anyone that can honestly say that Shaq was a better player than Dream loses any and all credibility when commenting on the game of basketball. But what should I expect out of the generation that is more impressed by power dunks than by players with actual skills on both ends of the floor. Dream was the best player on both ends...He was the main factor in the 4 game sweep of Shaq and the MAgic in the Finals... aint no homer to that....he DOMINATED them....no argument possible.
All I know is if I was in my 3rd year in the league, averaged well over 29 points a game and then got completely abused in the Finals yet watched the media and pundits make excuses for me being humiliated so badly by saying I was "too young"----I wouldn't say it, but I would be thinking THANK GOD FOR THE MEDIA.
I'm flabbergasted by serious basketball fans that compare Shaq and Yao as if they might be close to each other as players or either one could come out on top of the match up. The NBA hypes the match up because it's good for business, NOT because the comparisons are valid. Even with Shaq out of the game Yao is not a dominate center, he may dominate at times but he has so far shown no sighs of even being a factor night in night out. I hope with time and personnel adjustment, the Rockets and Yao can learn to minimize his weaknesses and maximize his strengths. But one of his major weaknesses can never be coached or learned away: He will always be one of the slowest players in the league.
shaq is great great center? to win basketball game with bigger fatter butt is not the intention of the game's inventer, I would guess. lol.
shaq is a great center. and yes...big fat butts help low post men play the game. charles barkley comes to mind, first and foremost.
i guess bigger a**es win games nowadays. the world has changed. whether big butt is great bball or not, that's subjective.
nowadays? it's been like that for a while. Barkley was drafted in 83 or 84. Moses Malone, I believe, was known for using his big butt quite well. the game hasn't changed in that regard. people who are bigger than other people enforce their will down low, if they choose to do so. it's been like that for as long as i can remember...and even in the history of the game when you consider guys like Chamberlain.
the game changed a lot in that regard. we have too many star players who cann't shoot or pass, who kown so little other than using brute forces. i don't know why you say the game, in regard to using brute forces widely, hasn't changed.
wait...i'm talking about playing in the low post. it has largely been controlled by guys who exert their will with their bodies. again..see Wilt Chamberlain...to Charles Barkley...to Shaq O'Neal. that's been around a very long time. the problem of guards not being able to shoot is irrelevant. they're not low post players. that's an entirely different conversation. and if you think guards play with brute force NOW, you should have seen the hand-checking they used to allow.
First of all Dream and Shaq played in different eras - Dream played against Ewing, Robinson, Mutombo, Daugherty, Jabbar, Sabonis, Parrish and Mourning among other All-Stars night in and night out. Shaq plays against Yao, Z, and a few others, but the centers in the 80's and early 90's were by far better than they are today. As far as comparing rings, yes, Shaq may have one more, but Dream never played with Kobe (possibly the second best player in the league at the time). Just for grins - I'd love to see how many rings Dream would have if Ralph's knees held up, and Lucas, Wiggins and Lloyd wouldn't have been suspended for substance abuse. We can argue this all night, but the one time they did meet in the finals Dream dominated. So head-to-head championships, Dream 1 - Shaq 0
tigermission1, Sha-fat only got his rings when he had help from Kobe. Dream is one out of two players ever to win a ring without another super star on his team. Dream also had a lot more competition back then with more and better centers. There's not that many centers in the league worth mentioning. As someone pointed out earlier, Dream won defensive player of the year, MVP, and MVP of the playoffs, all in the same year. Has Sha-fat done this?? Sha-fat is huge and has no skill, just bulldozes people over. If he was to be called for his charges and free arming more often he'd probably foul out of 50% of his games.
Ming Dynasty hit the nail right on its head. Dream first off played in a league with far tougher centers than when Shaq had his run. As for Yao vs. Shaq overall I think Shaq still has the edge based on overall play but in their head to head to matchups it has been close. Looking at how they both have played along with how their teams have done there's been few blowouts and mostly close games. Yao still has a long way to go but he's getting there while Shaq is begining to decline. I think Shaq knows this in his heart but is too immature to admit it. That's another area where Yao, and Dream, beat Shaq hands down. They both have class while Shaq doesn't. Basketball players are celebrities and should be judged by how they carry themselves on and off the court. Yao, Dream and Shaqs' other rivals Robinson and Duncan are all men of the highest character and in comparison Shaq acts like an overgrown 13 year old. I applaud Shaq for his great play, his acts of charity and for his willingness to go back and get his degree but otherwise as a person I have little respect for the man.
