THE 2015 NBA PRE SEASON THREAD: BEST WISHES TO LAMAR ODOM

[ill steelo]

Shaq was so good, he has a scoring title, 4 NBA titles, 3 NBA finals MVP's, named as one of the 50 greatest players 4 years into his career, 

and He Stilllll underachieved in his career. What a specimen. 

A guy like Rasheed Wallace underachieved.

Shaq did not.

 

[brandon3000]

Shaq was so good, he has a scoring title, 4 NBA titles, 3 NBA finals MVP's, named as one of the 50 greatest players 4 years into his career, 

and He Stilllll underachieved in his career. What a specimen. 

A guy like Rasheed Wallace underachieved.

Shaq did not.

I wouldn't say Shaq underachieved...

 

[darthska]

[quote name="ill steelo"][quote name="shoeking2102"]Shaq was so good, he has a scoring title, 4 NBA titles, 3 NBA finals MVP's, named as one of the 50 greatest players 4 years into his career, 

and He Stilllll underachieved in his career. What a specimen.[/quote] A guy like Rasheed Wallace underachieved.

Shaq did not.[/quote]I don't think anyone is suggesting that instead of 3 FMVPs in 4 championships, he could have had 12 FMVPs in 20 championships while doubling Stockton's assist record and tripling Kareem's scoring record... but he definitely could have done more.

 

[tomdiginson]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that instead of 3 FMVPs in 4 championships, he could have had 12 FMVPs in 20 championships while doubling Stockton's assist record and tripling Kareem's scoring record... but he definitely could have done more.

Pretty much.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

I would say shaq reached his ceiling but just didn't have the drive to do it year after year. Very few truly do tho

 

[Lovetohate3000]

I would say shaq reached his ceiling but just didn't have the drive to do it year after year. Very few truly do tho

he got big and lazy for a minute then he got motivated again when he went to miami in his last years of his prime. he could of done more which like people have suggested is crazy . 

 

[everysingletime]

Shaq got to his prime but just didn't stay in it as long as he could've.

 

[Peep Game]

You've seen the games, I've seen the games. I fail to see how my age matters with this

No disrespect towards you.

I just don't like to "debate" with someone about something they saw at age 6 or 8 while I was 21. Its a useless argument.

Its why i don't argue with my pops about guys like Jerry West. Never saw him play (highlights don't count), so I keep my mouth shut. Someone who never saw Melo play but saw his highlights would think he was one of the 20 best players ever. But we know the truth.

So yes, age does have a lot to do with things when we;re talking about something that happened 20 or more years ago

And its why i stay out of discussions about Social Media. I leave that to the youngsters. I just don't understand social media.

Along with the fact NBA TV was showing the series just a couple days ago. Hakeem cooked Shaq and his stats

 

[ill steelo]

[quote name="ill steelo"][quote name="shoeking2102"]Shaq was so good, he has a scoring title, 4 NBA titles, 3 NBA finals MVP's, named as one of the 50 greatest players 4 years into his career, 

and He Stilllll underachieved in his career. What a specimen.

A guy like Rasheed Wallace underachieved.

Shaq did not.[/quote]I don't think anyone is suggesting that instead of 3 FMVPs in 4 championships, he could have had 12 FMVPs in 20 championships while doubling Stockton's assist record and tripling Kareem's scoring record... but he definitely could have done more.[/quote] In what years?

Penny wasn't really ready until '95. That year they lost to a Rockets that was much more seasoned. Shaq & Penny were only 22/23.

Year after that they lost to arguably the greatest team in the history of basketball.

Then he went to LA & had to wait for the team to be built. Kobe blossoms & they immediately run off three straight until fatigue, a deteriorating supporting cast, lack of luck (Horry clanking that 3 in G5) did them in.

Reloaded in '04 & got railroaded by a key injury & lost to one of the greatest defensive teams ever.

Went to Miami & got another one. Might've had 2 if Wade didn't severely injure his ribs in '05.

What more was he supposed to do?

 

[casper90403]

yeah, I thought Shaq did extremely well and didn't underachieve at all. He did what he was supposed to do. All this talk about him getting big hurt him. What? That actually made him impossible to guard.

 

[everysingletime]

When he was young enough, of course his weight didn't hurt him. But it probably could've prolonged his career if he had kept his weight down towards the end.

 

[ill steelo]

When he was young enough, of course his weight didn't hurt him. But it probably could've prolonged his career if he had kept his weight down towards the end.

So he underachieved because he wasn't that good in his mid 30s?

 

[everysingletime]

You're putting words in my mouth. I never used the words underachieved in any post. Lol

 

[ill steelo]

So if the topic of the conversation is underachieving, how is your comment relevant?

Or are you just talking?

 

[sea manup]

shaq could have accomplished more if he didnt have beef with every star player he played with

but that's just his personality and it probably was part of the reason he was so dominant

not waiting for "company time" to get his body fixed would have helped too 

 

[everysingletime]

All I said was Shaq didn't stay in his prime as long as he could've.

 

[ballinsam23]

man a healthy tmac and yao coulda won 2+ easily

 

[mister friendly]

Kobe has beefed with every star player he has played with too

 

[antidope]

I would agree with the notion that Shaq underachieved.

 

[sea manup]

Kobe has beefed with every star player he has played with too

pau? nash?

kobe loves white people 

 

[nflowshoe]

When Phil first came to LA shaq was in great shape, they won the chip. Then Shaq slowing started coming to training camp 15-20 pounds over weight. Then Shaq would take a couple of months off during the season to "work himself" in shape. He got traded to Miami, got in great shape then slowly went back to "out of shape" Shaq. I put Shaq in the same category with Iverson, Hall of famers that could show up and play at a high level off of natural talent alone.

If Iverson and Shaq took the off season serious during their prime, I believe they both would have had better numbers and extended their careers.

 

[dmbrhs]

These two pages from Bill Simmons' book describe Shaq the best.

 

[pjdabullsfan]

These two pages from Bill Simmons' book describe Shaq the best.

Book of basketball 

 

[Lovetohate3000]

That was a good read.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

I feel like sports fans completely ignore the fact that athletes operate in reality too. When folks say "Shaq underachieved" it has some valid undertones but overall it's silly IMO

**** aint a video game. Folks put these dudes in a video game realm like they should only eat sleep and breathe basketball. Aint gonna happen.

Athletes aren't immune to human nature and other factors that every day people have to deal with too. After winning a few titles and getting MVP etc. you're generally not going to be as motivated as you were before you won your first title. We have rarely seen that in pro sports, the only guys above Shaq are the very best in human history

Not to mention outside of the factors you can control on your own, like fitness and practice, the external factors i.e. the S.A. Spurs and the competition are pretty solid barriers to 

Again, you could claim Shaq didn't achieve to his full potential but neither did 98% of all other pro athletes. And Shaq finished with 4 titles so....