He is toast, a shell of his former self. However, he was an AMAZING player for many years, and one of the top 5 centers all time. Being that big and that quick....just wow ! DD
No, Shaq didn't define his offensive game. Yes he was out of shape at times. Yes his D is suspect and my lil brother shoots free throws better. Now name me 5 better centers. Wierd that one with a limited arsenal, who was routinely out of shape could dominate. Yes he could have been greater, but he was still great. How many of us give our 100% all the time?
being the hakeem worshipper that i am, it is hard to defend another center; however, there is one point that i would like to make in shaq's favor as to why he DOES deserve the accolades. although he is not great outside 6 feet from the basket, imagine the tremendous effort and skill it takes to control the GI-NORMOUS frame he has! no other player has been as big and as agile, athletic. there have been a few huge bodies in the NBA, but all of them rigid, awkward, and out of control. even yao is borderline with his body control... sometimes he can't seem to just step out of the way or move his body enough to avoid a foul... shaq has stayed true to what his skill set has allowed him to do. and he is the most dominating offensive post presence of all-time within 6 feet because of his ability. i mean seriously... how hard is it to keep THAT body in enough shape to even run, let alone play in the NBA? give the man some credit... us regular 6 foot people don't have an appreciation for how tough it is to move a body like that... and to do it well
I agree with you about all your points except the part Shaq being the only one with his size, quickness and strength combination. Wilt had these qualities and probably would have been about Shaq's weight with modern training. Based on Wilt's basketball dominance and success in other sports (track and field, volleyball), he probably was even a more special pure athletic speciman than Shaq.
