Does Shaq enter the goat debate if he and the Lakers had four peated in 2003

[coastalmarker99]

This missed shot by Horry late in game 5 may have cost the lakers a four-peat from 2000 to 2003.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbQ5Euf4zo




In an alternate universe, the shot goes in and you have to think the Lakers beat a hurt Dallas team in the WCF and then the Nets once again in the finals.

[coastalmarker99]

If the Lakers had four peated in 2003


Then Kobe would have equalled Jordan's 6 rings,




Also, there would be zero debate on who is the greatest duo ever in NBA history.



As a four-peat in the modern era would be the greatest achievement in NBA history and it would be a far impressive achievement than Jordan's and Pippen's 6 rings.

[coastalmarker99]

Shaq four-peating and winning four straight final Mvps to boot in the modern era would by be far the most impressive achievement by a player in NBA history.


As a result, he would have a serious case to be ranked over both Russell and Kareem when it comes to all-time player rankings on this site and others.



As he would have double the rings and finals Mvps as the man compared to Kareem in a stronger era to boot and his peak from 2000 to 2003 would have been far superior to Kareem's peak in the 1970s.

[SATAN]

No.

[Shooter]

1 MVP is still too light for GOAT

[coastalmarker99]

1 MVP is still too light for GOAT


A four-peat along with a four straight Mvps plus a goat peak would make Shaq even more legendary and he would be 100 percent be in the goat debate nowadays.



1 MVP be damned.


As Shaq easily could have won two more Mvps in 2001 and 2005.

[Shooter]

A four-peat along with a four straight Mvps plus a goat peak would make Shaq even more legendary and he would be 100 percent be in the goat debate nowadays.



1 MVP be damned.


As Shaq easily could have won two more Mvps in 2001 and 2005.

1 MVP is too light IMO. I'm not saying he needs 4 or 5. But 1? Nah.

4 peats are more team dependant than an MVP at that point.

Iggy or Maxwell could never win an MVP. But they won a FMVP. Ya dig?

[coastalmarker99]

1 MVP is too light IMO. I'm not saying he needs 4 or 5. But 1? Nah.

4 peats are more team dependant than an MVP at that point.

Iggy or Maxwell could never win an MVP. But they won a FMVP. Ya dig?


MVP's are overrated when you consider that Nash has the same amount as Kobe and Shaq combined and he is not even close to being good as them.



Giannis is also a great example of MVP's being overrated as would you really take him over someone like Lebron or KD in the years he won the award in the playoffs.

[Jay-B]

Wow I remember this like yesterday, that shot was literally half way in then came out. Lakers would of 4 peat, Mavs next round were injured and would of not matched out well, and the Nets in the finals were very weak.

[ClipperRevival]

No.

To be the GOAT, you can't leave stuff on the table and Shaq always had questionable dedication.

Shaq from his late 20's on played around 320-335 lbs. He should've been closer to 310 lbs. Kobe always got on Shaq for this and he was right. Even Shaq admitted he wasn't as dedicated as he should've been.

[red1]

shaq didnt have the killer instinct of the true GOATs (lebron bird etc high killer instinct guys)

[coastalmarker99]

shaq didnt have the killer instinct of the true GOATs (lebron bird etc high killer instinct guys)

Larry Bird performances declined in the playoffs for most of his career and he was only a Magic choke away in the 1984 finals from losing 8 playoff series with him and his team having HCA in his career plus finishing with 2 rings for his career.

[Psileas]

Well, if anything, it's pretty ironic and hypocritical how, in a world of fans who are obssessed that much with Finals records and performances, regardless of whether the Finals themselves posed the hardest competition for you in the season or not, Shaq didn't ever seriously enter that conversation, although he did enter some "GOAT center" conversations (which, for me, isn't that far off a "GOAT player" conversation, given that my usual pick for GOAT and most of my strong GOAT candidates are bigs).
This is a guy who, at 23, fared vs peak Hakeem better than prime Ewing in '94 and MVP Robinson and then, hitting his own peak, pulverized the Pacers, destroyed DPOY Mutombo (who used to be his toughest opponent up to then), then, of course, did the same to the Nets. So, forget the Pistons series, in most of which, he still played pretty great, given the competition. His 4 finals performances up to 2002 were GOAT material, but still no serious GOAT discussions. Maybe those 10-15 excessive regular season games he was missing in crucial prime seasons harmed him a lot, costing him a couple of MVP's that would have put him at 3, which would make his case seem much better. Isn't it ironic how, at times, a few regular season games may become more "important" for someone's legacy than the Finals themselves? Or, maybe, it's that cursed "big man" syndrome, from which most fans suffer and prevents them from seeing any non big man as the GOAT.

[8Ball]

No.

Shaq didn't try enough in the regular season.

[8Ball]

Larry Bird performances declined in the playoffs for most of his career and he was only a Magic choke away in the 1984 finals from losing 8 playoff series with him and his team having HCA in his career plus finishing with 2 rings for his career.

Larry Bird and Magic went all out in the regular season and didn't slack off.

Bird won 3 straight MVPs which is nearly impossible to do and Magic also won 3 mvps.