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Shaquille O'Neal Thread

  • Good ol' Shaq. The Diesel, Superman, Shaq Daddy, The Big Aristotle, Shaq Fu. In the period between Michael Jordan's retirement from the Chicago Bulls in 1998 and the ascension of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to the top of the heap a few years ago, Shaq was the most important basketball player in the world. And given the long transition the NBA was in post-Jordan, the league ought to be damn glad it had him. A great many of the big markets, including Chicago, New York, Philly, Washington and Houston, had teams that were flops. The Spurs, no matter how wonderfully skilled and unselfishly they played, put people to sleep. Shaq and his dominance/foolishness were there, fortunately, to save the era.

    You want legacy? He won championships, four of them, and he had a helluva lot of fun doing it. Oh yes, he annoyed people, too, particularly former teammates and coaches left behind, from Penny Hardaway to Kobe Bryant. But tell me you didn't chuckle a little when Shaq called Stan Van Gundy "The Master of Panic," or Chris Bosh the "Ru Paul of big men." Ungracious at times? Yes, absolutely. Difficult as a teammate at times? Yes, unquestionably. But Shaq was and is an American original, Goliath who loved being Goliath, a big man always completely comfortable in his own skin.

    Now I ask where do you rate Shaq as far as all time centers go? I've got the ''last true center'' in the #1 spot. That's right. Why you ask? You guys can call it bias because he was the true great center of our generation. We didn't get to see Wilt Chamberlain or the Bill Russell's of our father's generation... but I can tell you one thing, and I'm sure you guys could agree, that Shaq in his prime could have dunked over any one of them.

    This post was edited by IrishImpact on 5/26/2012 at 2:46 AM

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • Well of course

    Dunking on them = better lol

    Facepalm

    I think Shaq is #2 or #1

    But it has nothing to do with him being able to jam on anybody

    If he had a scrap of work ethic he would have been the GOAT no doubt

    But sadly he just showed up for work and ate himself out of the league

    I loved Shaq though, great player and ill never forget when he came onto the scene

    This post was edited by LSUNoVa97443 on 3/1/2012 at 12:54 AM

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    LSUNoVa97443

  • LSU-NoVa said...

    Well of course

    Dunking on them = better lol

    Facepalm

    I think Shaq is #2 or #1

    But it has nothing to do with him being able to jam on anybody

    If he had a scrap of work ethic he would have been the GOAT no doubt

    But sadly he just showed up for work and ate himself out of the league

    At 7'1 335 lbs. I'm surprised he has held up that long. He was a rookie in '92 and was hardly ever injured. That feat in itself is tough.

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    At 7'1 335 lbs. I'm surprised he has held up that long. He was a rookie in '92 and was hardly ever injured. That feat in itself is tough.

    If he kept in shape he would have been fine

    He should have stayed around 290/300

    He was a ripped freak early on and barely lifted

    If he had a work ethic like Jordan or Kobe he might have been the most dominating player ever

    Still great though

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    LSUNoVa97443

  • LSU-NoVa said...

    If he kept in shape he would have been fine

    He should have stayed around 290/300

    He was a ripped freak early on and barely lifted

    If he had a work ethic like Jordan or Kobe he might have been the most dominating player ever

    Still great though

    But shame on you if you didn't appreciate his dominance, or realize that somebody that big simply shouldn't have that kind of coordination, athleticism or sense of play. I wasn't always certain as to what impressed me more, Shaq taking a lob pass from Kobe Bryant out of the sky and slamming it home in the fourth quarter of a Game 7 against the Blazers en route to his first championship, or Shaq break-dancing, 300 pounds on the floor spinning like a gymnast.

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    But shame on you if you didn't appreciate his dominance, or realize that somebody that big simply shouldn't have that kind of coordination, athleticism or sense of play. I wasn't always certain as to what impressed me more, Shaq taking a lob pass from Kobe Bryant out of the sky and slamming it home in the fourth quarter of a Game 7 against the Blazers en route to his first championship, or Shaq break-dancing, 300 pounds on the floor spinning like a gymnast.

    Shame on me ?

    Okay, i see you are still a very weird poster

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    LSUNoVa97443

  • LSU-NoVa said...

    Shame on me ?

    Okay, i see you are still a very weird poster

    Whats so weird?

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    Whats so weird?

    I wasn't bashing Shaq and im wondering if he was a favorite player of yours or somebody you would drop to your knees for

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    LSUNoVa97443

  • LSU-NoVa said...

    I wasn't bashing Shaq and im wondering if he was a favorite player of yours or somebody you would drop to your knees for

    What the hell are you talking about? I knew you weren't bashing Shaq. Are you one of the younger sensitive posters?

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    What the hell are you talking about? I knew you weren't bashing Shaq. Are you one of the younger sensitive posters?

    No i just remember your past posts bashing the Noles and this whole thread is not only weird its random as hell

    But carry on, im not mad

    I just don't understand why you were thinking of Shaq at 2 in the AM and then decided to write a short story about it is all

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    LSUNoVa97443

  • Only if he could shoot a free throw and make it

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    future bulldog

    deltadawg82

  • LSU-NoVa said...

    No i just remember your past posts bashing the Noles and this whole thread is not only weird its random as hell

    But carry on, im not mad

    I just don't understand why you were thinking of Shaq at 2 in the AM and then decided to write a short story about it is all

    I was probably upset about the bowl game. and this whole board is filled with nothing BUT random threads, thats the beauty of it. Go ahead and type whats on your mind at that exact moment. God bless social media.

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • deltadawg82 said...

    Only if he could shoot a free throw and make it

    Would be #3 in scoring if he would have been above 80%

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    I was probably upset about the bowl game. and this whole board is filled with nothing BUT random threads, thats the beauty of it. Go ahead and type whats on your mind at that exact moment. God bless social media.

    Fair enough

    I agree Shaq is an all time great

    Just think in terms of being the best center of all time its a matter of opinion

    He didn't do enough to cement the fact he is the best but certainly did enough to be one of the few in the conversation

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    NoVaNoles ●

  • NoVaNoles said...

    Fair enough

    I agree Shaq is an all time great

    Just think in terms of being the best center of all time its a matter of opinion

    He didn't do enough to cement the fact he is the best but certainly did enough to be one of the few in the conversation

    What other 7-foot man said his goal was to work undercover for the FBI? lol

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    What other 7-foot man said his goal was to work undercover for the FBI? lol

    lol ( shrugs )

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    NoVaNoles ●


  • More than the dunks, blocked shots and terrorizing opponents, it's the rapping at Prince's nightclub in Minneapolis one night, the creating of nonsensical but completely clever nicknames, the understanding that sports is show biz and what his place is in that universe. That's what set Shaquille O'Neal apart from virtually every other basketball player

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • He is going to get his #34 retired sometime next season. If only Shaq, Kobe, and Phil all stayed together... what could have been.

    zabba

  • His best team is Inside the NBA. These guys are the best sports pre/post game show. Great mix of analysis and humor.

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    Hskr4Life23

  • zabba said...

    He is going to get his #34 retired sometime next season. If only Shaq, Kobe, and Phil all stayed together... what could have been.

    Could say the same about Jordan though. If he had stayed in the NBA and not the minors of MLB the bulls would have probably won 8 strait.

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    spcbuzzard

  • Exactly. Therein lies the ultimate question. But you also have to look at it and say you've got the best coach in the world, and the #1 and #2 best players in the world all on the same team. I'm surprised it actually lasted as long as it did. I think they would have beat those late 90's Chicago Bulls teams.

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • IrishImpact said...

    Exactly. Therein lies the ultimate question. But you also have to look at it and say you've got the best coach in the world, and the #1 and #2 best players in the world all on the same team. I'm surprised it actually lasted as long as it did. I think they would have beat those late 90's Chicago Bulls teams.

    maybe. Shaq couldn't get by them (with Jordan) when he was in Orlando, then again his supporting cast wouldn't have been nearly as good as it was in LA. The one thing there is that those were Jordan's best years imo. Rodman also added another dynamic.

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    spcbuzzard

  • spcbuzzard said...

    Could say the same about Jordan though. If he had stayed in the NBA and not the minors of MLB the bulls would have probably won 8 strait.

    True, but at least your what if was mostly answered when MJ came back. Bulls at worst lost out on two additional titles. The Lakers what if will never be answered due to b.s. by Shaq, Kobe, and Phil. I'm glad the Lakers have 5 championships in 11 seasons, but I felt like they left a few due to self-inflicted nonsense...

    zabba

  • spcbuzzard said...

    maybe. Shaq couldn't get by them (with Jordan) when he was in Orlando, then again his supporting cast wouldn't have been nearly as good as it was in LA. The one thing there is that those were Jordan's best years imo. Rodman also added another dynamic.

    That would have been the ultimate finals matchup. Damn I forgot about Rodman. The 90's wild child.

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

  • Rodman in the hall?

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    Gringo Mafia Sergeant at Arms - 5 time POTW

    IrishImpact

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