Would Shaq be exposed defensively in today's NBA?

[RGM_SU]

The league effectively ended his career early by changing the way the offensive foul was called. He was still 18.5/10.3/2.3 per 36 in 09/10. But he was fouling at 4.9/36 as well. The next year it was up to 5.7/36. In fact, he set career highs in fouls/36 for the bulk of his last 7 years in the league (even when he was still 1st team All NBA). Those calls are ALWAYS made now.

The league ended his career by changing the way offensive foul was called?

His career ended because he got old and was never great at taking care of his body.

And for your knowledge, Shaq's offensive fouls per-36 from 2000-01 onwards:

2000-01: 0.48
2001-02: 0.64
2002-03: 0.62
2003-04: 0.56
2004-05: 0.56
2005-06: 0.86
2006-07: 0.57
2007-08: 0.78
2008-09: 0.51
2009-10: 0.81
2010-11: 0.62

Totally supports your claim.

[Yoshun]

His move is to (and this is in HIS WORDS) "Kiss the defender" with his elbows. That's a FLAGRANT now. He dislodges the post defender and once he is off balance goes to work. That just wouldn't fly today. That's not the same as gray area with carrying or a generous gather. Guys today would just plant their feet, fall back and get the call. They never used to get the call.

Wouldn’t need his elbows against 6-8 centers tbh

The league effectively ended his career early by changing the way the offensive foul was called. He was still 18.5/10.3/2.3 per 36 in 09/10. But he was fouling at 4.9/36 as well. The next year it was up to 5.7/36. In fact, he set career highs in fouls/36 for the bulk of his last 7 years in the league (even when he was still 1st team All NBA). Those calls are ALWAYS made now.

The flipside of playing in the right/wrong era is DRob. He might be GOAT if he played today.

Yea but Shaq was also 37, in his 19th season and much fatter and slower in 09/10.

Defenses wouldn't be allowed to use half the stuff they used on Shaq back in his prime. They used to slap him, grab him, shove him, etc... He was constantly in contact with someone.

[kodo]

In his Orlando days he was about as fast & athletic as Anthony Davis. He gained a ton of weight to dominate more in the low post with LA.

In the modern NBA, with modern trainers and teams they would keep him as he was in Orlando. His highest RPGs and BPGs came in Orlando, not LA. He basically traded all-around speed & athleticism for low post muscle, and you probably wouldn't do that in today's league.

[HurricaneKid]

Wouldn’t need his elbows against 6-8 centers tbh

The league effectively ended his career early by changing the way the offensive foul was called. He was still 18.5/10.3/2.3 per 36 in 09/10. But he was fouling at 4.9/36 as well. The next year it was up to 5.7/36. In fact, he set career highs in fouls/36 for the bulk of his last 7 years in the league (even when he was still 1st team All NBA). Those calls are ALWAYS made now.

The flipside of playing in the right/wrong era is DRob. He might be GOAT if he played today.

Yea but Shaq was also 37, in his 19th season and much fatter and slower in 09/10.

Defenses wouldn't be allowed to use half the stuff they used on Shaq back in his prime. They used to slap him, grab him, shove him, etc... He was constantly in contact with someone.

True, but that only brings up the other problem. He would be on the line more which was a 52% success over the course of his lengthy career. He is giving up a lot more than that on the other end today...

[RGM_SU]

Yea but Shaq was also 37, in his 19th season and much fatter and slower in 09/10.

Defenses wouldn't be allowed to use half the stuff they used on Shaq back in his prime. They used to slap him, grab him, shove him, etc... He was constantly in contact with someone.

As I wrote above, his claim is totally false. What increased was the fouls on defense that Shaq committed, which had something to do with, as you correctly stated, him getting older, slower and heavier.

[zonedefense]

Young Shaq was really mobile for a player of his size and weight. As a young player he certainly had the ability to step outside the paint and defend the pick and roll or a strech big but after he signed with the Lakers he basically refused to do it. More of a mental problem than lack of ability.
Even today with all the stretch 5s and 4s some great centers refuse to leave the paint...most obvious examples are Howard and in past years Drummond (this year he really changed for the better).

[Cookin Baskets]

Tough to say but really don't think it makes much of a difference. I think rules and certain eras have some effect on players but not enough where it would be noticeable for the most part. I think if your a great player you'll be great in any era and make the proper adjustments needed to make that possible. Shaq dominated in his era because he made the adjustments he needed to do for that era.

[Lalouie]

all thebigs woyld be exposed trying to guard Shaq

[joeyAdaMan]

Tough to say but really don't think it makes much of a difference. I think rules and certain eras have some effect on players but not enough where it would be noticeable for the most part. I think if your a great player you'll be great in any era and make the proper adjustments needed to make that possible. Shaq dominated in his era because he made the adjustments he needed to do for that era.

Pretty much this....and Shaq wasn't just another great center in the greatest era of centers....he was the very definition of what the RealGM GB calls a "generational" talent....we'll honestly likely see another Lebron(never gonna happen btw ) before we ever see anything remotely close to Shaq again...this era would have to adjust to him as much as the reverse

[DavidSterned]

That's fine. He can drop as many points as he wants. I know I'm getting more points on the other end.

Lol

I don't understand what's so funny. Who's Shaq supposed to guard when I go "small" and put a bunch of horses that can space on the court?

I will go out on a limb and bet that '00 Shaq can probably live with just leaving 30% shooter Draymond Green wide open and protecting the paint. Zone defense FTW.

Now good luck not fouling those 6'8 defensive stoppers out in 5 minutes trying to hold Shaq's legs down.

[-TheDocOfDenial]

Yes my fave thread on realgm where kids sit around and pretend that prime shaq was jahlil
okafor in disguise. Drummond, embiid and cousins are ok in todays era on defense but prime shaq would be totally exposed. People need to stop living in the moment and only looking at spreadsheets to determine players worth.

[cupcakesnake]

be hilarious to try to play small on Shaq. He was unstoppable against double and triple teams and was also a willing and able passer. Post guys getting played off the floor happens when they can't punish you on the other side (to punish in the post nowadays you have to be able to score one-on-one and pass).

Also, while Shaq coasted a lot on defense, he was generally a very impactful defensive player. The expectations would be different of him in today's era, and while I don't think he would had given more relative effort, he would have been very able guarding pick and rolls, his feet were insanely quic. Y'all remembering late 30s Shaquille O'Neal if you think he'd struggle on defense.

Lol lol lol at Shaq being guarded one on one by Draymond and Durant.

[red96]

maybe. but i think if he grew up in this era he'd think he was a point guard. young shaq was very athletic. if he kept in shape he'd be fine. if he was determined to be fat shaq then yes he'd have problems.

Why don't we give Shaq the 3 ball too, due to the era? Conditioning is improved through work ethic and dedication. Has nothing to do with era.

[JonFromVA]

Let's say the Rockets, for example, would continually run pick and rolls that would force Shaq to get switched on defense forcing him to guard Gordon, Harden, or Paul on the perimeter. Shaq was a notoriously bad pick and roll defender. I feel like Shaq could get exposed defensively. Same thing applies to other stiff players like Yao. Very slow and unable to move his feet. It'd be like Enes Kanter/Jahlil Okafor all over again.

Shaq would continue to play back on the P&R ... like a lot of bigs still do. The question is ... who's guarding him and how long are they going to stay on the floor/healthy trying?

[CIN-C-STAR]

The fact is that no one has the personnel to really make him defend 3s. Delusional fans think their team does, but they don't.
Draymond Green sucks at shooting 3s, and Iggy isn't that great, either.
Houston still plays a lot of Capela. I don't see him lighting it up from 3. In fact, I don't see him do much on offense besides throw down lobs.
The game hasn't changed that much, and where it has the most is the 4 spot. Most teams still employ a traditional center, so Shaq would be just fine.

[Warriorfan]

Shaw would be a star in any are. Would he stay fit and avoid injuries I would hope so.
Would the more complex defenses and more athletic bigs be a problem I don't think so.

Ben Wallace teams had a playoff record advantage over Shaw. RE
https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.fcgi?id=kKX3x

Hakeem was a smaller C but won the playoff matchup while losing regular season.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.fcgi?id=JuKho

[qm22]

maybe. but i think if he grew up in this era he'd think he was a point guard. young shaq was very athletic. if he kept in shape he'd be fine. if he was determined to be fat shaq then yes he'd have problems.

Why don't we give Shaq the 3 ball too, due to the era? Conditioning is improved through work ethic and dedication. Has nothing to do with era.

He had a lot better work ethic than centers today and most players in general, I'd bet my house on it. There have been a lot of other big guys that don't have a small percent of his ability, from the basics to his best moves. He was dominant because of his work ethic and determination to be that.

Secondly, he conditioned himself according to his environment. In many situations the less athletic overall 2002 Shaq was more dominant against his contemporary competition. There were certain advantages to more post power compared to mobility for him then. If he had stayed Orlando Shaq athletically he wouldn't have been more successful in the LA era, except for the regular season. It's a pretty big assumption if you're going to say he would have zero adaptation, or that all of his traits that fit in better in the 00s were an accidental product of lacking "work ethic and dedication".

[ItsMyPotPie]

As far as every player that ever talked about Shaq, during his Orlando years he was THE freak of nature.7'1, already crazy strong and a damm athlete

[JonFromVA]

The fact is that no one has the personnel to really make him defend 3s. Delusional fans think their team does, but they don't.
Draymond Green sucks at shooting 3s, and Iggy isn't that great, either.
Houston still plays a lot of Capela. I don't see him lighting it up from 3. In fact, I don't see him do much on offense besides throw down lobs.
The game hasn't changed that much, and where it has the most is the 4 spot. Most teams still employ a traditional center, so Shaq would be just fine.

Oh, the Cavs do, but Kevin Love's back wouldn't hold up to defending Shaq. Horford, Towns, even Valanciunas (in low volume) is shooting well from 3pt this season.

Also, it just takes a P&R from the guy Shaq is guarding to open up a 3pter for a teammate. You'd want to pair Shaq with solid perimeter defenders to decrease the damage.

[ItsMyPotPie]

And Shaq would still be the huge body in the paint who you most prolly don't want to meet on the drive.