Who would you draft first? Shaq or Lebron?

[jalbert009]

Lets say Shaq was part of the 2003 draft class and you know what kind of players they will turn in to. You are Cleveland with the no.1 Pick. Who do you take first? We also know they will leave their small town franchises if they cant win there.

I would personally take Shaq. He'd be unstoppable in today's league and probably win a ring before Lebron. Who's gonna try? Howard? Chandler? Hibbert? Jordan? :rolleyes:

[Black and White]

Gimme Shaq

[navy]

Obviously Shaq. Although you can bet your ass he would also leave Cleveland in a heart beat.

[IncarceratedBob]

Shaq, he would have at least 2 more rings if it werent for Kobe

[Dizzle-2k7]

shaq didnt need the most stacked team of all time to win rings. all he needed was 1 star, not 3.

[jalbert009]

Obviously Shaq. Although you can bet your ass he would also leave Cleveland in a heart beat.

Not unless he wins a chip there which is quite possible. His impact on the NBA as he entered was phenomenal. He was a superstar as soon as he entered the league.

[navy]

Not unless he wins a chip there which is quite possible. His impact on the NBA as he entered was phenomenal. He was a superstar as soon as he entered the league.
He's not winning a chip in Cleveland. He left Orlando while he had talents plus good playoff runs while he was there.

[oarabbus]

Let's be honest, I'd draft Shaq over anyone. Even Jordan. I'll take a risk on the 7' guy every time. No exceptions.

[KobesFinger]

Shaq was more NBA ready than LeBron, and LeBron was as ready as they come. 6'8 240 at 18? Even so, give me Shaq. Legit 7 footer, strongest guy in the league from the get go, very quick and has a superstar personality. People would loved to have joined the Cavs if rookie Shaq was there.

The Cavs picked Luke Jackson in 2004. According to Shaq, he convinced the Magic to draft Penny. If that's true and he influenced the Cavs, there were still some solid players left. Al Jefferson for example, and Josh Smith and Jameer Nelson. Tony Allen was on the board but I don't think anyone saw him becoming as good as he became.

[Rose'sACL]

i would take shaq over any player. Even jordan.

[jalbert009]

He's not winning a chip in Cleveland. He left Orlando while he had talents plus good playoff runs while he was there.

I think he may have had a shot at winning a title in 06 against the Mavs before leaving to join the Lakers.

06 would be his 3rd season in this hypothetical question and In his 3rd season in NBA he was averaging 29.3ppg and 11.4rpg against much better Centers.

[Doranku]

If Shaq was drafted in 2003 and everything else stayed the same, he'd unquestionably be a GOAT candidate. 30+/15+ averages for every year in recent memory with the pathetic state of the Center position.

[Xiao Yao You]

James

[TheReturn]

You have to take Shaq over any perimeter player every time if you're worth a damn as a GM.

[#number6ix#]

Shaq no hesitation

[Milbuck]

Shaq and I wouldn't think twice about it

[Droid101]

Who would stop him in 2003 and beyond? Nobody even comes close to how huge that guy was.

[KobesFinger]

Who would stop him in 2003 and beyond? Nobody even comes close to how huge that guy was.

Yao?

[navy]

I think he may have had a shot at winning a title in 06 against the Mavs before leaving to join the Lakers.

06 would be his 3rd season in this hypothetical question and In his 3rd season in NBA he was averaging 29.3ppg and 11.4rpg against much better Centers.

Dwayne Wade carried that team past the Mavericks though.

Who would help Shaq in this hypothetical?

[oarabbus]

Yao?


Yep. Better question: Would you rather draft Shaq or guaranteed healthy career Yao?

[KobesFinger]

Yep. Better question: Would you rather draft Shaq or guaranteed healthy career Yao?

Still Shaq. He was better at everything than Yao, despite how good Yao was. Better rebounder, more imposing defender and better scorer. Their passing is about equal IMO. Yao is most definitely a better teammate though. He's also equally marketable but for different reasons. Shaq has a larger than life personality and is seen as very fun so people like him. Yao is a giant from China which has a population of 1b or is it more?

Honestly, I'd draft Shaq over everyone bar Wilt, that would be a hard decision if both were on the board at the same time.

[Joe Anderson]

I'm a big Lebron fan, but I would take Shaq without thinking twice. Most dominant player in NBA history while in his prime. :rockon:

[Mure]

Shaq over anyone.

[Illuminati]

I'm a big Lebron fan, but I would take Shaq without thinking twice. Most dominant player in NBA history while in his prime. :rockon:

Cosign.

[TheWeeknd]

Oscar ROberton

[Combat Wombat]

Shaq. You always build around a big man.

[Just2McFly]

Lebron for team chemistry reasons.

[red1]

shaq if you want to win or lebron for entertainment purposes

[AnaheimLakers24]

shaq if you actually want to win without having to pay two other superstars cause the other cant do jack shit on his own

[navy]

shaq if you actually want to win without having to pay two other superstars cause the other cant do jack shit on his own

Shaq had Phil Jackson and Kobe and then he had Wade and Pat Riley.

[Nikola_]

so called most dominant player ever has been swept six times

[NumberSix]

Shaquille.

[GOBB]

Shaq, easy to build around the big fella.

[Cold soul]

Shaq quite easy. Shaq had the superior peak and was way better player than Lebron. The only perimeter players I would maybe take over Shaq is MJ and debatly Magic due to making everyone around him so munch better. 5 rings, 3 FMVPS, 9 finals apparences, on top of 3 MVP's and, his career was cut short due to HIV. Such a travesty....

[Milbuck]

Oscar ROberton
This is the correct answer, but no one will agree

[BlazerRed]

Shaq. Easy. You can't go past an NBA ready legit seven foot C.

[Marlo_Stanfield]

i would have drafted LeBron and then give him a good defensive Center like he never had in his entire career:coleman:

[SpecialQue]

Much easier to build around Shaq.

[edrick]

This is not a fair comparison, but Shaq.

[El Gato Negro]

shaq ,forwards are a dime a dozen centers not so much.

[I<3NBA]

if i was Cleveland and had Cleveland's mind, I would draft Darko Milicic. that's the kind of mind they have.

[avonbarksdale]

shaqqqqq

[Ken_Masters]

I would draft O'Neal without hesitation.

[kamil]

Nobody stopped Shaq.

LeBron* not only got stopped, but dismantled many times... by scrubs like Boris Diaw.

[Will10]

Shaq give him another all star and you have a ship for sure especially with the big men nowadays

[Eye Test]

shaq, lebron needs too many elite pieces at every spot to succeed. you just throw a legendary sg at shaq and its a done deal. lebron is a very skilled player but lets not forget every planet and star had to align bfore the boy could win his first almost 10 years into the league.

[Stringer Bell]

Shaq.

[JebronLames]

Haha a lot of people came to this thread to hate on lebron, but it actually shows that kobe had the best peak player in the history of the nba on his team when he won 3 of his 5 titles.

[The Genius]

I dont see how it's hating on LeBron to pick Shaq here. To be fair many would take Shaq over Jordan too without the benefit of hindsight. His height, skill and marketability makes him an easy sell for any team. I think Shaq would go number one in almost any draft that has ever been held in NBA history.

[JebronLames]

I dont see how it's hating on LeBron to pick Shaq here. To be fair many would take Shaq over Jordan too without the benefit of hindsight. His height, skill and marketability makes him an easy sell for any team. I think Shaq would go number one in almost any draft that has ever been held in NBA history.
Yes, I understand people are being honest. But many lebron haters/kobe fans came in saying shaq, but if the thread title were changed to kobe or shaq, they would not have posted.

It's funny since they are indirectly discrediting kobe by mentioning shaq.

[SexSymbol]

LeBron, easily.
He's a money maker extreme, i can name two people besides him that can make a revenue of that kind, that's MJ and Kobe, nobody else comes close. Besides, he's a great player too, so that helps in choosing him

[East_Stone_Ya]

Shaq

[annbafan]

it's a tough one, but i would choose O'neal. Not only is it easier to pick up players to surround a great center like Shaq for a championship team, but also he would have less competition at the center position.

[Im Still Ballin]

A healthy determined Shaq will obviously have a bigger impact than a likewise Lebron. Both one in a million specimens physically.

A better question would be would you draft a 20 year old LBJ or a 20 year old Shaq? We never saw a Shaq at 18 in the NBA but you would think he'd be bordering atleast 20-10 while Lebron was 21-6-6

Shaq drafted at 20 averaged 23-14 while Lebron averaged 27-7-7.

Hard to compare their stats at 20 because they played in different eras. Really depends on the circumstances on which they are drafted, what team they are going to, and who are their teammates. Shaq and Boozer in Cleveland would have meshed well i feel, probably more so than LBJ because having such a dominant powerful figure downlow, creates opportunities for the perimeters players, more so than Lebrons penetration and supreme athletic ability.

All up im gonna say Shaq