RealGM

Now granted its arguable whether any player ever has realized their full potential but if we say that someone like MJ or LeBron reached roughly 98 or 99% of it use that as a measuring stick. So take into account everything about him as a player mainly in the age 20-34 years.

He was using 60% of his full power

I think he capitalized most of the potential he had. I don't agree with people calling top 10 players ever "lazy" or "underachievers".

70sFan wrote:I think he capitalized most of the potential he had. I don't agree with people calling top 10 players ever "lazy" or "underachievers".

You wouldn't say he could have done more conditioning and defensive effort wise?

Cavsfansince84 wrote:

70sFan wrote:I think he capitalized most of the potential he had. I don't agree with people calling top 10 players ever "lazy" or "underachievers".

You wouldn't say he could have done more conditioning and defensive effort wise?

Conditioning - probably, but I'm not sure how much it would help him to win more. Contrary to popular belief, I think that Shaq was very well conditioned for most of his prime for someone that large.

Defensive effort - that one definitely, but:

- that would hurt his offensive effort (his motor was limited after all),
- effort wouldn't fix his other problems on that end (mobility, fundamentals, timing).

70sFan wrote:Conditioning - probably, but I'm not sure how much it would help him to win more. Contrary to popular belief, I think that Shaq was very well conditioned for most of his prime for someone that large.

Defensive effort - that one definitely, but:

- that would hurt his offensive effort (his motor was limited after all),
- effort wouldn't fix his other problems on that end (mobility, fundamentals, timing).

My issue would be that I think 'that large' was sort of self inflicted. I do think Shaq has a propensity for easily putting on muscle and mass but I think he sort of went in that direction on purpose as opposed to a conditioning route. As in I think he used off seasons to add muscle from about 97-00 then the season to get into shape and from about 01-04 was using the off season to eat whatever he wanted thinking he could still just use the season to get back into shape. Which carries over to his motor and ability to give effort on both ends. I think people take for granted that Shaq would have come in at 350+lb no matter what(not even the rumored close to 400lb) because he was just a big guy when I think he definitely could have maintained a weight closer to 300lb if that had been his desire. Similar to Zion.

I just can't understand how a professional basketball player can't make a freethrow

henshao wrote:I just can't understand how a professional basketball player can't make a freethrow

It is a mental thing. Dwight shot over 90% at practice.

I think keeping his playing weight down slightly during his prime years and coming into the season in shape possibly could have helped him avoid some of the injuries but that is total speculation on my part.

People always talk about he should’ve kept his weight down and what not, but he had his best years when he was really heavy and strong.

90%+

Hard to put an exact percentage on it but I don’t think he realized most of his full potential. If I had to put a percentage on it I’d say around 90 percent.

It’s era dependent.

In most eras his potential is limited by the rules, so it would not matter if he got fat or was lazy.

Maybe 80% tbh. I know that’s low but that’s how highly I think of his dominance

Just looking at his pre 2000 years I just feel he could’ve been a good bit better if he had a different mentality. He’s literally unstoppable in the paint

87.4%

100%

brain transplants are still not feasible

henshao wrote:I just can't understand how a professional basketball player can't make a freethrow

try shooting FT's with a softball. You'd find it pretty difficult.

Texas Chuck wrote:

henshao wrote:I just can't understand how a professional basketball player can't make a freethrow

try shooting FT's with a softball. You'd find it pretty difficult.

The interesting part is the translation from practice to the game. Obviously, adrenaline and all of that plays a role, but Shaq shot 80% or so on non-trivial volumes of FTs in practice. Dwight, too. And other guys with huge hands didn't have quite as much trouble. Obviously, bulking up further made it worse, too, though.

henshao wrote:I just can't understand how a professional basketball player can't make a freethrow

For some, making the NBA is entirely independent of their ability to shoot the ball, hence we get outliers like Shaq. If everyone could shoot 85%+ from the line, then they would.

tsherkin wrote:

Texas Chuck wrote:

henshao wrote:I just can't understand how a professional basketball player can't make a freethrow

try shooting FT's with a softball. You'd find it pretty difficult.

The interesting part is the translation from practice to the game. Obviously, adrenaline and all of that plays a role, but Shaq shot 80% or so on non-trivial volumes of FTs in practice. Dwight, too. And other guys with huge hands didn't have quite as much trouble. Obviously, bulking up further made it worse, too, though.

Oh I know. Boban for instance has nice touch and his hands are much bigger than Shaq's. But I do think before just saying all NBA players should basically make every FT, there should be some understanding for why its not so simple. Just like when we were all 8, the sheer size of the ball limited how well the vast majority of us were ever going to be able to shoot. We had to grow into the ball. Well the same can be true in reverse.

Not saying its the only reason Shaq wasn't a good FT shooter, but it absolutely didn't help. And obviously for almost everyone shooting all alone in a gym is just easier for any form of shooting. I was a total non-shooter in high school, to the point, there is no way I could have played today, but in practice even I could knock down close to half my 3's, probably 60% or more from the corner, and made most of my FT's despite shooting well under 50% from the line in games, and I don't even want to know my 3PG% other than I made one career 3 lol.

And ironically as I got old and slow, I'm now a knockdown shooter. Still with ugly ass form and I shoot a set shot rather than a jumper, but now I'm a terrific spacing big lol.