[Video] Shaquille O'Neal: Healthy Yao could be a top 5 center ever

How does it taste, huh?

 

Yeah I dunno it feels like Shaq is BSing.

We know he has no respect for most centers, but at the least we can definitely consider the fact he would consider himself top 5. Ahead of him he would certainly put Hakeem.

With the plethora of other great centers-- and he certainly has respect for Wilt and Kareem, I'd imagine-- I don't know what he's thinking saying stuff like that.

 

there are a lot of heated emotions in that top 10 thread.

Maybe we all take "top 5", "top 10", etc. WAAAAYYY to literally (and seriously).

but i suppose there is a lockout..

 

WORD!

Does it really matter when somebody says Yao woulda shoulda coulda top 5 or top 10 or top 15 center of all time?

 

only some of these yao fan like Herrera would take shaq seriously and ran with it
i mean seriously, is yao a top 5 center of all time?

 

Shaq was saying Yao had the talent to be a top 5 center to ever play the game. Very respectful but clearly he was not saying Yao is literally one of the top 5 centers based on his body of work.

How can one argue with Shaq's statement, at least on the offensive end Yao was unmatchable, except by another top center of all time, Shaq himself.

And for some reason, Al Jefferson, that guy gave the big fella fits!

 

yao didn't have the talent to be a top 5
is he better than hakeem? robinson? wilt? russel? kareem? shaq? ewing?
no no no no no no and no one million percent
he's just too immobile to do anything significant on the court

 

One thing I find pretty funny is that some guys here reacted much more emtionally than those so-called YOF when they saw comments liked this. Just saying.....

 

Relax guy!

Nobody said Yao IS a top 5 centers.

You are 100000000% right. Any more questions?

 

Olajuwon - NO
Wilt - NO
Kareem - NO
Russel - maybe
Shaq - mabe
Ewing - absolutely
Robinson - yes
Prime Sabonis - LOL YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT ??????????

 

yao just retired bud.

 

even when healthy, yao didn't have the talent to be even remotely as good as those guys
he was a great shooter but was too slow and dumb to be a great player and be a effective on defense
these yofs are taking yao worshipping to a whole new level
insane..

 

T-Mac if healthy could be a top 5 SG.

Yeah, it was too tempting. Sorry

 

People getting so booty hurt at a comment that all Rockets fans should have honor in what Shaq said. No one truly knows what Yao's ceiling could have been if stayed HEALTHY (2009 Champs??). He could have been beyond great if stayed healthy. People have forgotten how dominate Yao was. I'm in no way saying he is a top 5 but I'm saying is we honestly will never know what he could/should have been.

 

Agreed but work ethic/heart

Yao > Mac

 

Yao haters are pathetic. They find every little reason to discredit Yao for some reason, it's stupid. The guy busted his ass for this organization.

As far as the comment goes, it's like people saying VC had the talent to reach MJ level, or Tmac had the talent to be a all time great. It's just a saying, nobody will ever know. I don't know why people have to take it literally and use it as a chance to bash Yao.

 

In a perfect, or near perfect scenario, Yao coulda, woulda been considered a top 5 center. He would of had to stay healthy, T Mac would of had to stay healthy as well. Together they would of had to win at least two NBA championships. Of course, none of that happened.

 

Top 5? No. Top 10? Probably.

 

Well, that's his opinion. Even a YOF doesn't believe that. But they'll run away with this.

No, when Yao was healthy and at his best, he was not better than
1) Wilt
2) Jabbar
3) Hakeem
4) Shaq
5) Russell
6) Robinson
7) Ewing
8) Moses

That's 8 off the top of my head, when taking into account Yao healthy and at his best. Yao's best season/play was not as those guys' best season. And we're not even talking about dominance in the playoffs, which Yao never displayed.

TMAC actually displayed that all-time talent for a few years, and had one of the greatest regular seasons of all time. Yao never did that.

The fact of the matter is, Yao was a transformational figure, and dominant player "at times." But he was an all-star when healthy, and was the best center of his time (from 04-07 as Shaq declined, and Howard developing). We were blessed to have him as our center, and our fortunes may have been very different had he (and Tmac) stayed healthy.

Let's hope Yao also continue to have a great impact off the court with China, and basketball in general. And hope it will continue to grow in China with him as the face.