Top 5 GOAT big men low post scorers?

[AirFederer]

Shaq
Hakeem
McHale
Timmy D
Barkley

[annbafan]

to each their own, but i'm very surprised not to have seen Garnett on anyone's list.

[Round Mound]

1-Shaq
2-Wilt
3-Kareem
4-Barkley
5-McHale

[Rocketswin2013]

1. Kareem
2. Shaq
3. Hakeem
4. Duncan
5. McHale
HM: Malone, Barkley, Robinson

[KobesFinger]

1-Shaq
2-Wilt
3-Kareem
4-Barkley
5-McHale

Is Hakeem #6?

[oarabbus]

McHale/Hakeem/KAJ/Wilt/Shaq

That list is IN ORDER, ranked in terms of low post scoring skill (not low post scoring prowess, where Shaq and Wilt would top the list)

[PsychoBe]

1-Shaq
2-Wilt
3-Kareem
4-Barkley
5-McHale

barkley is not better than hakeem and you know this. i agree with everything else though. but hakeem > barkley in almost every way imaginable

[JimmyMcAdocious]

I think you have to take into account dominance. Just because Shaq didn't have a counter to every counter, doesn't mean he wasn't as good a low post scorer as McHale or Hakeem. If I had a move no one could stop, I would use it until someone proved they could stop it.

[WillC]

If I had to choose a player to have in the low post, based upon the likelihood of them finding a way to put the ball in the basket, I'd choose these guys in this order:

1) Hakeem Olajuwon
2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3) Shaquille O'Neal
4) Kevin McHale
5) Tim Duncan

Honorable mention: Wilt Chamberlain, Pau Gasol, Bob Lanier

[CavaliersFTW]

If I had to choose a player to have in the low post, based upon the likelihood of them finding a way to put the ball in the basket, I'd choose these guys in this order:

1) Hakeem Olajuwon
2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3) Shaquille O'Neal
4) Kevin McHale
5) Tim Duncan

Honorable mention: Wilt Chamberlain, Pau Gasol, Bob Lanier

I disagree, Wilt will score in the low post more than Hakeem, Jabbar, McHale, or Duncan... Wilt scored ALL of his career field goals in the low post... the only other two guys who've scored a similarly large volume of field goals EXCLUSIVELY from deep position like that are Mikan and Shaq. Take Hakeem for example... 21.8ppg career scorer, and many of his posessions were high post, and triple threat mid range shots, he even shot three's... was he more versatile offensvely than say, a Wilt Chamberlain? Yes. But he flat out was not as dominant in the deep post. None of the guys you mentioned were save for maybe Jabbar with his reliable hook. The rest of those guys did not make a career out of JUST deep post scoring are not as dominant in that specifc part of the floor. If you can muscle inside and score 30ppg from 12 feet in for your entire career, your more specialized in the low post than a guy who scored 21.8ppg from 23 feet in for his entire career. That's just my 2 cents.

[IncarceratedBob]

Nobody has actually seen Wilt play so he doesn't belong on the list. Maybe if the list were Top 5 GOAT Hypothetical Low Post Scorers

[WillC]

I disagree, Wilt will score in the low post more than Hakeem, Jabbar, McHale, or Duncan... Wilt scored ALL of his career field goals in the low post... the only other two guys who've scored a similarly large volume of field goals EXCLUSIVELY from deep position like that are Mikan and Shaq. Take Hakeem for example... 21.8ppg career scorer, and many of his posessions were high post, and triple threat mid range shots, he even shot three's... was he more versatile offensvely than say, a Wilt Chamberlain? Yes. But he flat out was not as dominant in the deep post. None of the guys you mentioned were save for maybe Jabbar with his reliable hook. The rest of those guys did not make a career out of JUST deep post scoring are not as dominant in that specifc part of the floor. If you can muscle inside and score 30ppg from 12 feet in for your entire career, your more specialized in the low post than a guy who scored 21.8ppg from 23 feet in for his entire career.

You won't find many bigger Wilt apologists than me.

However, while he individually dominated his era - and, in doing so, has an argument as the greatest player ever - I don't think his skill set was as advanced as the 5 players I ranked above him.

Yes, I've seen all of the footage that you've uploaded, and trust me, I've enjoyed every second of it. But his footwork and variety of moves weren't as impressive as the players I listed above him.

There's really no harm in him being ranked 6th, 7th or 8th, by the way, since I'd argue that he's perhaps the greatest rebounder in basketball history, one of the best post defenders, a fine passer, etc. All of that makes him one of the truly elite players. And certainly compared to his contemporaries he might be the most dominant player of all-time (along with Mikan, Jordan, Shaq and Kareem).

But no, in my opinion, his low post scoring ability wasn't better than Hakeem's, Kareem's, Shaq's, Duncan's or McHale's. But it was damn close.

[CavaliersFTW]

Nobody has actually seen Wilt play so he doesn't belong on the list. Maybe if the list were Top 5 GOAT Hypothetical Low Post Scorers

Mikan
Wilt
Jabbar
Shaq

The only 4 guys who had GOAT caliber record scoring careers/resume's to the point of rule-changes, by scoring exclusively, or very nearly so, from the low post.

And there's plenty of footage available of all of those guys save for Mikan. Also, plenty of the people who saw Wilt play are still alive. He played in the 1960's and 1970's, you act like he's a figure from the Civil War

[fpliii]

Mikan
Wilt
Jabbar
Shaq

The only 4 guys who had GOAT caliber scoring careers/resume's to the point of rule-changes, by scoring exclusively, or very nearly so, from the low post.

And there's plenty of footage available of all of those guys save for Mikan. Also, plenty of the people who saw Wilt play are still alive. He played in the 1960's and 1970's, you act like he's a figure from the Civil War

Dude is just a reaction poster. He takes a dissenting POV in every thread just to get a rise out of people.

[CavaliersFTW]

You won't find many bigger Wilt apologists than me.

However, while he individually dominated his era - and, in doing so, has an argument as the greatest player ever - I don't think his skill set was as advanced as the 5 players I ranked above him.

Yes, I've seen all of the footage that you've uploaded, and trust me, I've enjoyed every second of it. But his footwork and variety of moves weren't as impressive as the players I listed above him.

There's really no harm in him being ranked 6th, 7th or 8th, by the way, since I'd argue that he's perhaps the greatest rebounder in basketball history, one of the best post defenders, a fine passer, etc. All of that makes him one of the truly elite players. And certainly compared to his contemporaries he might be the most dominant player of all-time (along with Mikan, Jordan, Shaq and Kareem).

But no, in my opinion, his low post scoring ability wasn't better than Hakeem's, Kareem's, Shaq's, Duncan's or McHale's. But it was damn close.

Still disagree.

Wilt's crab dribble to finger roll inside for example, is simple and consistently works, it is repeatble. Nobodies stopping it. It's just rinse and repeat.

The other guys displayed more 'skillset'... because they COULDN'T do what he did. Bottom line is put the ball in the hoop, it does not matter how pretty you look while doing it. And actually, simpler is better. Wasting energy on counter move after counter move might look cool on film but they are resorting to counter moves because their inital move got defeated by the defense and they are then wasting energy. Wilt was a giant compared to all of those guys, even Shaq. He could get away with things none of them could and still be more dominant than all of them in the low post.