA history with 80+ VORP while playing fewer than 1,000 games. 

The word underrated typically implies a fairly significant level of devaluation from actual performance. In the classic sense, it’s hard to say Shaquille O’Neal is underrated. He’s universally considered an all-time great. However, Shaq is definitely underrated when it comes to where he falls in the pecking order of the all-time greats. It’s common to see Shaq tossed in at the back of a top-ten list, or outside of it all together. This, of course, is bananas. There are only two basketball players in history who unquestionably have a better resume than Shaq: LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar–whom I have rated one spot ahead–isn’t immune to a resume standoff with Shaq, given that Abdul-Jabbar played in a competitively compromised league with half of the pool of professional basketball players playing in the ABA. The case for Shaq in the top-5 is an easy one to make. The case for him outside of the top-5? Well, I don’t know what that looks like. 

There’s no need to get complicated when it comes to making the case for Shaq in the top five. At 7’1, 370 pounds, he was the most physically dominating player the NBA has ever seen. There is a lot of hyperbole and lore surrounding Wilt Chamberlain that belies how watered down the NBA was in the 1960s. There is no hyperbole with Shaq. He was significantly more efficient than Chamberlain, and did it in a big boy league featuring Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo, Dwight Howard, Pao Gasol, Alonzo Mourning, Arvydas Sabonis, and Ben Wallace. 

Shaq’s resume is chock full of statistics that quantify his dominance, starting with his work in the playoffs when it mattered most:  

Shaq’s Dominance

1). One of only two players in NBA history to win three consecutive Finals MVPs. Michael Jordan is the other.  

2). Averaged a cartoonish 35.9 points, 15.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 blocks across three consecutive NBA Finals from 2000-2002. 

3). Pulled down 866 offensive rebounds in the NBA Playoffs, which are, by far, the most all-time. Only Tim Duncan (778) is within 220 of Shaq, and Duncan played 35 more playoff games! 

Editor’s note: This is my favorite Shaq stat. 

4). Led the NBA in field goal percentage a record 10 times. Wilt Chamberlain (9) is the only other player to do it more than five times. 

5). Only player since 1974 to lead the league in scoring and field goal percentage in the same season.  

6). Only player since 1974 to lead the league in field goal percentage and finish in the top-3 in scoring in the same season, and he did it six times. Nobody else who has led the NBA in field goal percentage over that timeframe has even finished in the top 5 in scoring.

7). Only player in NBA history to average at least 23 points per game with a .560 shooting percentage, and he did it with a .582 shooting percentage!

8). Led the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) for five consecutive years. Only Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Wilt Chamberlain have had longer streaks.

9). Led the NBA in Points per 36 minutes six times. Jordan is the only other player to do the same.

10). Led the NBA in Points per 100 possessions five times. Jordan is the only other player to do the same.  

11). Finished in the top-2 in scoring six times. No center since 1975 has done it more than twice. 

12). One of only two centers since 1976 to lead the NBA in scoring more than once. Joel Embiid is the other.

13). Holds the highest field goal percentage in NBA Finals history among players with at least 10 Finals games played.

14). Eight 1st Team All-NBA selections at center are the most by any player to debut since 1970. 

15). Led the NBA in field goals per 100 possessions eight times. Michael Jordan (9) is the only other player in NBA history to do it more than four times. 

16). 5th highest average in NBA Finals history (28.3).

17). 24 rebounds in Game 2 of the 2000 NBA Finals are the most since 1972.

18). 3rd most NBA MVP award shares since 1984.

19). 5th highest career Player Efficiency Rating (PER) in history.

The playing style in the NBA has evolved significantly since Shaq put on a jersey, which might obscure how difficult it was to survive in the paint in the 1990s and early 2000s when refs treated foul calls as optional. In a league full of bullies, Shaq was the biggest bully of them all. He scored more points, more efficiently than any player in league history. His three-year playoff run from 2000-2002 is arguably the greatest stretch any NBA player has had–regular season or playoffs-ever.  If Shaq was even a 70% free throw shooter, he would have been the greatest player of all-time. Still, outside of LeBron James and Michael Jordan, Shaq bows to no one.