Hard to compare players w/ such different styles...... But.....give me either in their prime and I'm winning a title. Shaq was a force....and Duncan was the quiet assassin.
I'd have to say Duncan. Shaq can't make free-throws, and he can't shoot more than 8 feet from the basket. He's just a freakishly large man, who happened to have great footwork. He is also not really known as a great defender. How many defensive 1st teams has he been on? How many has Duncan. The model of consistency for 12 years now has been Duncan. Also, when was the last time Shaw has played 75+ games in a season? He can't even stay healthy or in shape. Also, he has burned bridges on the 4(!) other teams he has played on. If he was REALLY that great, 3 teams would not have let him walk. I know he left Orlando in free agency, but L.A. was a result of immaturity and Phoenix was the same deal. He is hurt again this year which is no suprise. Also, factor in that Duncan didn't even pick up a basketball until he was 16....Give me Duncan anyday. A guy who will play his whole career with one team, will not be an off-court distraction and is a good locker room guy. Not injury prone, not a diva and consistent on offense and defense. Thank you very much. Also Hakeem would destroy both of these guys in his prime..... :grin:
If you pick only 2 or 3 seasons to compare, I would go with Shaq, but if you go and look for the whole career its definitely Duncan. Duncan was more consistent through his career. Also they have two different styles: Shaq was about power and strength, and had to be more near the basket than Duncan to be effective. Duncan was more about footwork, skill and finese.
I thought I made it clear in my question that I was trying to compare these two players in their prime, not their whole career. Shaq had his up and downs, he's a bit lazy on the defensive end and he's a diva I get it. But I would take a prime Shaq any day of the week over a prime Duncan. That's a man who will draw double-team or triple team on a consistent basis and that opens up his teammates. Sure he had Kobe when Shaq won three titles and three Finals MVP in a row in LA, but Duncan's teammates were not bad either. Robinson, Avery Johnson, Manu, Parker were no scrubs. And I didn't mean to degrade Dream by any means. He's one of the greatest and he was the Houston Rocket back then, plus I knew I wouldn't get an unbiased answer on this forum so let's just keep it on the topic.
I felt Shaq got alot of no-calls from the refs, both for and against him. Yeah people hacked him like crazy without getting whistled but the refs also let him bowl over people and swallowed their whistles too.
That rule was changed to get rid of the boring iso-ball. I think you could make a better case that the rule was changed to stop Steve Francis (from putting people to sleep) than to stop Shaq. I would pick Duncan. He was not as dominant offensively, although he was still a great offensive player (and his free throw shooting wasn't as horrible, which is important at the end of games). Defensively, there is really no comparison, Duncan was flat out better. Remember that Shaq was often a liability playing against pick and roll teams. Duncan was flawless defensively. Also, Duncan was more durable than Shaq, who was playing 70 games or fewer during the regular season of his prime years.
This really isn't even close guys, as much as we like Duncan as a person a prime Shaq was indeed one of the most dominant ever. Doesn't matter if it was not because of skill or he couldnt shoot free throws, the guy was an absolute monster. And whoever said Shaq needed kobe and wade to get his rings, why not say Duncan needed David Robinso and Manu and parker?
This is a tough one, but I go w/ TIMMY! Why? Because his prime has lasted WAY longer than Shaq. There was a time when nobody could do anything w/ Shaq, but that lasted only a couple of seasons, and if he wasn't w/ Kobe then who knows if he'd have reached that point. Duncan has been a force to be reckoned with for almost his entire career.
No. Duncan's been in the league 12 seasons, so take a look at Shaq's first 12 seasons as opposed to his old man stats of today which dropped his overall averages. Their stat averages would mostly be the same...except that Shaq averages nearly 8 more points per game than Duncan. That's a lot, and it's telling of how truly dominant Shaq used to be.
If by a "couple of seasons" you mean 12 years, I agree with you If by "wasn't w/ Kobe" you also meant "excluding the 4 years he was with Orlando where he averaged 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks" then I also agree with you
Duncan is quite possibly the greatest power forward ever, but when you watch Shaq in his Orlando days and his championship Laker years...it is almost runaway victory for Shaq. It's not even funny how athletic Shaq used to be, and how explosive and powerful he was. You put a younger version of himself in the league, right now, you easily have the best player in the league.
I just can't stand NBA players who can't hit free throws. There are kids in elementary school who can shoot a better percentage from the charity stripe than Shaq.
Try shooting free throws with a tennis ball, youll know how shaq feels.. And without a question, Shaq. Duncan has been consistent through the years but shaq in his prime, and his younger years was an absolute freak of nature
There have been other big guys that have learned to shoot free throws well. And Shaq always claimed he hit them when they counted, which I think just goes to show that his dedication to improving was the biggest problem.
Try playing tennis with a basketball? I've never seen an NBA game played with a tennis ball. So why would Shaq practice with a Shaq sized bball only to realize a regulation sized bball is used in game. Plenty of guys with huge hands shoot better than 60%.
lol you completely missed his point, nothing to do with their hands. He's saying that guys like Dwight and Shaq have so much strength that's it's hard to control, that it's analogous to trying to shoot free throws with a ball of feathers to them.
aside from the argument of who is better in their prime, i will say that duncan played with one HOFer, robinson, and he was HOF-good for two seasons of duncan's career in 98 and 99. drob got two 3rd team all nba in 00 and 01, but not even an all-star appearance. elliot had two all star appearances his entire career (1 when the game was in san antonio). avery was a scrub who made the most of himself, but definitely a scrub. ginobili will be a HOF, but not for his exploits in the NBA. tony parker will never be an HOFer unless he gets drastically better.
Tony Parker not a HOF? What would Manu get in for then? IDK but if you think Tony Parker isn't HOF material then you must have a strange opinion on what makes a player HOF.
