The Perfect Center (Physique: David Robinson)

[DeathLineup]

You are building a robot to play center in the NBA. First things first, the physical part. You are able to copy the physique of any NBA player in the history. Simply state the player’s name and the year.

Which player would you like to copy?

[KnickFan33]

Prime Shaq

[Starboy]

David Robinson

[JulesWinnfield]

Clearly and easily Shaq at his peak. There may be guys who look better at the beach but no ones physique gave them the inherit advantage that Shaq had from his build. He was not of this earth. In his prime it really felt like dad vs son in the driveway against everyone.

[Jaivl]

2020 Mohamed Bamba.

[Dr Spaceman]

Clearly and easily Shaq at his peak. There may be guys who look better at the beach but no ones physique gave them the inherit advantage that Shaq had from his build. He was not of this earth. In his prime it really felt like dad vs son in the driveway against everyone.

I think his weight stopped him from being an elite defensive anchor. TBH I think Hakeem and Wilt has better bodies. Comparable strength but way more agility and cardio endurance.

[KnickFan33]

Clearly and easily Shaq at his peak. There may be guys who look better at the beach but no ones physique gave them the inherit advantage that Shaq had from his build. He was not of this earth. In his prime it really felt like dad vs son in the driveway against everyone.

I think his weight stopped him from being an elite defensive anchor. TBH I think Hakeem and Wilt has better bodies. Comparable strength but way more agility and cardio endurance.

The premise is we're building a center piece by piece. How his weight might have affected his play would be irrelevant, imho.

For example, potential next pieces might be adding Wilt's vertical and/or DRob's mobility.

Edit: If that isn't the case, I'll have to change my answer.

[3toheadmelo]

deandre ayton

[JulesWinnfield]

Clearly and easily Shaq at his peak. There may be guys who look better at the beach but no ones physique gave them the inherit advantage that Shaq had from his build. He was not of this earth. In his prime it really felt like dad vs son in the driveway against everyone.

I think his weight stopped him from being an elite defensive anchor. TBH I think Hakeem and Wilt has better bodies. Comparable strength but way more agility and cardio endurance.

I can see the argument regarding the defensive end... he definitely lacked the mobility some other guys had on that end, and his shear size almost certainly contributed to his injury prone nature... I have a tough time saying Hakeem had comparable strength to Shaq though (ill exclude wilt because i really have never felt too comfortable taking strong positions on careers that i didnt witness in progress...)

To me Shaq was a full tier above anybody that ive ever seen in this respect. It was utterly impossible to deny him deep post position. I dont think weve seen someone with his power. Rookie Shaq forced the NBA to reinforce their basket stansions. They figured breakway rims were good enough until he came along. If 2000 or 2001 Shaq were playing with those basket supports he could do what he did in jersey/phoenix whenever he wanted

[3Diamantidis]

David Robinson

[Dupp]

KG maybe

[henshao]

Kevin Garnett at 7'1 225lbs is not an ideal starting ground for a center from the average NBA era. Slenderman be studyin' his game footage

But you do have to clarify before you can even begin to build the Perfect Player what system in which you will employ him?

Furthermore it is difficult to separate sheer size/physique from other qualities such as high-tempo/frequent-transition endurance. From a purely physics perspective it takes a lot of energy to lug a Shaq up and down and up and down the court no matter what shape he's in.

That being said if you can totally separate a player's size from their mobility and such, it's a somewhat easy pick between these two.



(yao and shaq)

[70sFan]

Not a single mention of Wilt?

[DeathLineup]

Clearly and easily Shaq at his peak. There may be guys who look better at the beach but no ones physique gave them the inherit advantage that Shaq had from his build. He was not of this earth. In his prime it really felt like dad vs son in the driveway against everyone.

I think his weight stopped him from being an elite defensive anchor. TBH I think Hakeem and Wilt has better bodies. Comparable strength but way more agility and cardio endurance.

The premise is we're building a center piece by piece. How his weight might have affected his play would be irrelevant, imho.

For example, potential next pieces might be adding Wilt's vertical and/or DRob's mobility.

Edit: If that isn't the case, I'll have to change my answer.

Going to run this series in three parts only. Physique, offensive attributes and defensive attributes. Speed, agility, strength are discussed in the physique part.

Personal pick: Apex Dwight Howard.

[SpreeS]

D-Rob

Watch on YouTube

[BasketballFan7]

Yao Ming

[migya]

D-Rob

Watch on YouTube

Robinson was a freak. He was so tall, mobile and skilled. He was like a 7'1 sprinter. If he wanted to put on 20-30 more pounds he could have but didn't need to, unlike Dwight who had to because he just didn't have the skills.

[kendogg]

wilt

[An Unbiased Fan]

Shaq. I want the most dominant physical frame ever. Shaq was also really quick. His problem was work ethic.

[dhsilv2]

00 Shaq.

For the wilt lovers, no he has too long of legs. Shaq's lower center of gravity was a HUGE physical edge.