Shaquille O'Neal?

[Darth Llama]

If you don't think Shaq is one of the best centers ever, you're plain nuts.

I'm not saying Olajuwon or Wilt weren't great, that would be insane as well, but come on. Shaq is right up there with those guys, he was the most unstoppable center in the NBA for a decade. There was no answer for Shaq, none.

Shaq is a legend, plain and simple. All the other guys mentioned are great as well, and some better then Shaq, but Shaq cannot be left out of that group. The man was one of the best ever to set foot on an NBA court.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

If you don't think Shaq is one of the best centers ever, you're plain nuts.

I'm not saying Olajuwon or Wilt weren't great, that would be insane as well, but come on. Shaq is right up there with those guys, he was the most unstoppable center in the NBA for a decade. There was no answer for Shaq, none.

Shaq is a legend, plain and simple. All the other guys mentioned are great as well, and some better then Shaq, but Shaq cannot be left out of that group. The man was one of the best ever to set foot on an NBA court.

Those guys on my list made it to more than the a few token shots at the 2nd NBA defense team. You have to play both sides of the court to be one of the top 10 ever.

 

[Chaplin]

Those guys on my list made it to more than the a few token shots at the 2nd NBA defense team. You have to play both sides of the court to be one of the top 10 ever.

Don't you think it funny that none of those guys (except Olajuwon and Jordan) really played after 1990? Doesn't that mean anything?

 

[Chris_Sanders]

However...if I had to rank the centers of all time "at their prime".
Wilt
Kareem
Russell
Hakeem
Shaq

So was Shaq one of the top 50 players? Absolutely. Was he top 10. Absolutely not.

I wish we could have seen Sabonis play before he was 45. Supposedly he would have been right up there with the Dream.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Don't you think it funny that none of those guys (except Olajuwon and Jordan) really played after 1990? Doesn't that mean anything?

Not really. For most of his career Shaq hasn't even been the best player currently in the NBA, let alone in the top 10 overall.

Number of Times Shaq has been NBA MVP? One

That says it all.

Edit: He won it once. I missed it!

 

[Chaplin]

Not really. For most of his career Shaq hasn't even been the best player currently in the NBA, let alone in the top 10 overall.

Number of Times Shaq has been NBA MVP? One

That says it all.

Edit: He won it once. I missed it!

The best player in the NBA for the past 3 years has never won an MVP. What about that?

PS: It's all good Chris.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Hmm..multiple NBA MVP Winners:

6 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5 - Michael Jordan
5 - Bill Russell
4 - Wilt Chamberlain
3 - Larry Bird
3 - Magic Johnson
3 - Moses Malone
2 - Tim Duncan
2 - Karl Malone
2 - Steve Nash
2 - Bob Pettit

Those top 6 guys look familiar

 

[Chris_Sanders]

The best player in the NBA for the past 3 years has never won an MVP. What about that?

PS: It's all good Chris.

Yeah you can go round and round all day about "greatest lists". Makes fun conversation though.

If this trade doesn't happen I am going to poll it though

 

[Covert Rain]

Yeah you can go round and round all day about "greatest lists". Makes fun conversation though.

If this trade doesn't happen I am going to poll it though

I hated the Bulls but the best player IMO in NBA history is Jordan. It's not even close IMO. Especially, considering the centers he had to play against.

 

[Darth Llama]

However...if I had to rank the centers of all time "at their prime".
Wilt
Kareem
Russell
Hakeem
Shaq

So was Shaq one of the top 50 players? Absolutely. Was he top 10. Absolutely not.

I wish we could have seen Sabonis play before he was 45. Supposedly he would have been right up there with the Dream.

I would agree with that.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I hated the Bulls but the best player IMO in NBA history is Jordan. It's not even close IMO. Especially, considering the centers he had to play against.

The MVPs agree with you.

I saw some Wilt games on ESPN classic and I was amazed at his shooting range. I can't fathom what he would have scored with a 3 point line and a defensive 3 second rule.

Two changes that changed offensive basketball as we know it. Goal Tending (thanks George Mikan!) and defensive 3 second.

I actually LOL to think what Mikan would have scored if goal tending wasn't illegal.

 

[slinslin]

Shaq never dominated the league like all three of those players did. Those players were once a generation kind of guys. That's the point I am making.

Shaq had a good run for a couple years. Shaq's prime was their entire career.

LOL?

From 93-2003 he averaged ~28ppg 12rpg 3apg 2.5bpg at ~58%FG.

In one year he AVERAGED 30ppg 14rpg 4apg 3bpg.

He won championships with 2 different teams has 4 rings or so and a couple more finals appearances.

And please dont bring up stats from the 70s or 80s without considering pace, talent, athleticism and defenses.

To give you an idea the Suns pace in the last 3 years would be one of the slowest in the league in almost any year of the 80s and even more so 70s. Defense? Non-existant.
Modern basketball started somewhere between 93-96 funnily enough at the time Shaq started to own the league.

 

[NDNACE]

I don't think Shaq passes his physical in Phoenix so all this trade talk is moot. But if the Phoenix doctors give the thumbs up, this will be a helluva gamble on the Suns part. The Suns will be betting it all on #32 on the roulette wheel. Do you feel lucky? I don't.

 

[Griffin]

Assuming the trade goes down, how soon before Shaq will suit up? He hasn't played a game in nearly three weeks, and we have a tough stretch of games coming up.

 

[Bufalay]

Why not Artest of Jermaine O'neal?

 

[Chris_Sanders]

LOL?

From 93-2003 he averaged ~28ppg 12rpg 3apg 2.5bpg at ~58%FG.

In one year he AVERAGED 30ppg 14rpg 4apg 3bpg.

How many MVPs? 1

Those numbers aren't that great. Shaq's career year was Wilt's career. That's my point.

And Shaq had illegal defense, defensive 3 second, and a 3 point line to penalize you for triple teams.

Wilt's rookie year: 36 and 27. Compare that to Shaq's best.

 

[slinslin]

I take it you didnt read before and now you are trying to sell me that Wilt would have averaged 36 and 27 as a rookie in the 90s or now? please..

 

[tobiazz]

Intergenerational comparisons are pretty silly. Wilt was playing against a bunch of white scrubs for the most part.

 

[cly2tw]

As long as Shaq be great enough to win a championship with the Suns, who cares whether he subjectively ranks above or below the earlier great centers!

 

[Griffin]

I am still not quite sure what to think of this trade. It could work out, of course, but also there is the distinct possibility that we've been had. You see, this is the perfect scenario for Miami. They unload a $20 million/year player with 2 more years on his contract who has been mostly injured and playing like a mere shadow of his former self when in the lineup. And they do so apparently without giving up another player of value or even a draft pick, although I'm still hoping for one. And, in return, they get a player who is still capable of playing at all-star level and can opt out of his contract at the end of the season, leaving Miami well under the salary cap. The Heat could not have gotten a better deal. But could have we? Is Kerr a genius... or the next Isiah Thomas?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I will officially stop following Suns if they do something idiotic of this size...

I'm going to hold you to this one.... at least for a little while.

This can't POSSIBLY have any substance to it. It's completely ridiculous.

If this trade goes down, I promise I will not comment on any other trade proposals or scenarios for two full years.*


*on this board

I know Linder called you out on this one. I will too.

With Shaq our offense will be like the pythagorean theorem: There is no answer!

But there is an answer. "A" squared + "B" squared = "C" squared.

This shows how little you know about classic basketball. #1 you can't compare modern athletes to classic athletes because the game and rules were different. The fact is that Shaq never came close to being as dominant as Wilt Chamberlain. No one has. Wilt had to shoot all the time from outside the paint.

Olajuwon soundly defeated Shaq every time they matched up. Shaq didn't win a title until Olajuwon was gone.

Again read what I wrote about Nate Archibald and you will see what dominance from a PG was.

Myopia, thy name is sports fans.

But isn't that EXACTLY what you are doing, trying to come up with a top 10 list? I just sayin.

How many MVPs? 1

Those numbers aren't that great. Shaq's career year was Wilt's career. That's my point.

And Shaq had illegal defense, defensive 3 second, and a 3 point line to penalize you for triple teams.

Wilt's rookie year: 36 and 27. Compare that to Shaq's best.

Shaq was robbed a couple of times.

 

[kman72]

sabonis would have been great, i love watching him in his younger days back before the knee injuries! he could shoot, pass, board, an run the floor like a madman!