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

Dont even post if you dont know Ewing was 6'9"

And FWIW Yao outscored Boozer that 2007 series. And he was guarding Okur and vice versa most of those games. Juwon and Hayes were on Boozer primarily. Logically speaking comparing PF Boozer to legit 7'1" center David Robinson is not a path to win.

If we're taking center to center, Robinson had a lot of problems with Shaq's power game but he was a lot faster than Yao. I think Robinson would actually do better against Yao than some of the other guys on the list.

Tmac, thanks for stopping posting about Tmac. At least that part of the thread is better lol.

 

Oddly enough I posted this on another thread on here, you give me 94-96 Kemp and you can have any amount of Yao you want, and I'd wipe the floor with you. Especially if we're talking the other 4 guys being the same.

 

When did we ever see prime Sabonis? Although, I agree prime Yao isnt better than any of these guys.

 

I think the argument here is that no one has seen Yao's true potential. He was already bothered by injuries before the 06-07 season. If he really didn't have to worry about injuries I think we would see progressive improvement in his game. Not saying that he would surpass the greats, but he would be a very dominant player, a top 10 for sure

 

Yao certainly had the talent to be a top 10 center all time. I think 5 is possible. He had more talent than Ewing.

As far as him being too immobile. The statistics back up Yao being an elite team defender. The Rockets defense +/- with him on the floor was extremely high. The Rockets went from one of the 3-4 worst defensive teams in the NBA to one of the 3-4 best over night.

Offensively, he hit a very high % of his shots and he hit his ft's and could score inside and outside. Really not limited.

The only thing that kept him from being an absolute beast was coming to the USA as late as he did, and injuries.

Ultimately he will be remembered in the same way people remember Bill Walton, Brad Daugherty and Ralph Sampson.... what could of been.

 

Kemp is overrated

 

no he couldn't
offensively he could have been a top 10
but defensively, he sucked.
he was always a liability with pick and rolls and hard protects the paint due to his slow reflexes and mobility
a great dominant player plays on both end of the court
like shaq, hakeem, robinson etc.
yao.. not so much.

 

put that fool on the ignore list like the rest of us have
leave him alone

 

The thing is none of us have seen YAO at his best. But we have seen Ewing, Robinson and all those guys in their best. We are not talking about the untapped YAO we saw against the fully developed NBA players we saw like Ewing and Robinson. Obviously if you take Robinson at his peak and match him up against YAO 3-4 Years ago then YAO has no chance. But give YAO the same health time and experience as those guys and YAO would dominate Ewing and Sarbonis and outperform Robinson too.

Just imagine YAO in these last 2-3 years without the injuries. He was making huge strides every season (when he was healthy).

Who the hell are you anyway? SHAQ who is definitely a top 5 said so him self that YAO could possibly have made top 5 if he remained healthy. I think SHAQ is in a better position than you to make that call.

 

Sometimes I just have to shake my head. Why go through so much hell and high water to discredit a player that did nothing but pour his heart and soul into an organization? The man just retired. Even if he didnt accomplish what most of us wanted, it's no right to lash out on him because he didn't fulfill our own selfish, personal agendas. I don't know, but when I'm a diehard fan of a team, at the end of the day despite challenges or failures, I can appreciate "one of my own". I have nothing bad to say about a Rockets player, especially if he was half the man Yao was.

 

Another point, it's impossible to convince anyone with their own opinion, especially with a polarizing figure like Yao (Yao, a polarizing figure? Yes, only on Clutchfans). But, I'd take a HOF player's opinion, coupled with coaches' opinions, and general management.

Shaq said Yao could've been top 5.

Adelman said Yao's in top 10, could've been top 5.

And when Yao was at his peak, Eddie Jordan said Yao did things that even Kareem could not do on offense.

Take it FWIW. Of course, the detractors will find a reason not to believe it. That's okay with me, I'm not trying prove anyone differently. Just stating what has been said from respected figures.

 

Dream was the shortest of the Big 3 of the 90's closer to 6'10".



Ewing was 7". Look at him compared to Dwight. Even in his 40's (he's probably shrank a little over time), he's got an inch. So pat in his 20's was 6'9"? So is Dwight 6'8"? 6'7"?!? HA!

 

At first I thought top 5 C ever was a stretch, but then I put some thought into it and it may not be so off. Based on what he's done, he's not even a top 20 center of all time, however, here are some reasons why Shaq may be right:

1) Centers seem to peak a little later, primarily because their skills increase each year and they don't lose that much explosiveness. In fact, their body usually develops each year allowing them to get stronger and perhaps they "grow" into their body and it gives time for their coordination to catch up. A healthy Yao would now be in his prime.

2) Yao's gifts as a basketball player is unparalleled. He has inside/mid range game. He has great impact in both offense and defense. He is one of the best teammates and has a insatiable work ethic. Other than his lateral agility in guarding men a foot shorter than him (which is ridiculous to ask anybody to do), he really didn't have any weaknesses. The mental "killer instinct" was the last frontier to stop him from being a complete player and a true superstar. In the portland and lakers playoff series, we saw that maturity. No one could say that he was soft or did not have the IT factor to will himself to victory.

3) His limitations like fronting defenses and getting pushed around by defenders are products of the current NBA rules. I doubt Bill Russell and Kareem would be able to be effective if they had someone fronting them and another player help defending them from the weak side so that as soon as he catches the ball, he'd turn around and be sandwiched to either: a= travel, b=charge, c=get hacked and lose the ball.

yao's departure from the courts is a great loss for Houston and more so all of basketball. i think he's in the same mold as the pre-injury grant hill as transcendent talents that could have been.

however, based on what he's accomplished, he's a top 10-15 C at best.

 

"Ultimately he will be remembered in the same way people remember Bill Walton, Brad Daugherty and Ralph Sampson.... what could of been." - Nook

This made the most sence out of everything said. It is nice to see Sabonis get some respect, too; but he, like Yao, is just like the others in this group... WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN. Sad but true.

*P. Ewing sucks as a coach, IMO. ( just seeing his name )
-Playing Yoa away from the basket, 7'6" set shooter. ( really? )
-D. Howard only stated to get better after working out with Dream NOT Patrick.

 

I still laugh at the "Dwight spent 2 hours with Dream and now he's the best ever!!" comments I see. Dream probably just echoed what Patrick tells him every day in practice, "Stop playing video games, and learn to do something other than dunk".

I think it's pretty obvious that any lack of growth in Dwight's game is tied to his immaturity and athletic gifts (it's just easier to dunk), and not bad or lack of coaching.

Yao has ALWAYS been complimentary of Ewing's coaching, and always gave him credit for his growth as a player.