Would Shaq dominate today's NBA?

[sahara]

How fun it would be to see the all-time greats battling it out all in their primes?

And yeah, Shaq would dominate.

Edit. I remember the first NBA game I ever saw. It was on Eurosport, I remember seeing this one guy just bully his way to the basket and dunk it every possession. It was Shaq very early season in `92, might have been his first game 

[Tr1boy]

Shaq in his prime was a force of nature. He could get to the basket anytime he wanted to in today's game.

yes and more than half the times and ones

just couldn't make the FTs

BUT in todays league he would get so many foul calls/ejections ...  PFs, SFs would need to start guarding him which would kill a teams vibe

Imagine Draymond Green trying to guard him?  LOL...Shaq would steamroll through him and Green would be yelling at the refs this time.... " HELP ME"

[PhoSita]

For the record, I think Shaq would score 30+ points per game in today's league with great efficiency, but he would also be a problem for his team defensively because of his lack of defensive mobility outside of the paint.

I think anytime you're comparing players from different eras it's a fool's errand because there are just too many variables.  The game has changed a lot since 2010, let alone since 2006 when Shaq was at the tail end of his prime.  It's too simplistic to say "Well, Shaq dominated interior defenders in his time and interior defenders have only gotten smaller since then."  There's a reason defenders are lighter and quicker now, and many of the factors that have caused that shift would be to Shaq's detriment.


Realistically, if Shaq came into today's league he would probably end up developing an outside jumper and also have some guard skills.

Michael Jordan, similarly, would probably be a 45% three point shooter and would have a killer step-back three.

[SHAQATTACK]

only a few players in history could have slowed him .  Wilt would have been a massive battle under old school rules of the 70's .   

Nobody shuts Shaq down in his prime .   Hech.  they could not really stop him untill he was injured on the Celtics as an old man.

[KG Living Legend]

For the record, I think Shaq would score 30+ points per game in today's league with great efficiency, but he would also be a problem for his team defensively because of his lack of defensive mobility outside of the paint.

I think anytime you're comparing players from different eras it's a fool's errand because there are just too many variables.  The game has changed a lot since 2010, let alone since 2006 when Shaq was at the tail end of his prime.  It's too simplistic to say "Well, Shaq dominated interior defenders in his time and interior defenders have only gotten smaller since then."  There's a reason defenders are lighter and quicker now, and many of the factors that have caused that shift would be to Shaq's detriment.


Realistically, if Shaq came into today's league he would probably end up developing an outside jumper and also have some guard skills.

Michael Jordan, similarly, would probably be a 45% three point shooter and would have a killer step-back three.

 Agreed. Realistically. The Celtics would dominate the NBA outside of 1 team. Do you agree to that. If we had prime Shaq right now.

[Roy H.]

For the record, I think Shaq would score 30+ points per game in today's league with great efficiency, but he would also be a problem for his team defensively because of his lack of defensive mobility outside of the paint.

I think anytime you're comparing players from different eras it's a fool's errand because there are just too many variables.  The game has changed a lot since 2010, let alone since 2006 when Shaq was at the tail end of his prime.  It's too simplistic to say "Well, Shaq dominated interior defenders in his time and interior defenders have only gotten smaller since then."  There's a reason defenders are lighter and quicker now, and many of the factors that have caused that shift would be to Shaq's detriment.


Realistically, if Shaq came into today's league he would probably end up developing an outside jumper and also have some guard skills.

Michael Jordan, similarly, would probably be a 45% three point shooter and would have a killer step-back three.

I think Prime Shaq is more mobile than a lot of the starting centers in the league.  Steven Adams, Horford/Baynes, Brook Lopez, and Marc Gasol are all starters on top-6 defense’s.  None are particularly fleet of foot. An athletic Shaq would fit in just fine defensively I think, while maintaining his offensive dominance.

[PhoSita]

For the record, I think Shaq would score 30+ points per game in today's league with great efficiency, but he would also be a problem for his team defensively because of his lack of defensive mobility outside of the paint.

I think anytime you're comparing players from different eras it's a fool's errand because there are just too many variables.  The game has changed a lot since 2010, let alone since 2006 when Shaq was at the tail end of his prime.  It's too simplistic to say "Well, Shaq dominated interior defenders in his time and interior defenders have only gotten smaller since then."  There's a reason defenders are lighter and quicker now, and many of the factors that have caused that shift would be to Shaq's detriment.


Realistically, if Shaq came into today's league he would probably end up developing an outside jumper and also have some guard skills.

Michael Jordan, similarly, would probably be a 45% three point shooter and would have a killer step-back three.

I think Prime Shaq is more mobile than a lot of the starting centers in the league.  Steven Adams, Horford/Baynes, Brook Lopez, and Marc Gasol are all starters on top-6 defense’s.  None are particularly fleet of foot. An athletic Shaq would fit in just fine defensively I think, while maintaining his offensive dominance.

I think you're underselling Adams and Horford here a bit in terms of quickness / agility.


Besides that, defending the perimeter is not just a matter of raw physical attributes.  Shaq had no experience defending perimeter players.  I think it's a bit of a leap to assume he'd able to play modern defense without any problems adjusting to modern pick and roll play, the prevalence of shooting bigs, switch-everything defensive schemes, etc.

And of course there's the fact that in the latter half of his career Shaq often declined to play much defense, even though he wasn't expected to venture far from the basket.


As I mentioned before, we can assume that Shaq would have different skills if he were playing in the modern game, but I don't think that's the point of the original question.

Anyway, I'm sure Shaq would be great in any era, especially if he were acclimated to the mode of play of that era.

But I think it's silly to assume that he would be ultra-dominant in the modern league because there aren't as many big lumbering centers to check him in the post in today's league.  There are a lot of reasons for that overall shift.  One of them is that Prime Shaq is no longer in the league.

[Big333223]

For the record, I think Shaq would score 30+ points per game in today's league with great efficiency, but he would also be a problem for his team defensively because of his lack of defensive mobility outside of the paint.

I think anytime you're comparing players from different eras it's a fool's errand because there are just too many variables.  The game has changed a lot since 2010, let alone since 2006 when Shaq was at the tail end of his prime.  It's too simplistic to say "Well, Shaq dominated interior defenders in his time and interior defenders have only gotten smaller since then."  There's a reason defenders are lighter and quicker now, and many of the factors that have caused that shift would be to Shaq's detriment.


Realistically, if Shaq came into today's league he would probably end up developing an outside jumper and also have some guard skills.

Michael Jordan, similarly, would probably be a 45% three point shooter and would have a killer step-back three.

I think Prime Shaq is more mobile than a lot of the starting centers in the league.  Steven Adams, Horford/Baynes, Brook Lopez, and Marc Gasol are all starters on top-6 defense’s.  None are particularly fleet of foot. An athletic Shaq would fit in just fine defensively I think, while maintaining his offensive dominance.

I think you're underselling Adams and Horford here a bit in terms of quickness / agility.


Besides that, defending the perimeter is not just a matter of raw physical attributes.  Shaq had no experience defending perimeter players.  I think it's a bit of a leap to assume he'd able to play modern defense without any problems adjusting to modern pick and roll play, the prevalence of shooting bigs, switch-everything defensive schemes, etc.

And of course there's the fact that in the latter half of his career Shaq often declined to play much defense, even though he wasn't expected to venture far from the basket.


As I mentioned before, we can assume that Shaq would have different skills if he were playing in the modern game, but I don't think that's the point of the original question.

Anyway, I'm sure Shaq would be great in any era, especially if he were acclimated to the mode of play of that era.

But I think it's silly to assume that he would be ultra-dominant in the modern league because there aren't as many big lumbering centers to check him in the post in today's league.  There are a lot of reasons for that overall shift.  One of them is that Prime Shaq is no longer in the league.

I think, with Shaq, it would be a problem of mass. He was incredibly quick and agile when he was within 10 feet of the rim. But I think he would have trouble stopping and changing directions if he ever had to guard someone more than that distance from the rim.

But I also think he is an underrated defender. His size scared people away from going to the rim and a smart coach in today's NBA would switch a lot to keep Shaq near the rim as much as possible.

[CelticsElite]

Am I the only one who sees Zion Williamson as the 2nd coming of shaq

[10610786d]

Look at Giannis right now...

[#1P4P]

Shaq would dominate today's NBA. There's no effective defense for him that doesn't involve fouling him. His strength advantage over other Centers was overwhelming in post play. Having him constantly rolling in picks and drawing 2-5 defenders to the paint.

His lack of mobility/interest on defense would be close to, if not, negative against great teams (with great shooters, who'd constantly have him defend the P&R). Coaches would find a way to cover for him enough for him not to be a complete negative on that end.

Shaq from the Magic to the Heat is such a plus on offense and as an interior presence (shot blocking and rebounding) that it would more than make up for his flaws.

[Atzar]

Am I the only one who sees Zion Williamson as the 2nd coming of shaq

Shaq was a half foot taller and 40+ pounds heavier, and that weight difference was probably closer to 100 in some years.  I feel like that fact renders any comparison irrelevant.

[Monkhouse]

Am I the only one who sees Zion Williamson as the 2nd coming of shaq

Only you.

Shaq was 100+ pounds heavier and over 7 feet tall.

[gouki88]

Am I the only one who sees Zion Williamson as the 2nd coming of shaq

Only you.

Shaq was 100+ pounds heavier and over 7 feet tall.

Shaq was never 385+ pounds, lol

[moiso]

Am I the only one who sees Zion Williamson as the 2nd coming of shaq

The same way Boban Marjanovic is the second coming of 2018 Blake Griffin.  One is a load around the hoop and one is a perimeter player who happens to be great around the hoop.