KokoKaizer wrote:Shaq was one of a kind ! So...
Not surprised at all !
He was every bit as unique as Muggsey. There have been short guys like Muggsey and big guys (even fat Cs) who were at Shaq's weight, but they lacked everything else he had, including a decent amount of finesse which was always treated as a fluke when he showed it. He was also a helluva lot sturdier than given credit for. There was a subset of Laker fans who hated him for many reasons and drummed up his gout condition and lack of training, but compare Shaq's productive years to Greg Oden, Sam Bowie, or Bill Walton's (or any Blazer center). Not even comparable.
Two of his most major injuries were from a hack a Shaq on his thumb by Matt Geiger when Shaq was in Orlando and by landing on an opponent's foot in his first year in LA which screwed up his knee. He was even sent back out for 5 more trips up court in that game and he ran and dunked twice before he started feeling the pain. Game was in Minnesota and iirc it was their team doctor who said Shaq was good to go back out there (which he wasn't). Lakers didn't have one on duty that night iirc. The landing was grotesque. The toe of his shoe came down perfectly on the heel of a jobber for the TWolves named Dean Garrett and his knee hyperextended backwards. If you watched it, you grabbed your bollz in pain. He had surgery and a cast/wheelchair in-season and still came back for the playoffs after 30 gms. He just went right back to his level of dominance. In 98, he came up with a stomach muscle tear or partial tear after a driving layup vs Minny at The Forum. That might've been his only prime years injury that was caused by conditioning, but even that's a who knows. Fit players can get those as well and can be continuous problematic conditions, but he missed 22 gms and never had another. He had a gout like/turf toe thing at the start of 2002/03 that lasted 15 or so gms.
NPZ's Definitive Magic Johnson highlight reel49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 72, 80, 82, 85, 87, 88, 00, 01, 02, 09, 10, 20
I do agree Whiteside is similar playing style wise, but clearly not as athletic.
