Shaq 1on1 1996 Team USA Practice

[Reggie43]

https://youtu.be/6V6p0CgvRwY

[SATAN]

Holy Moly! Look at that tough physical 90s defense! :lebronamazed:

[Reggie43]

Yeah those were lighthearted games so the intensity wasnt there but is probably still better defense than what we have in todays Nba :oldlol:

[tpols]

Shaq was 7'2 300+ lbs size 24 shoe and he had the fluidity and coordination of a guard. That's ridiculous.

[Phoenix]

Man if Shaq had maintained that size through at the least his Heat days, the GOAT conversation might have ended up going very differently.

[Airupthere]

Psshh. Modern players could easily stop young Shaq 1 on 1.

[SATAN]

Man if Shaq had maintained that size through at the least his Heat days, the GOAT conversation might have ended up going very differently.

MJ stans would just keep spamming MJ shooting a free throw with his eyes closed.

[90sgoat]

Man if Shaq had maintained that size through at the least his Heat days, the GOAT conversation might have ended up going very differently.

Really?

Orlando Shaq was not nearly as effective as Lakers Shaq and it was mostly because his size was manageable. Yes, he was very strong and explosive, but not an unmovable mountain. Very often he got the ball too far out, which was his only real issue in his career.

[Phoenix]

Really?

Orlando Shaq was not nearly as effective as Lakers Shaq and it was mostly because his size was manageable. Yes, he was very strong and explosive, but not an unmovable mountain. Very often he got the ball too far out, which was his only real issue in his career.

Yes, I really believe that. Lakers Shaq was bigger, but I feel if you took Shaq's Magic size and gave him Lakers Shaq experience and skills, he's a better player with that athleticism in spite of more manageable size. Shaq being over 350 at points post-2000 made it much more difficult on his lower body as he aged.

Anyways, I'm not saying he'd be the GOAT. I'm just saying it's possible his name gets thrown into the mix of guys we discuss at the very, very top.

[Wardell Curry]

Man if Shaq had maintained that size through at the least his Heat days, the GOAT conversation might have ended up going very differently.

"If's" in these conversations are just farts into the wind. They don't mean anything. You can come up with "if's" for every single all time great that would move their rankings way up or way down in the eyes of basically everyone. If Jordan never got Pippen and Phil, if LeBron never took control of his teammates and team hopped, if Russell didn't have his same competitive drive, if Magic didn't get drafted onto a roster with Kareem, if Shaq didn't get Kobe and Phil, if Kobe didn't force his way onto a team with Shaq and then later scream at the top of his lungs for Pau, and so on and so forth, all of these guys win way less and we're not regarding them the same. We don't measure all time rankings by pure ability, as you have clearly understood.

However, if your true intent behind all of this was to say, who is the most talented basketball player ever, overall mentality aside? Shaq is probably at the top of that list, but we will never know.

[Wardell Curry]

And it's funny because if people are being honest with themselves, they'd realize they were just judging players on team success outcomes and not judging them on how good of a basketball player each guy truly was.

As good as Jordan was, he is the consensus GOAT if he wins 2 rings, 1 ring, 0? Probably not.
As good as LeBron was, is he considered top 10 if he never leaves Cleveland and maybe gets 1 ring? Probably not.
etc.

I don't think we as humans have the capacity to judge such things without looking at the outcomes, which is hardly a judgement at all. Basketball is a team sport.

Tim Duncan might have been a better player than everyone I just mentioned.

[Phoenix]

"If's" in these conversations are just farts into the wind. They don't mean anything. You can come up with "if's" for every single all time great that would move their rankings way up or way down in the eyes of basically everyone. If Jordan never got Pippen and Phil, if LeBron never took control of his teammates and team hopped, if Russell didn't have his same competitive drive, if Magic didn't get drafted onto a roster with Kareem, if Shaq didn't get Kobe and Phil, if Kobe didn't force his way onto a team with Shaq and then later scream at the top of his lungs for Pau, and so on and so forth, all of these guys win way less and we're not regarding them the same. We don't measure all time rankings by pure ability, as you have clearly understood.

However, if your true intent behind all of this was to say, who is the most talented basketball player ever, overall mentality aside? Shaq is probably at the top of that list, but we will never know.

No shit. Over half the conversations on this forum is about comparing players and teams across eras. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but going through the effort of pointing it out here seems oddly....odd and reductive. I'm sure I could comb through your posts and find a 'what if' comment somewhere and if I couldn't, I doubt you avoid such occurrences in your everyday life about one topic or another. If you don't find anything interesting about 'what ifs' you're free to engage or otherwise at your discretion. Otherwise nobody was saying these kinds of conversations are objectively prove-able.

[Wardell Curry]

No shit. Over half the conversations on this forum is about comparing players and teams across eras. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but going through the effort of pointing it out here seems oddly....odd and reductive. I'm sure I could comb through your posts and find a 'what if' comment somewhere and if I couldn't, I doubt you avoid such occurrences in your everyday life about one topic or another. If you don't find anything interesting about 'what ifs' you're free to engage or otherwise at your discretion. Otherwise nobody was saying these kinds of conversations are objectively prove-able.

You're mad at your dad, not at me, I forgive you.

[Phoenix]

You're mad at your dad, not at me, I forgive you.

At least I knew my dad. We done with that level of stupidity now?

Annnyhoot, you seem oddly offended by my initial comment. You're the one who felt the need to get on a soap dish to tell us all that what if discussions mean nothing.

[90sgoat]

Yes, I really believe that. Lakers Shaq was bigger, but I feel if you took Shaq's Magic size and gave him Lakers Shaq experience and skills, he's a better player with that athleticism in spite of more manageable size. Shaq being over 350 at points post-2000 made it much more difficult on his lower body as he aged.

Anyways, I'm not saying he'd be the GOAT. I'm just saying it's possible his name gets thrown into the mix of guys we discuss at the very, very top.

With the right team, maybe.

Would be a team that liked to run.

Overall, those Shaq and Penny Orlando teams were so good, such a shame they didn't stick it out a few more years.

[Phoenix]

With the right team, maybe.

Would be a team that liked to run.

Overall, those Shaq and Penny Orlando teams were so good, such a shame they didn't stick it out a few more years.

That would have depended on 'if' Penny stayed healthy because even 'if' Shaq stayed, without Penny's health as the 1B/2 in that situation they don't win once the Bulls run ends. But otherwise, IF that team stayed intact and healthy, the east was wide open in the late 90s to early 2000s. I'm pretty confident in saying a healthy Shaq/Penny combo with the right pieces represents the east in the years you saw the Knicks, Pacers, and Nets in the finals. It would probably come down to the Magic and Spurs a number of years, because obviously Shaq on the Magic completely changes the course for those Lakers teams

Of course, such 'ifs' mean nothing and we shouldn't discuss such things. :lol

[90sgoat]

That would have depended on 'if' Penny stayed healthy because even 'if' Shaq stayed, without Penny's health as the 1B/2 in that situation they don't win once the Bulls run ends. But otherwise, IF that team stayed intact and healthy, the east was wide open in the late 90s to early 2000s. I'm pretty confident in saying a healthy Shaq/Penny combo with the right pieces represents the east in the years you saw the Knicks, Pacers, and Nets in the finals. It would probably come down to the Magic and Spurs a number of years, because obviously Shaq on the Magic completely changes the course for those Lakers teams

Of course, such 'ifs' mean nothing and we shouldn't discuss such things. :lol

We can speculate, but that team was remarkably well built and with very good supporting cast. Horace Grant was still very good, Nick Anderson was athletic, good defender, could go off. Dennis Scott could hit 3s. I don't remember any bench players, so maybe that was their only thing lacking.

In terms of age, that team should have been able to have the same group until the end of the 90s, so yeah, they should have been the team of the 90s in the East.

[Phoenix]

We can speculate, but that team was remarkably well built and with very good supporting cast. Horace Grant was still very good, Nick Anderson was athletic, good defender, could go off. Dennis Scott could hit 3s. I don't remember any bench players, so maybe that was their only thing lacking.

In terms of age, that team should have been able to have the same group until the end of the 90s, so yeah, they should have been the team of the 90s in the East.

Oh they were definitely primed for success. Shaq and Penny were 21/22 when they came together. Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott were like 25/26. That core could have gone for a solid 8 years at least and cycle in roster upgrades where necessary( case in point, they got Horace at 29, so they may have needed a PF upgrade sooner than the other positions as he aged).

[Soundwave]

We can speculate, but that team was remarkably well built and with very good supporting cast. Horace Grant was still very good, Nick Anderson was athletic, good defender, could go off. Dennis Scott could hit 3s. I don't remember any bench players, so maybe that was their only thing lacking.

In terms of age, that team should have been able to have the same group until the end of the 90s, so yeah, they should have been the team of the 90s in the East.

It's funny how much a baseball strike screwed over the Orlando Magic and completely altered NBA history, lol.

If that doesn't happen, then Jordan doesn't come back, probably not that quickly anyway, which would probably lead to the Magic winning the 1996 NBA Finals against Seattle, which then probably means Shaq doesn't leave to LA, which then probably means the Lakers retain Vlade Divac and don't acquire Kobe Bryant (they only moved out Divac to make room and cap space to acquire Shaq), etc. etc. etc.

That whole thing of the baseball strike of 1995 forcing Jordan to go back to basketball set off a really funny chain reaction of events. Not so funny if you're a Magic fan I guess.

[sdot_thadon]

Yeah but Kobe stills gets drafted by LA because Wesr wanted him bad. They stay in the lottery in a tough West, The Kings hang a championship banner, vindicating Chris Webber and changing his basketball legacy, Perhaps Iverson does the same. The spurs add at least another chip to their stack. Sad side effect is Kobe doesn't instantly become the huge star he was and never gives a young Lebron James his shoes at a camp. Lebron goes on to play football instead as a receiver. Cleveland never wins a chip. Dwade retires with 1 ring, Carmelo and Wade are both 1 time mvps. Currys Warrirors have a 4peat and Steph is considered the GOAT by the young fans.

[Soundwave]

Yeah but Kobe stills gets drafted by LA because Wesr wanted him bad. They stay in the lottery in a tough West, The Kings hang a championship banner, vindicating Chris Webber and changing his basketball legacy, Perhaps Iverson does the same. The spurs add at least another chip to their stack. Sad side effect is Kobe doesn't instantly become the huge star he was and never gives a young Lebron James his shoes at a camp. Lebron goes on to play football instead as a receiver. Cleveland never wins a chip. Dwade retires with 1 ring, Carmelo and Wade are both 1 time mvps. Currys Warrirors have a 4peat and Steph is considered the GOAT by the young fans.

I don't think they could have made that deal, because this is the 90s and trading your starting center (especially in the Western Conference of those days) would be insanity.

They only traded Divac (a solid, serviceable big) because they knew they were getting Shaq.

I'm sure West would've wanted Kobe, but it would've just been one of those things that turned into "well we didn't get him I guess".