Would you draft Shaq ahead of Jordan?
Dude shaq was the most dominant player ever in the paint.. this is a legit question. If he played against bill or kareem or hakeem he would overpower them soo badly. Elite NBA guards come along a lot more often than players who are like shaq. Not to even mention shaqs defense. I bet if you asked this question to some gms and asked this question they'd think on it a LOT more than you'd bet.
Agree with you that shaq was the most dominate ever however it is false he played against hakeem and was outplayed on multiple occasions. Hakeem was a also a far better defender. So yes most dominate big but no didn't straight overpower hakeem
Personally I think shaq is better than kareem or wilt. I mean look at the competition wilt played against dude. Look at the NBA during the time they played, insert shaq, and wonder what he would have done against competition half as good as it is now.
disagree, wilt played against bill russell and a young kareem. wilt was a freak athlete, an excellent high jumper and was much much stronger than he looked. shaq was huge and very strong and physically powerful, but that said wilt was faster and more skilled. shaq's little baby hook would have been swatted time and again by wilt.
i take wilt, hakeem, kareem, shaq, then bill russell.
Truthfully, I don't think that this is a bad question. The NBA has never seen anyone like Shaq before, nor since he's retired. I think if Shaq had the drive similar to a Kobe/MJ then he could have gone down as the greatest big man and arguably the games greatest player. I just don't think he wanted it bad enough. If he had trained as hard as he did for his MVP season (29ppg, 13rpg, 2blocks, and 3 assists) every year then he really could've been the best.
That being said, you asked knowing what we know now would I take Shaq over MJ and the answer to that would be NO!! Shaq wasn't motivated enough to dominate every game/season. That was never a problem with MJ and that's why he is the greatest. But Shaq could have been
it is true that they are both dominant in their prime but jordan is far better than shaq in closing games, you give the ball to jordan in the last few minutes the defense will be in a lot of pressure but give it to shaq they're gonna foul him and make him shoot free throws
Shaq would've went 1st in the last 50 drafts,no matter who was in it.....The only 2 players teams might've considered taking ahead of him were Kareem and Lebron.....
I was in the 1st grade and remember watching tv and hearing people saying Jordan would have trouble scoring in the nba and some saying he wasnt a franchise type player....And those people were the so called experts...
But give Billy Cummingham of the 76'ers alot of credit,he said Jordan would be a much better pro then college player...
I dont think Sampson or Ewing would've been taken ahead of Shaq if they were in the same draft....I remember scouts saying Sampson didnt have a go to move and they also said he was soft and needed a physical player to play with him up front..And some teams didnt feel Ewing would be a 20 point scorer in the pros.....People were comparing Shaq to a young Wilt Chamberlain.....
I think if the question had been "Not knowing how their careers actually turned out, would you have taken Shaq over MJ?"
That is a question I'd have to think very hard about. Shaq was an absolute freak coming out of LSU. MJ was also a freak, but I think it goes without saying that he exceeded everyone's expectations of him.
No way I would do that. I wouldnt draft anyone ahead of Jordan. I would consider Bill Russell or Oscar Roberston, but I would probably lean towards Jordan.
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What? You would consider taking the Big O over Jordan? The Big O was a great player but wasn't capable of turning a team into a contendor until he got a young Kareem. I would take a host of players #1 over Oscar (MJ, Russell, Shaq, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem, Duncan, Kobe, Magic, Bird, Lebron)
Well the question is a little silly if you say "Not knowing how their careers turned out." Because then of course you take Shaq (muscular seven footer with a nearly 40" vertical, averaged 27 points per game on 63% shooting with 5 blocks his sophmore year, forget about it (and his junior year was nearly as dominate)) over a 20 points per game junior SG who didn't have a jump shot. You don't hesitate. Without the benefit of knowing the future, you take Shaq over anyone who has played in the last thirty years. And lets not get started debating the value of centers versus SGs.
Well the question is a little silly if you say "Not knowing how their careers turned out." Because then of course you take Shaq (muscular seven footer with a nearly 40" vertical, averaged 27 points per game on 63% shooting with 5 blocks his sophmore year, forget about it (and his junior year was nearly as dominate)) over a 20 points per game junior SG who didn't have a jump shot. You don't hesitate. Without the benefit of knowing the future, you take Shaq over anyone who has played in the last thirty years. And lets not get started debating the value of centers versus SGs.
Would you draft Shaq ahead of Jordan if they were both in the same draft class knowing what you know now? I would.