Anyone else surprised that we haven't seen another Shaq like player

SK21209 · Post #41 » by **SK21209** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:10 pm

No, because Shaq was every bit the athletic freak that Zion is now.

prophet_of_rage · Post #42 » by **prophet_of_rage** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:12 pm

12footrim wrote:
KokoKaizer wrote:Shaq was one of a kind ! So...

Not surprised at all !

Certainly but to not even have a poor mans version in 25+ years I would have thought there would be someone at his size that was athletic. I can't think of anyone though.

DeMarcus Cousins

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prophet_of_rage · Post #43 » by **prophet_of_rage** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:13 pm

bringWallyBack wrote:Wasn't Sofoklis Schortsanitis considered to be a Greek mini Shaq?

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He was nicknamed Baby Shaq. Shouldnhave been early Zion. Same measurements.

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Infinite Llamas · Post #44 » by **Infinite Llamas** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:21 pm

It’s easy to assume Shaq wasn’t skilled when you see him measure against maestros like Hakeem but Shaq was very, very skilled. One of the most feared players of all time because he was such a powerhouse.

Post #45 » by **HomoSapien** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:23 pm

It shouldn't really be surprising. Shaq was one of the most unique guys out there. Think about this:

How many people in the league are 7-feet tall?
How many of those people are around 300lbs?
How many of those people are also athletic?
How many of those players actively want to be great?

He really was one of a kind.

ChettheJet · Post #46 » by **ChettheJet** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:26 pm

Players that come out of college after one year can't put on the weight as muscle in the weight room or develop the coordination to do what Shaq did. College coaches don't recruit big heavy 7 foot high school kids because they need too much work in the weight room and with footwork to spend a coupe of years developing. They all want prepackaged, long, tall run the floor athletes.

70sFan · Post #47 » by **70sFan** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:49 pm

Winsome Gerbil wrote:
70sFan wrote:How many real 7 footers with 280+lbs frame do we have in NBA history? I can only think of 3: Wilt, Gilmore and Shaq.

Well, there have been others obviously -- Yao, Muresan, Eaton etc. -- the mega monsters. But the missing ingredient with Shaq/Wilt is the completely out of place athleticism. When you grow that monstrous you normally also grow slow and clumsy. To be that size and move and jump better than a lot of 6'4" guys is where the true freakishness becomes most evident.

Sure, I was talking about athletic centers with these physical attributes. Only these 3 count in my opinion.

70sFan · Post #48 » by **70sFan** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:51 pm

Mazter wrote:
70sFan wrote:How many real 7 footers with 280+lbs frame do we have in NBA history? I can only think of 3: Wilt, Gilmore and Shaq.

Depends on what you mean with a "real 7 footers".

Guys who were legitimately 7 feet tall without the shoes. Of course I also meant athletic players, Muresan/Eaton/Yao were just as big, but they lacked athleticism.

abark · Post #49 » by **abark** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:17 pm

12footrim wrote:
bigbreakfast wrote:
Orin wrote:
Shaq was incredibly skilled, he was not just size and athleticism.

Guys like DeAndre Jordan, JaVale McGee are exemples of players with just size and athleticism, not Shaq.

shaq was very skilled in the low post he could post from either block, pivot off either foot, turn and shoot over either shoulder, etc. his footwork in the low post was very good, he had counters to defensive moves, routinely would maneuver away or split double teams.... the people sayin he was just big and strong clearly don't appreciate the nuances of basketball, especially post play.

That's because in 2020 we know post ups are a poor form of offense which makes it harder to appreciate IMO.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/12/2/20991249/post-up-dead-nba-brooklyn-nets-joel-embiid

Shaq couldn't shoot a 5 footer which was my point about having offensive skill. He more often than not bullied people on his post ups on way to the rim which doesn't take a lot of actual skill IMO. It takes a dude that is 360lbs at his height and there really isn't much nuance to it when you have that kind of weight pushing on someone 80 to 100lbs smaller if not more.

We know he couldn't shoot. But he had a level of ball handling, coordination, post moves, good touch inside 5 feet, passing, ect... that very few size/athleticism freaks have had.

He definitely bullied his way on the inside. But all those other attributes are skills. Yes, it takes a lot less skill to dominate w/ Shaq's physical gifts, but he was more than a guy with physical gifts.

Post #50 » by **Duffman100** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:28 pm

People underestimate how good Shaq was. It wasn't just size. His footwork, his touch, his basketball instincts.

Greyhound · Post #51 » by **Greyhound** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:42 pm

12footrim wrote:
theforumblue wrote:if size and athlecism is all OP is looking for, isnt embiid poorman's shaq? true 7 footer with size.

Embid is listed a 249

I guess with the post up all but dead now and litigated as a poor offensive shot it doesn't make much sense for a guy like Whiteside to try to bulk up to 280+ which might help them if they were trying to play back to the basket post up guy. A slightly slimmer version that could rim roll better seems to be preferred offensive attack by both coaches and players in the modern offense of these guys that have no jumpshot. Still it doesn't explain the other 20 years and that not one 280 type athletic player you could even call a poor mans shaq emerged.

That listing is bogus. Embiid is clearly over 280 lbs.

McGee is listed at 270 lbs.

ClubLakers KB8 · Post #52 » by **ClubLakers KB8** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:55 pm

Nope. He's 1 of 1. I doubt we see anything like him again. At his peak he was as good as anyone ever.

dhsilv2 · Post #53 » by **dhsilv2** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:30 pm

Beethoven wrote:Cousins perhaps was the closest thing to resembling Shaq's game.

He certainly had the size and athletic skills to be discussed as a comp.

dhsilv2 · Post #54 » by **dhsilv2** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:33 pm

70sFan wrote:How many real 7 footers with 280+lbs frame do we have in NBA history? I can only think of 3: Wilt, Gilmore and Shaq.

Eaton. Sabonis.

dhsilv2 · Post #55 » by **dhsilv2** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:35 pm

NO-KG-AI wrote:
theforumblue wrote:if size and athlecism is all OP is looking for, isnt embiid poorman's shaq? true 7 footer with size.

Embiid is big and he's athletic, but honestly, he's not nearly as thick or wide as Shaq, and not as explosive either. The smallest version of Shaq(Rookie year in Orlando) in the NBA is still 20-25 pounds heavier than the playing weight we've seen Embiid at.

Shaq was above 330 for most of his career. It's like comparing guys that are 220 to LeBron JAmes, it's just such a massive gulf in size that it's not worth mentioning as a direct comparison.

I would have put money on Embiid being at least 270....but wow, I'm off.

never mind.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2854176-video-76ers-star-joel-embiid-reveals-he-lost-25-pounds-this-offseason

280 confirmed AFTER weight loss. OK yeah.

dhsilv2 · Post #56 » by **dhsilv2** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:36 pm

Egg Nog wrote:
TravisScott55 wrote:We'll never seen players like Shaq and Iverson. They were freaks of nature.

Iverson doesn't belong in this. We've seen many NBA guys with his size/athleticism, not to mention there are 100+ similarly-sized guys with similar athleticism in the NFL at any given time.

Obviously he was hugely athletic, but "freak of nature"? Nah.

dude....Iverson was a FREAK!

70sFan · Post #57 » by **70sFan** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:43 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
70sFan wrote:How many real 7 footers with 280+lbs frame do we have in NBA history? I can only think of 3: Wilt, Gilmore and Shaq.

Eaton. Sabonis.

As I said, I forgot to add athletic part - Sabonis wasn't athletic in NBA anymore and Eaton certainly wasn't among the most nimble guys on the floor.

Dollop · Post #58 » by **Dollop** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:55 pm

Think about how much Zions frame and athleticism is and anomaly then add half a foot and a freakish wingspan too. That’s just physically, then you add Shaqs skill and bbiq.

Post #59 » by **jazzfan1971** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:55 pm

It would have been interesting to see Boban play in Shaq's era.

J___Av · Post #60 » by **J___Av** » Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:58 pm

12footrim wrote:
bigbreakfast wrote:
Orin wrote:
Shaq was incredibly skilled, he was not just size and athleticism.

Guys like DeAndre Jordan, JaVale McGee are exemples of players with just size and athleticism, not Shaq.

shaq was very skilled in the low post he could post from either block, pivot off either foot, turn and shoot over either shoulder, etc. his footwork in the low post was very good, he had counters to defensive moves, routinely would maneuver away or split double teams.... the people sayin he was just big and strong clearly don't appreciate the nuances of basketball, especially post play.

That's because in 2020 we know post ups are a poor form of offense which makes it harder to appreciate IMO.

Isn't the most efficient shot in basketball this year a Zion low post up?