Shaq 1on1 1996 Team USA Practice

[Reggie43]

[SATAN]

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

[Reggie43]

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

[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.