Peak Only: Duncan/Walton or Dirk/Shaq

[Matt15]

Peak only, which duo would you rather have?

[DHodgkins]

The inside out game of Dirk/Shaq trumps the best passing big duo ever seen.

Tough, but peak Shaq is hard to pick against, especially with peak Dirk with him on the frontline?

[ShaqAttack3234]

Shaq/Dirk. Didn't have to think about this one much at all. Shaq and Dirk are insanely good duo. I'm sure Duncan/Walton will be great, but they're far more similar while Shaq and Dirk should complement each other insanely well and be impossible to match up with. You have two of the biggest match up problems in NBA history, and defense isn't a problem with Shaq at his peak since he anchored the league's best defense in 2000, and Dirk is a solid defender himself. In fact, while he wasn't the help defender Horry was, he was much more capable of defending 4s than either Horry or the 36 year old version of AC Green was. Meanwhile, imagine Dirk's shooting with such a dominant interior player, and Dirk potentially getting to the line even more frequently with Shaq getting teams in the penalty as opposed to all of the jump shooters Dirk has played with.

[Laimbeer]

Dirk and Shaq are perfect compliments, while Duncan and Walton are redundant. They'd be great for sure, but they wouldn't really amplify the strength of the other.

[Quotatious]

Ooh, it's an extremely interesting comparison. I think it's very close, even despite the fact that we have peak freakin' Shaq here, because we basically have never seen a duo like Shaq and Dirk before - we don't know for sure if it would really work that smoothly. Sure, Dirk is a hugely outside-oriented bigman with amazing shooting range and off-ball movement, so he should work very well next to Shaq who's the polar opposite as far as style of play and skillset, but Duncan and Walton both played next to other All-Star bigs, Robinson and Lucas, and won championships in a pretty convincing fashion. Both are also at the top of the list of the most unselfish superstars (even simply the most unselfish players) in NBA history, so even though they may see to be a bit redundant, it wouldn't be a problem. Both could also knock down a 15 footer and pass extremely well so spacing wouldn't be an issue, either (just like Duncan and Admiral worked just fine together). In terms of defense and rebounding, they'd be incredible.

Peak Shaq was also a truly great defender, and Dirk was well above average, to go along with potentially devastating offense, but the fit between Duncan and Walton seems to be a lot safer, more proven fit, and I see their all-around game as a bit superior to Shaq and Dirk. I'd go with TD and BW but the chance to get peak Shaq and Dirk is also extremely tempting.

Anyway, I wanted to be a contrarian here, because as soon as I saw this thread for the first time, I knew that everyone would go with Shaq and Dirk, but I also see a great argument for the other duo.