It would have been fun to see Dwight Howard match up against a young Shaquille O'Neal: <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3DSN1KnAW-Y" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>
it's not even close. a rookie shaq would annihilate a prime dwight easily. people think dwight is dominant right now. but if you see the shaq-dwight matchups the past few years, shaq still holds his own and dwight usually gets in foul trouble. the matchup of both players in their prime would be laughable really.
I called Dwight the next Shaq but he isn't nearly as dominant. It was Shaq's ability to pin people that will never be matched. Chuck Hayes leverage in a 320+ pound athletic body. Nobody has been as freakishly athletic in any sport as Shaq.
Dwight is a dominant player but a prime Shaq is THE dominant player But even is Shaq is/was a beast, he still recognizes the superior center...which is Hakeem
Pretty sure we just had a Manute Bol sighting. R.I.P. (....and yeah, rookie Shaq would kill Dwight at any stage on a one-on-one basis. Comparing the two is easy yet somewhat flawed since Shaq admittedly never cared to play much defense, whereas Dwight's defensive presense is half of what makes him the special player that he is)
It wouldn't be a fun matchup at all. Shaq was...well Shaq was like double DH's size but with Blake Griffin's athleticism. In his rookie year he was already a bit of a goofball but he was also more competitive and eager to play ball than in his later years. 100% healthy and motivated Shaq would destroy DH and probably not even break a sweat.
Rookie Shaq would destroy Dwight and it wouldn't even be a contest. Let's not forget that rookie Shaq was holding his own against a generation of great big men in their primes. Dwight plays like crap against any legit 7-footer.
Man i forgot how Raw young shaq was. There was a reason he was getting movie deals and rap albums and video games. He was just a freak back then he could have one the mvp that year. There was not a guy in the league that could slow him down accept Hakeem. Every one else has no chance.
Oh, was that all you had to do? Why didn't any of the opposing coaches figure this out while he was steamrolling through their teams in the playoffs? That's right... because it's easier said than done.
Shaq would dismantle the young man....I like Howard ..and I think people overexaggerate that era of big men(1990's)...but Shaq was a different beast back then....I think howard would still have put up the same numbers back then that he has today....BUT he wouldnt be so "friendly" like he is..
Rookie Shaq was going up against Dream, Ewing, DRob, Sabonis, Alonzo and pretty sure I'm forgetting some and held his own. Who exactly is Dwight Howard going up against? Rookie Shaq would eat Dwight Howard's lunch and make him wash all the dishes afterwords.
Were you watching basketball back in the 1990s? I somehow doubt you were if you think people are overrating that era of big men. Dwight Howard is the top scoring center in the NBA and he's 14th overall. There are only three centers in the top 40 in scoring in the league. In the 1993-94 season, the top three scorers in the league were all centers. And that doesn't even include Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, or Dikembe Mutombo, each of whom would be the best or second best center in the league today.
Howard doesn't have any semblance of the determination and "I'm going to kill you tonight" attitude that Shaq had. Even if he didn't, he's not nearly as athletic or skilled as Shaq was. Had Shaq cared about defense or staying in shape, he would have gone down as the greatest player in the game behind MJ.
