[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

Evrybody knows the similarities between Shaq and Dwight.  Both number one picks of Orlando, both nicknamed Superman, both dominant, larger than life big men, both had one finals appearance in Orlando and got dominated, Shaq in 1995 and Dwight in 2009.  Will Dwight come close to matching Shaq’s legacy in Los Angeles?  If Dwight does, it obviously won’t be with Kobe, who is 34 and nearing the end of his career.  Shaq had the fortune of playing with Kobe in his ultimate prime.  Can Dwight dominate LA like Shaq did?

[blood]

 shaq didnt play with kobe in his ultimate pride,kobe played with shaq when he was the most dominant player in NBA history,and no Dwight wont come close to what Shaq did when he was with lakers

[Ny2daDeathOFmeParticipant]

 If Dwight can stay focused and better his offense i dont see why cant he. He’s already better on D then shaq imo all he has to do is have the desire to win.

[RigelzParticipant]

it’s possible, Shaq was taller, bigger and stronger, he fought against opponents much stronger than you have to collide with D12 and dominated almost always. No way Howard is on the same level.

[Ny2daDeathOFmeParticipant]

 we all know Shaq was a physical beast that probably will never be duplicated again. but by dominate , i believe he’s asking will dwight be able to win as many championships or individual awards. And i say why could’nt he? dwight is already the best center in the league and he’s fairly young. Shaq won 3 titles in LA Dwight has a chance to compete for a title with a great team for years to come. 

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

There is a myth that the OP says (which I’ve heard many people spout as gospel) which annoys me.

Shaq DID NOT get dominated in the 1995 finals. People in hindsight seem to have this perception that Shaq was dominated by Hakeem when Orlando played Houston in the finals. This is simply not the case, Hakeem did get the slight edge on Shaq and Houston swept Orlando but it was actually a close battle between the centers and Shaq played extremely well. Hakeem averaged 32.8 PPG on 48.3 FG%, 11.5 RPG, 5.5 APG and 2 BPG while Shaq averaged 28 PPG on 59.5 FG%, 12.5 RPG, 6.3 APG and 2.5 BPG. They played almost identical minutes. So Shaq had the edge in every individual category except PPG but his FG% was much higher. Ignoring the stats, anyone who can remember watching the series will remember that the matchup between Shaq and Hakeem was actually quite even.

People seem to forget this nowadays. I always hear people claim that Hakeem was a better player than Shaq because he destroyed him in the finals when this is a complete myth.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

It was Shaq’s third year in the league as well. Hakeem definitely got the better of him, but he did not "destroy" him by any means. He did destroy David Robinson in the previous series that season if anything, as I pointed out when some guy tried to make a case for David Robinson being a top 5 player (not center, player) of All-Time had he come to the league sooner.

http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/david-robinson-0

Still, completely on your side here, this is a common misconception. Hakeem won the match-up and the Finals, it was impressive, but Shaq did not get totally owned. If you see the stats from the Olajuwon/Robinson match-up, that is much closer to the "getting owned" description.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

 Definitely agree.  While Hakeem obviously got the better of him, by no means was he destroyed.  I actually watched a few of those games recently on NBA TV.  Houston doubled Shaq instantly just about every time he touched the ball.  Once he was fed in the post, a weak side defender would instantly double, forcing Shaq to pass.

 

And to answer the question that started this thread, NO, Dwight will never come close to doing what Shaq did.

[HOops1562Participant]

 Straight up i think Dwight is the better defender … 3 DPOY awards can attest to that … but for Dwight to dominate in LA like Shaq did … i don’t know if he can have that type of impact offensively … when Shaq was on his 3 peat run on offense no one could stop him he was an absolute beast downlow so strong and big .. i mean offensively it’s not even close … i just don’t know if he can match up with Shaq during the 3 peat run i mean that is Shaq’s peak and the coming season’s i think will be Dwights best seasons’s career wise 

[RigelzParticipant]

 Dwight is a strong defender against very weaker opponents…. No Robinson, no Ewing, no Mourning, no Olajuwan, neither a young Duncan, Yao (who almost always dominated D12) or "second line centers" ala Rik Smits, Vlade Divac, Rony Seikaly, old phenom like Sabonis… today even Garnett can play the center (never he played in his life!) and Tyson Chandler was Team USA center in World Championship and Olympics! Come on, we have to enjoy with Brook "five rebounds per game" Lopez….

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