MJ is God disguised as MJ. That was a quote from Bird after he got torched for 63....in fact Bird had another quote that was one of my favorites... He was asked who the best basketball player in the world, he replied..."Michael Jordan , then Shaquille O'Neal" What made the quote interesting was the fact Shaq was a soph. at LSU......Bird knows his shit!
you cant go by stats ( different games and era)..I can only go by gut feeling..different eras made for different stats......if I were to pick a team from all players that have played in the history of b-ball...My first pick would be the shaq-fu.....I guess that makes him my all time greatest player ( so far).......peace.. you cant compare Wilt's numbers to MJ's numbers ( Much easier game to dominate back in the days )....but the most dominating force to ever play the game is Shaq...period..in any era, any time, any court....
================================= Im with you excpet, I'd go MJ#1, Shaq #2 and Jabbar #3....I'd give anything to see Kareem vs Shaq in their priems...although shaq would push him around too. Kareem could put up 35 on anybody and would force Shaq to use a lot of energy on defense.
The Shaq case as the best gets hurt every time he launches one of those bricks from the free throw line. There are many players throughout history who have exhibited the ability to play multiple positions also. Shaq is either the center or, ??? Remember, Magic even did a stint as center for Kareem in a championship moment. Ands he came through. Mike has regularly handled guard and forward spots throughout his career. Somehow I just can't see Shaq at the point. Small forward, please! :-( I would also say that a consideration would be the fear of the opponent in the clutch moments of the game. You see with Shaq, you always have the option of fouling him. There is a good chance that he can't string together a series of free throws. One of the last things you wanted to do with Michael was foul him. Consistently he punished you for the act. IMHO, that is the mark of a true "Greatest In The Game" candidate. Can Shaq square up and face the basket? Is the opposition really concerned with him eight feet out on the wing? Back in the day (when I played the game) the refs would have removed him somewhere in the third quarter for offensive fouls. Back then to take your hand/arm and shove the opposing player off so you could pull up was called an "Offensive Foul." The NBA changed the game so that we could see more contact and mixing it up, not more skill. Now we have the low post wrestling match for position. Notice the "TRUE" charging call has been all but eliminated from the game. Size matters, but skill still dominates!
Kareem would also draw Shaq away from the basket a bit, which would open up the lanes more for others. People forget what a scoring machine Kareem was. His sky hook was UNSTOPPABLE! Two problems I have with Shaq. #1 his rebounding numbers are weak for a man of his size and dominance. He really doesn't go after the ball like others do. #2 he is not the go to guy at the end of the game, you can't count on him to win the game for you, like you could with other centers. Kareem downside: Ugly, and sullen, lacking defense in later years.
As I have said if I were to pick a team from previous or current players...#1 would be Shaq.. he may not be the best player stat wise or make any of his free throws, but he would most definitely be my first pick......who would yours be Canyonman???
Im with Cubano here in that ....sahq has a higher career scoring avg. then kareem......and he's not even making his free throws!! ....Plus i have to take up the defense of Shaq when people ask "can he spot up from 10 ft. and hit a jumper"???? The answer is a resounding NO and thank god for that!! When I played, centers had two options Dunk the ball or bank the ball...there was none of this Ralph Sampson, david robinson Pat Ewing crap where you show the world that a seven footer has the skills of a 6"4 guard......Why have a 7 Footer take jumpers from 10-15 ft when you can just go to a three gaurd set up and get beeter shooting??? IMHO the reason the Knicks never beat the BULLS was because Patrick fell oin love with his fade away and his spot up 20 foot jump shot.....you can't rebond when you fade away...most of shaq's poitn come from him getting rebounds an dunking them.,,,,Kareem was an oddity who was forced to develop the hook when college basketball made the lew alcindor rule (* no dunking)...still the most unstoppable force I've ever seen
Depends on how long you want that team to play, doesn't it? As great and dominant as Shaq is, how many more years is he going to play? I'd rather build a team around a young player, KG, and Duncan come to mind. I watched the Spurs smoke the Kings this weekend. I wouldn't want to face the Spurs with home "ice" advantage.