Ignoring skill for a moment, does Dwight deserve...

[CavaliersFTW]

Let's ignore skill for a moment, does Dwight deserve comparisons to Shaq, Wilt, or Artis Gilmore from a purely physical standpoint? Is he going to go down historically in that rarified mold of the NBA's 'diesel' centers? There are countless testimonials and footage of Wilt's, Gilmore's, and Shaq's incredible strength and/or athleticism being well above and beyond virtually anyone that ever encountered them.

Is the same really true for Dwight? Or does the media reach a little bit and market him as something he really isn't? Dwight is like 4 inches shorter than all of those guys for starters, and I don't hear too many stories (well, none actually) about Dwight's strength rendering him as some sort of physically immovable object or dominant force out there when he exerts himself. He can jump incredibly high for a center to be certain, and he has a great physique, but he's closer to 6-9 than he is 7-1 and though he is an impressive 270lbs, 270 is less than the weights Gilmore, Wilt, and Shaq played at when they were bulked up from weight training. IMO Dwight reminds me more of a Darryl Dawkins type specimen than he does Shaq/Wilt/Gilmore. He's a specimen for sure, very athletic, but he's just not quite big and strong enough to draw physical comparisons with the diesels. What do you guys think?

[buddha]

he can jump high, he isn't that strong, quick, agile or coordinated.. that's why he is only good at rebounding and dunking.

[IncarceratedBob]

His physical peak was from 07-09/10. Too short a time span. He's nothing amazing now as far as athletecism is concerned, relative to the guys you mentioned

[navy]

Dwight would have 11 rings if he played in Wilt's era

[Bodhi]

He can jump, but other than that, no. Look how quick Shaq was in 2000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kM2OdZPVaw

Dwight could never move like that. And that's just one game

[CavaliersFTW]

He can jump, but other than that, no. Look how quick Shaq was in 2000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kM2OdZPVaw

Dwight could never move like that. And that's just one game

And here's Artis for those who may be unfamiliar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brh2kIvgFcw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xqwh7PE4I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFpWJAiAI4

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Dwight would have 11 rings if he played in Wilt's era

From Burger King

[BoutPractice]

His dunk contest exploits will probably be exaggerated and help build his legend as an athletic freak.

[Dr.J4ever]

Let's ignore skill for a moment, does Dwight deserve comparisons to Shaq, Wilt, or Artis Gilmore from a purely physical standpoint? Is he going to go down historically in that rarified mold of the NBA's 'diesel' centers? There are countless testimonials and footage of Wilt's, Gilmore's, and Shaq's incredible strength and/or athleticism being well above and beyond virtually anyone that ever encountered them.

Is the same really true for Dwight? Or does the media reach a little bit and market him as something he really isn't? Dwight is like 4 inches shorter than all of those guys for starters, and I don't hear too many stories (well, none actually) about Dwight's strength rendering him as some sort of physically immovable object or dominant force out there when he exerts himself. He can jump incredibly high for a center to be certain, and he has a great physique, but he's closer to 6-9 than he is 7-1 and though he is an impressive 270lbs, 270 is less than the weights Gilmore, Wilt, and Shaq played at when they were bulked up from weight training. IMO Dwight reminds me more of a Darryl Dawkins type specimen than he does Shaq/Wilt/Gilmore. He's a specimen for sure, very athletic, but he's just not quite big and strong enough to draw physical comparisons with the diesels. What do you guys think?

He's a center that combines physicality and athleticism in a great package, but yes, he is nowhere near some of the behemoths like Wilt, Shaq, and Gilmore, who all seemed to have gone extinct.

They seem to have been replaced by "rim protectors" and 3 point shooting big men.

[ImKobe]

Dwight's one of the most athletic players ever, and one of the best dunk contest performances of all-time as well, prime Dwight looked like a video game character

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNa306PoZaA

[JohnFreeman]

He deserves no comparison with Shaq, hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Duncan or any of these players. Yao Ming is better than Howard

[SexSymbol]

I don't know about gilmore, but Dwight isn't on Shaq's, or Wilt's level physically.
They both were higher, a lot stronger, both were faster, and jumped just as high, Wilt probably even higher.

[Vienceslav]

Well he has the highest recorded jumping reach, that's gotta count for something.
But purely on physical stature he's in a different category than the guys you named.

[Bodhi]

An underrated factor for physical ability is hand size. Not sure about Wilt or Artis, but guys like Shaq and Kareem had monster hands even for their bodies

http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-bl.../teammates.jpg
http://t.co/vbcJIKK1mH

Dwight by comparison has pretty much normal sized hands
http://spreegoogs.files.wordpress.co...ch_howard1.jpg

That's probably part of the reason why he always has to go down and gather himself before dunking or making a post move while someone like Shaq could be starting his move before even catching the ball

[Bandito]

He deserves no comparison with Shaq, hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Duncan or any of these players. Yao Ming is better than Howard

100% agree.