Honest Question: How will History view Shaq?

[HarlemHeat37]

I love Shaq's personality..he's BY FAR the funniest guy in the NBA..

Shaq can go 0-20 with 6 fouls, and take a **** in the middle of the court, and I wouldn't view him any differently..he's a top 7-8 player of all-time IMO..there is NO WAY you can be a cancer if you've won titles with 2 different franchises, and made the finals with another one..

like others have said..Shaq and Tim Duncan have been in every finals since 99..that just speaks on how good those guys are..especially Shaq, who was in another finals before that, and who was playing at a dominant level in the 90's as well..

but we all know who the OP is a fan of..I see it in the MVP thread..

[GIVE_WADE_THE_MAX]

No way; when you took a team to the Finals as The Man and then won three consecutive titles with ANOTHER team as The Man and then were the second guy on ANOTHER title team, if you are moved to another franchise that has a shot at the title, you are not a 'ring chaser.'

Mitch Richmond was a ring-chaser; Karl Malone was a ring chaser (much as I still respect him, it's true). Gary Payton? Ring-chaser. Michael Finley? Ring-chaser.

Lots of guys were but Shaq's not a ring-chaser, he's been the guy who people come to in order to GET a ring, so what has happened here will never label him that way except by incredibly odd people.

Shaq from 92-04 was the man. Since then he's basically been a ring chaser. It doesn't matter if you've won one or not. If you strategically place yourself only on teams with a legit chance to win a ring you are a ring chaser. Shaq is just trying to pad his legacy at this point.

[galeon110]

Shaq will be remembered as the most dominant player in this era and one of the most dominant players to ever play the game. His personality and charisma has done a lot for the league and his contributions for this league will never be forgotten. He'll be remembered as a legend and probably the most dominant player to ever play his position. I'm assuming that future centers would all be looking up to Shaq and trying to mirror his game.

[rewill17]

Any player that is a deciding factor on a championship team is not a cancer.

Bennett Salvatore? Joe DeRosa?

[JellosJigglin]

In his own era, he will go down as the best center post-Hakeem.

In all of NBA history, he will go down as a guy too lazy to maximize his potential. A guy who could have been the GOAT if he only wanted to be.

I don't think he's a cancer though.

[The Laker Kid]

He will be remembered as fat and overpaid

[HarlemHeat37]

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Shaq from 92-04 was the man. Since then he's basically been a ring chaser. It doesn't matter if you've won one or not. If you strategically place yourself only on teams with a legit chance to win a ring you are a ring chaser. Shaq is just trying to pad his legacy at this point.

impossible..

the only time he's demanded a trade since then was with the Lakers, where he went to a team that wasn't a championship contender..SHAQ'S ARRIVAL MADE THEM A CONTENDER..so how can he be a ring chaser, if he is the one making the team a contender?..

and he didn't ask for a trade from Miami, and he didn't ask to go to Phoenix..

stupidity..

[kooldude]

writerman, I'm curious to know what your top 10 all-time are? and where is Shaq in your all-time list?

[GIVE_WADE_THE_MAX]

great with the Heat.. Shaq can sulk and moan and play like crap. Woohoo. But if you trade him to a contender he now becomes motivated?

What happened to the motivation the last couple of seasons Shaq. This is a guy that barely even played in the 05 finals. Damn if we didnt have Zo to back his ass up we'd be ringless.

I'm not privvy too what goes behind the scenes but I wouldnt find it too far fetched if Shaq put pressure on the Heat BTS to force a trade to a contender.

Shaq has too big of an ego to be on a losing team.

[tsherkin]

He's a big and enormously strong guy posessed of decent athleticism who in his most successful years was playing against overall maybe the most pathetic group of fives in league history.

So you feel that when Shaq led the Magic to a Finals appearance in his third year, scoring 29+ ppg for the second consecutive year and then did a very good job against Olajuwon, that wasn't a successful year? Beating the Spurs, Mavericks and Kings, that was nothing?

writerman, you're an intelligent and knowledgeable poster but you are blinded by emotion when it comes to Shaq; he put two of his three best scoring seasons up right in the face of the primes of D-Rob, Ewing and Olajuwon and had a Finals appearance where he performed a LOT better than Ewing ever did.

You are honestly too invested in hating Shaq to ever be objective about him; comments such as these are just ridiculous, c'mon. This is no different than the arguments you gleefully overturn about Wilt.

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Shaq from 92-04 was the man. Since then he's basically been a ring chaser. It doesn't matter if you've won one or not. If you strategically place yourself only on teams with a legit chance to win a ring you are a ring chaser. Shaq is just trying to pad his legacy at this point.

He was critical to Miami's title, that's not "ring-chasing," definitively.

You're unbelievable...

[HarlemHeat37]

great with the Heat.. Shaq can sulk and moan and play like crap. Woohoo. But if you trade him to a contender he now becomes motivated?

What happened to the motivation the last couple of seasons Shaq. This is a guy that barely even played in the 05 finals. Damn if we didnt have Zo to back his ass up we'd be ringless.

I'm not privvy too what goes behind the scenes but I wouldnt find it too far fetched if Shaq put pressure on the Heat BTS to force a trade to a contender.

Shaq has too big of an ego to be on a losing team.

I didn't hear anything from Shaq..

and last time I checked, the Heat were/are TANKING..the whole team has been playing like ****..even Wade wasn't playing well by his standards(especially the TO's..granted, he's still hurt)..

you have no proof of anything, and nobody around him even accused Shaq of anything..so take your bias hatred elsewhere..Shaq builds contenders, he doesn't chase them..and now in this case, he got lucky that his GM sent him to Phoenix..

[tsherkin]

What happened to the motivation the last couple of seasons Shaq. This is a guy that barely even played in the 05 finals. Damn if we didnt have Zo to back his ass up we'd be ringless.

Were you drunk during the '06 Finals? Because it was '06, not '05, first of all.

Second of all, Shaq posted 13.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg and 2.8 apg during the Finals. If you think that's "barely even play[ing]," then you don't know anything about basketball. Moreover, he averaged 15 ppg, 12 rpg and 1.5 apg during the Heat's four consecutive wins.

So you're completely wrong.

[whipdamage]

Orlando is just now recovering from losing Shaq. LA didn't reach its potential because of his "company time" healing and had a number of years of rebuilding. We don't know if Miami will recover.

dude, the chicago bulls weren't good after michael jordan left. if a team worsens after a player leaves, then that could shows how good the player was.

i think you're mainly talking about loyalty, right? does a spectator care if a player moves around teams in his career or do you rate loyalty higher? there is a high divorce rate in america. maybe a lot of people don't care.

i guess you can call rashard lewis a money-chaser. what do you think is worse, a money-chaser or ring-chaser?

[GIVE_WADE_THE_MAX]

You feel strong about Shaq's legacy and I give you kudos for your admiration of him. I however disagree. It's not a big deal in the large scheme of things. I'm just one man's opinion.

Anyways .....I think I'll exit this thread now since there appears to be a certain pro-Shaq group that doesn't want to hear any criticism of his legacy and I'm fine with that.

[kingmalaki]

I will remember him as the center that won when the center position was arguably the weakest that it has ever been in league history. I still think he is a top 5 all-time center, but I recognize there was no comp when he was dominant (as far as titles) and that he has always been on a team with a stud guard (a luxury for a big man).

I will also remember him as one of the centers Hakeem mopped when he went off for two titles, in the exact opposite situation (well, at least for one season).