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Shaq
Embiid
Admiral
Dream
Wilt
Duncan
Dirk
Kareem
Ewing
Russell

Something like this (this is passing, not playmaking):

Wilt
Duncan
Russell

Kareem
Shaq
Admiral

Embiid
Dirk
Dream

Ewing

70sFan wrote:Something like this (this is passing, not playmaking):

Wilt
Duncan
Russell

Kareem
Shaq
Admiral

Embiid
Dirk
Dream

Ewing

That's interesting. What makes you think Duncan is a better passer than Shaq? I'm kinda surprised Wilt and Russell are above him too, I think I'd put him at the top.

It's Russell vs Wilt for me.

I think Wilt was more skilled at getting the ball to go exactly where he wanted it to go, while Russell was more skilled at knowing where the best spot for the ball to go was.

I voted Russell, as I think passing skill is a combination of both being able to read the defense as well as hand eye coordination. I think Wilt had better hand eye coordination, but Russell was better at reading the defense and putting the ball in the best person's hands.

McBubbles wrote:

70sFan wrote:Something like this (this is passing, not playmaking):

Wilt
Duncan
Russell

Kareem
Shaq
Admiral

Embiid
Dirk
Dream

Ewing

That's interesting. What makes you think Duncan is a better passer than Shaq? I'm kinda surprised Wilt and Russell are above him too, I think I'd put him at the top.

Duncan had all the big man fundamental passes much earlier than Shaq did.

Post - Cutter indoor, Lob over, Over the top, back out to shooter

Top of the key - One of Spurs sets he used to lob to whoever, he had a connection with Leonard on that

Outlet long pass

The tricky bounce pass hitting cutters in tight space with a longer one

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Here found some footage about this.

I will say the Spurs system with triangular space is so good to understand, longest at the longest point and sharpest and smallest at well you get the gist of it

I think Wilt, either or but he def has the flashiest passes. There’s one on YouTube that’s absurdly good (Jokic type wtf pass)

McBubbles wrote:

70sFan wrote:Something like this (this is passing, not playmaking):

Wilt
Duncan
Russell

Kareem
Shaq
Admiral

Embiid
Dirk
Dream

Ewing

That's interesting. What makes you think Duncan is a better passer than Shaq? I'm kinda surprised Wilt and Russell are above him too, I think I'd put him at the top.

I think they both started from similar floor (maybe Shaq had a bit more natural feel for certain kind of passes), but Duncan worked extremely hard to expand his passing game. Try watching Spurs game as late as 2001 and compare that to anything post-2002, it's mind blowing how much he improved. At his passing peak (which was actually in the late 2000s), Duncan was simply way more versatile passer than Shaq. He was a better outlet passer, better secondary passer, better at hand-offs, better on a move, better as a high post hub. The only type of passing Shaq was close to is post passing and I don't think that's enough to put him ahead. Shaq was a very gifted at beating doubles (probably the most underrated aspect of his game after off-ball stuff) but he never expanded his passing game the way Duncan did. Illegal defense also helped him a little bit.

It's also evident that Duncan even as an old man with slower reaction time still provided a lot of value at the end of his career as a secondary passer and high post decision maker, while Shaq's passing game became irrelevant once he stopped pressing defense to the same degree he did in his prime.

Wilt and Russell are a bit tougher because of different environment, but Russell is a similar case to Duncan - simply better at many things than Shaq. He loses some value as a playmaker because he lacked scoring pressure, but I tried to separate these things. Wilt is harder, because there are reasons to put him lower but he's the best passer out of this group in terms of pure technique and that gave him more opportunities to impact the game that way. I also don't think Shaq would be able to replicate what Wilt did in 1966-68 period with the Sixers.