The athleticism of Orlando Shaq
He was a 7’1 Giannis and could have been if he played today.
Yea but he turned into a powerhouse back to basket center, which i guess is crazy how he transitioned to that.
He was always a predominantly back to the basket and around the rim player, watching a select few highlights doesn’t redefine what his game was.
Giannis and Shaq have totally different offensive games. I don’t think Shaq playing in today’s game would have turned him from a post up monster to a slashing forward.
Except somehow faster, stronger, and with better footwork. That isn’t a knock on Giannis — he is a phenomenal player. Shaq was just that dominant.
Giannis uses steps to avoid defenders, shaq will just straight up embarrass you if you try to
Disrespectful to Giannis’ defensive impact and motor
Bucks fan my entire life. Sbaq was on an entirely different level than giannis.
Shaq did mail in defensenduring the regular season but he ramped it up in the playoffs.
Completely different defensive profiles too.
And what’s funny is giannis has been putting in regular season shaq defensive effort the last few seasons.
You’re not a real fan. If I had a player like Giannis on my team I’d be making bad faith GOAT cases for him.
So unless you’re delusional, you’re not a real fan?
More or less. You need a level of delusion to be a fan of a bad team.
Not sure wht people are down voting you for joking around
ya i thought it was obvious.. with the you know nets flair LOL
I mean kawhi is the undeniable goat
Franchise GOAT maybe, but Giannis isnt touching Shaq.
Touche. But i would never make a goat case for anyone who plays for the heat.
Especially when it was the one and only shaq who made going to the heat the cool thing to do.
Orlando Shaq had a motor… it’s really when he got on the Lakers post 2000 that the lazy narratives came up
Issue is he played longer after the Magic than he did with the Magic. Would discipline be a better word?
Yes. Those are two completely different words. Shaq even laments his lack of discipline. Lack of motor is some Ayton shit.
its not really a narrative
he self admits he didn’t try lol
I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because he was still the best player on his team and a top 5 player till he left.
Disrespectful to Shaq winning 3⁄4 Finals & 3xFMVP in a 5 year span.
Yeesh. Yeesh indeed.
Giannis is a top 20 all time guy imo. Debabtably top 10. I’d say talent-wise, he’s better than Duncan, Duncan just won more.
LOL
As the late great Bill Walton once said, “Throw it down, Big Man! Throw it down!”
And man, did Shaq threw down some forceful dunks in his career.
teams had players on their roster whose single job was to foul shaq until they fouled out just to slow him down.
That was more Lakers Shaq than Orlando Shaq tbh
They changed the entire basket system because of him. He shattered glass. It was so cool to see.
Best big man dunker of all-time.
Poor Ewing at the end. Shaq decided that he was getting to the rim and that was that.
Disappointed they didn’t show one of him taking down the whole hoop. That was always a spectacle.
He wanted to be the greatest player ever on the court but didn’t want to do the off the court things to ensure that. Hey, it happens. Let’s watch some dunks.
Imagine him with Lebron’s medical “help”
I love how instantaneously Bradley accepted his fate and immediately ran down the court on that first dunk.
Shaq was a menace, five former Nets can attest to that
Shaq vs MJ.gif
90’s Shaq was a 7’1 Zion Williamson with elite footwork, endless stamina and great charisma.
Shaq did not have endless stamina. This was probably his greatest, non-free throw shooting, basketball weakness
Look his minutage for more than a decade.
At his peak was playing 40min in rs, 44 in playoffs.
Now, I know game pace was slower back to these years but still, he was among the top of the league for min per game, despite being that huge and being constantly engaged in battles under the rim.
Before Shaq got fat in LA he had great cardio
If only Shaq had stayed at 300 lbs or under as he was in Orlando. He lost mobility as he got older and got way over 309
Shaq in Phoenix allegedly 380+. They made him do suicides with a cheeseburger at half court
He added weight at the Lakers when he transitioned into a low post player. If he hadn’t done that you have to wonder if his career would be more or less successful. Nobody would know.
Shaq was always a low post player. There is no doubt his on-court performance would have been better had he stayed in better shape / kept his weight down
I think this mainly applies to the last third of his career. I think he has 1-2 more All Star level seasons in him if he maintains a lower playing weight around ages 35-37. Much of his end of career injury history and mobility issues were weight related in my non-expert opinion.
Is that him dunking on mj
Shaq in Orlando moved different tbh. Guy was 300+ lbs running the floor like a guard - grabbing boards and pushing the break himself. People only remember the lumbering Lakers version but young Shaq had legitimate lateral quickness. Probably the most athletic 7-footer we’ve ever seen
Most people think of Lakers Shaq who, while still freakishly athletic, was bigger, a decent bit slower, more deliberate in his game, relied more heavily on brute strength than he did on explosive athleticism. Magic Shaq though, that dude was like Giannis with an extra 30 pound of pure muscle
It’s so insane how he makes the Admiral look small.
Man, Orlando had perfect jerseys back then. They keep dancing around them now, just do the exact same thing
Shaq made incredible centers look helpless. Ewing, David Robinson, just getting bulldozed. About the only guy who ever handled him was Hakeem, but that was also very young Shaq.
Ben Wallace gets praised for guarding him one on one in the ‘04 finals. Shaq put up 26.6 pts in that series. Shaq was perhaps the most dominant force I ever saw on a basketball court. Officials had no idea how to call games with him so they just let him get hammered. Shaq probably should have averaged 20 FTA a game in his prime if the rule book was followed to a T.
Reminds me of the movie “Blue Chips” where Shaq starred. It was super interesting seeing him move and play while not surrounded by professional athletes, really puts stuff into perspective.
Also stars Penny Hardaway
Neon Bordeaux was still one of the hardest names in cinema history.
Still makes no sense why the team nickname is the Dolphins? Of all the options, the Western University Dolphins lol
Shaq in Orlando moved different tbh. Guy was 300+ lbs running the floor like a guard - grabbing boards and pushing the break himself. People only remember the lumbering Lakers version but young Shaq had legit lateral quickness. Probably the most athletic 7-footer I’ve ever seen
SHAQ until Steph was my favorite player. A man that size moving so effortlessly was amazing to watch in his young days. If only he took his fitness seriously he’d have been even more unstoppable.
I witnessed these years and always refer to him in this period as skinny Shaq.
He was basically 95% of Blake Griffin’s athleticism with 20% more mass and 4 inches taller. And that’s just his rookie year at 300 lbs. He added more good weight after that.
This video honestly upsets me more. He just didn’t have an ounce of discipline did he? Add that into his locker room shit (literally) and it becomes a nightmare for everyone else
I mean, the guy got 4 rings, 3 FMVPs, and one of the top 3⁄4 highest peaks ever reached by a human being. He surely did have discipline in his Lakers years, and he got comfortable after that. It’s not like he was a bum LoL
He added weight to become a low post beast deliberately after joining us. Of course afterwards he had his fitness problem but it’s never easy to keep shape / form with his height and weight. He probably carved out the most from his body and if he worked harder he probably would break down earlier.
CRACK SHAQ
Shaq v. Wemby would be destruction
I loved NBA Shaq and you can’t help but wonder how much more he could have potentially achieved.
If I’m remembering the correct book, Shaq Uncut: My Story is worth a read and gives some insight into when his injuries began from Miami onwards and other stories.
I’m from the UK and been lucky enough to see a few NBA games whilst on holiday in the US and I got to see Shaq play in Orlando when he was with Miami. He hadn’t long returned from injury.
Never liked him and thought refs let him get away with a ton of shoving, etc..
Yeah, this dude would get played off the court today. No doubt