There’s Never A Bad Time To Gawk At Young Shaq Highlights

One of the things he no longer has, to cite an example, is jumping. Another is running. This got me thinking about what an utter mutant Shaquille O'Neal was. This is Embiid's age-31 season. In his NBA career, regular season and playoffs combined, Embiid has played 551 games, and he wears them like Jacob Marley's chains and money boxes. He has not played in over half of any regular season since 2022–23, and over his career he has missed 30 or more games in more seasons than not. O'Neal—taller and heavier than Embiid, but also playing a more rugged style in a more violent era, having played more than three times as much college basketball as Embiid, infamously never doing anything to stay in shape between seasons—played his 551st NBA game somewhere in the middle of his age-27 season. He won the MVP award that year. He played in 79 games that regular season (plus 23 playoff games on the way to his first championship and Finals MVP award) and averaged 40 minutes per game.