Whitsitt recalled in a 2011 interview, that when the doctor reported the results, "He said that Arvydas could qualify for a handicapped parking spot, based on the X-ray alone."
Definitely a big what if. By the time Sabonis got to the NBA he was over 30 and my knees hurt watching him run, yet he was still so good. Game really would have easily translated now
this is kind of similar to yao. his injury was because he played all year no off season. and i feel like he would have just been a bit better with better conditioning but you could also argue its why he improved so quickly so maybe its not similar
I saw Sabonis at this peak, he was something else, his passing even fancier than Jokic! Even then you could tell his conditioning was not great. I have no doubt that had he reached the NBA young, and hopefully vastly improved his physical conditioning, he would be immensely successful in the NBA.
My first nba game as a kid was a jailblazers team and I got to see washed Sabonis and was amazed. We were robbed of seeing him in his prime. Special player for sure.
Hakeem didn’t shoot a ton from 3, but I feel like we saw enough from his mid range/turnaround/fade game to say he could have developed the 3 to a respectable amount at least.
To me this is the real question: who could stretch, and play the kind of D to still be effective against other modern centers?
He would feast at the rim, feast at mid-range / turn around, then with current rules and referees, he would feast at the line. He defended with his feet, not bulk or clubbing his man, so he wouldn't be a foul-out casualty. If he can extend to 23', great, but wouldn't have to. It seems like his form was good, so straight on threes seem like they would be available.
Stretching the floor isn't the only thing that matters if all the rest of the game is so great. Case in point, Bill Russell would be the perfected form of Draymond Green in today's game. His lack of offensive game would mean next to nothing bc his play making and unshakeable defense and elite rebounding and fast break floor running.
Frankly, the answer is almost all of them would still be elite and unstoppable bc as much as the game has changed, those dudes has skills that would still be immensely valuable and still translate.
Big guys didn't shoot threes back then; they stayed under the basket to rebound and created open threes for other players. If Hakeem played today, he would shoot threes and probably be pretty good at it.
He wouldn't even need to shoot 3s, post defenders are worse today than in the 90s. Hakeem would be dunking more in today's NBA than he did in Phi Slamma Jamma.
He was elite and strong enough at defending some of the greatest big-men of all-time yet had quickness to guard perimeter players in a pinch. No center has ever been in the Top 10 All-Time Steals list except Hakeem. Pair him up with a big man that can shoot 3's and you can potentially have a formidable duo
While fasting during Ramadan too. Can't forget that.
In fact, he was [just as good, if not better during Ramadan.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/g1uy1n/hakeem_olajuwons_stats_while_fasting_during/)
Yeah, everyone talks about his dream shake and offensive ability, but his defense was even better. Dude would lock down every single center in the league today. He had the speed and athleticism to step up on stretch centers and get back to recover in the paint.
horry played with shaq, timmy, hakeem. he said hakeem was the best by far. and thats not some prime bias since he played with all of them primed.... which is kinda crazy that he did but i mean hes a kind crazy tier of role player
[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C8EyoXjPhvE](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C8EyoXjPhvE)
Your center doesn't need a 3 point shot when they're an elite post scorer, rim protector, relative playmaker, and rebounder. If anything I'd prefer to not have my star center able to shoot 3s since it's easy to settle for them.
His era was the overall most talented time in the league history for the center position and he clowned all of them on both ends of the floor. Hakeem is the best two-way center of all time.
People have to realize this they always look at stats and be like they didn’t do this or that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t adapt to todays game. So he had a solid mid range I’m pretty sure he would adapt his game to fit today’s game. He would be a nightmare. Athletic, crazy post game, could shoot the middy and he probably be able to adapt and stretch the floor to 3
He’d make so many of these big we trot out nowadays look like absolute traffic cones considering post play and post defence is pretty much a lost art barring a few dudes.
In wake of Walton's death, I've thought Jokic is basically the answer to "what if we saw Arvydas play in the NBA in his prime, or Walton have 79'-85' healthy and not trapped on the Clippers?" Arvydas was awesome old, heavy, and on bad knees.
The biggest for multiple reasons. The first is obvious, what would sabonis had been? The second reason is because HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE 90'S BLAZERS WITH DREXLER. That team already went to the finals twice. The 90's could have been blazers era and that has wild ramifications for mj.
The biggest imo. Watching footage of him in his prime im 100% convinced he would’ve been one of the all time greats and revolutionized the nba at the time
I know it's a different era, but prime Sabonis is probably the greatest center of all time. He had the size and strength to body anyone. Hell, I think he could stand toe to toe with prime Shaq in the paint. He could shoot threes, drive to the hoop, rebound, and block shots. He was also a Jokic level passer.
I remember watching old washed up Sabonis highlights when he was on the Blazers. At least once a game he'd throw the most ridiculous pass you've ever seen.
"He's not MY-vydas. He's not YOUR-vydas. He's AR-vydas."
Sportscenter was so good in the 90s.
Great point - makes it worse we didn't get to see him stateside in his prime. Really was just sharing the thought as tribute to Big Bill. Wanted to give the Big Fella his due and putting him in a convo with Joker and Arvydas maybe keeps some light on his game and when he was healthy how special he was. Shine On BW.
Prime Shaq would kill everyone. There isn’t a scheme or lineup out there right now that could stop him.
He changes the game and forces you to modify your roster. You need big men to do nothing but foul him, but that takes up valuable roster space as well as minutes.
He’d be the biggest game-changer by far IMO. The others while legends have some sort of analogue in today’s game. There is nobody like Shaq.
I think they're the only guys to do so. Jordan and LeBron are super wings, not fundamentally different from any other wing--just better than the rest. Shaq changed other teams' rosters and Curry flipped the game inside out.
Jordan changed the game because his dominance and play was at a time when the NBA still was primarily dominated by bigs. He did what he did as his size to a level no one had seen before.
He followed the Pistons that one because they had the best combined guards in the league. And the Lakers best player was a point guard. Larry bird was a small forward. The 80’s were dominated by the 1’s and 3’s.
Shaq was something else to see as a kid. Like nothing of seen before or after. Always laugh at how it wasn't a big deal for him to tear down an entire backboard.
Which ones? Other than putting in flagrant fouls to protect him? The "Jordan Rules" was a strategy developed by the BB Pistons to stop him. The triangle was used to spread the floor and counter that strategy.
If prime Shaq was in the league today there'd be guys whk aren't in the league that'd get signed just because you need someone big enough to give him some kind of resistance.
I can't tell if this sub overrates Orlando Shaq or underrates Lakers Shaq.
Orlando Shaq would be the best player in the league, or if not certainly in the discussion.
Lakers Shaq would be the goat in this league lmao
I don’t think it underrates lakers shaq. I think it’s more that the style of play at that time is so drastically different that maybe he wouldn’t have put on all the weight to begin with. Just to be able to keep up with the pace
Correct. He could get away with the weight/laziness because the game was much slower at the time. Lazy Shaq would not last long being pulled out to the 3 point line all night long on screens and switches while he guards players like Giannis/Wemby/Jokic/etc.
But the point of this is that bigger slow Shaq would change the league to match his style. 3 >2 if you expect the 2 to shoot 50% and 3 33% or whatever.
Shaw would shoot 80% in the paint, and teams would have to add big slow guys to slow him down
Didn’t Boban have insane, basically goat-level offensive efficiency advanced stats? I’m obviously not equating Boban to Shaq, but no amount of offense will cover someone who can’t run up and down a court for 40 mins a night and can’t defend outside the low post.
I dunno man. "Lazy" Lakers Shaq was playing 40 minutes a night in the regular season at like 400 pounds. Also post defense and offense are some of the most tireding things you can do in the NBA.
Gotta be people who didn’t watch him play in Orlando and LA and are just going off highlight videos or something. He was such a better all around basketball player in Los Angeles for their three peat.
His skills and BBIQ improved over his Orlando days, but he didn't need to get to 400 lbs (his real weight, by his own admission) to get smarter and more skilled.
Shaq tells the story that he bulked up in LA to deal with physical play, but based on his offseason weight gain patterns, this looks a lot more like rationalization. He was also at his best in 2000- yet most of his weight gain came after that.
Are you joking? LA Shaq was on a different level. Not sure why people on here think Orlando version was better because he was a little slimmer. LA Shaq was a destroyer of worlds.
it's all hypothetical I think people just believe Orlando would be more SUITABLE for today's game, whereas LA you have to ask if he can be so great that the game bends towards him
> Guy moves like Giannis
Lol. Lmao, even. Orlando Shaq was great but had nowhere near Giannis' mobility. Also, LA Shaq would eat Orlando Shaq for breakfast.
Although I think Shaq was amazing, I wonder the tradeoff in W/L against high efficiency 3pt shooting teams. I don't know the answer but trading 2s for 3s often creates enough space to win a game.
That’s always the big question with Shaq, how he’d do on switches and the like that take him to the perimeter, especially in the modern game.
For one thing, I don’t think he balloons in size, which people forget he did quite purposefully on the Lakers because he was tired of - in his own words - taking so much physical punishment. He wanted to dish it back.
And it worked beautifully for the game at that time which was for the most part very slow-paced (it’s why the Nash/D’Antoni Suns were so revolutionary). Shaq could just become enormous and effectively unmovable in the block.
Nowadays I think he’d try to stay closer to his Magic weight and style, running the court and generally being a lot more mobile. He was always an intimidating rim protector but I think he could have also adapted to the increase in range and floor spacing.
You have the answer to that question in the form of 00-01 lakers.
Horry, Fox, Kobe and Fish all were excellent defenders while being great 3 point shooters.
Horry and Fox especially would be in high demand in todays game
And 00-01 Kobe? Monster.
But I digress, my point is that Lakers team would fit today’s nba to a T.
Lol yeah man if his 2’s were at 80 or 90 he’d score 100 a game. Problem is he was never near that percentage or even 75 which makes sense cause that’s a ridiculous and superhuman percentage
You’re doing math for fantasy percentages that never have happened nor would they happen
I’m not sure a 345 pound man could sprint that often down the floor. The early 2000s was the slowest era ever. Not saying he couldn’t run fast when he had to. But that ‘when he had to’ amplifies like 1.5x over in todays game and I doubt it wouldn’t result in fatigue/injury/weighloss and or playing into magic Shaq shape.
For Context
https://sportsmanor.com/nba-did-shaquille-oneal-ever-get-swept-in-the-playoffs/
>Many of these sweeps happened during the time O’Neal spent with the Orlando Magic. Shaq was swept by Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers in 1994. The very next year, he made it all the way to the NBA Finals, just to get swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. Yet again in 1996, he was swept by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
>In 1998, he failed to win a single game against John Stockton, Karl Malone, and the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. The following year, he was swept by Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Finally, O’Neal lost 4-0 to the Bulls in the 2007 playoffs, albeit at the backend of his career
And they say it was more about Hack a shaq, his early Orlando days and playing again players that are still lengendary right now.
Does he really have 4 rings? I’ve never heard him mention it wow that’s surprising
I appreciate the magic fan stepping in to be like ‘actually sir almost all of his sweeps occurred when he played for my team let’s get the facts right’
The non-existence of illegal defense would make his post game a lot harder to work with, but the lob finishing...yikes. He offers no shooting, but Giannis doesn't either. Prime Shaq is today's league wouldn't get away with the 'play myself into shape' bullshit, but if his handle improves, I can see him as Giannis+....scary.
This is the answer. In his best years draymond had commensurate value in the postseason to an MVP player well Hakeem is better on defence and an all-nba level offensive player. His best seasons came when his team wast built to be 4 out around him.
Shaq would get killed by elite shooters on offence and whilst he'd still be an incredibly valuable player he would be flawed enough defensively that he wouldn't break the game like dome people think.
If we don't just limit it to centres though there can only be one answer. Kevin Garnett. 7' Draymond on defence and on offence well -> He can be a primary ball handler and initiator for offence, every team has pgs who can actually run pnr with him and throw him lobs he had this for like 6 months in his career despite being an athletic beast with gogo gadget arms, he shot over 30% from 3 across the 4 seasons he took 3s in his career and shot over 45% on long 2s during his offensive prime. There is no reason this couldn't have been like 4 or 5 3s at like 37%.
Young Orlando Shaq had enough mobility and speed to be the best player in the league if he played today. If Shaq didn’t stop caring and gain all that weight IMO he would be considered the greatest player of all time.
It’s insane to think just how much more dominant Shaq could have been if he took things a little more seriously (free throws, conditioning, defense). One of the greats of all time and in some facets of the game had huge room for growth
I think it’s Kareem. Kareem was every bit as talented and versatile as Wemby, if not more, but came up in an era where big men were relegated to doing stuff in and around the basket. Even Kareem, who is typically pretty humble and self-aware, has said that he could have been a good perimeter player but was told to play a traditional center role.
And despite that very defined role, Kareem still held the scoring title for 20 years. Imo, he should be a top-3 candidate for the GOAT discussion (and not 3) and it feels like he rarely is
Young Kareem moved like a gazelle, dunking over Wilt, one of the most efficient scorers for 2 decades with the skyhook. Kareem’s hype coming into the league wasn’t Wemby’s level, it was LeBron’s level of hype.
Kareem was probably the surest thing ever drafted at #1 with 3 national championships in a row and the most dominant career in college basketball history back when top players stayed in school. LeBron was the chosen one, Wemby is the alien, but Kareem was "can basketball survive Lew Alcindor". He was so dominant that media feared his reign would be too boring to watch.
Kareem lost twice in College. 2 times in 3 years, never in the tournament. One of the games was against Houston in the Astrodome and it’s an all time classic.
People don’t realize what a great passer Kareem was as well. Not Walton/Sabonis-level (let alone Jokic), but just underneath those guys. Put him in the modern game and he’d probably average 6-7 assists just murdering teams that had to send doubles in the post, all while putting in DotY-level performances every season.
I fucking hate the Lakers but I love Kareem, man. What a legend.
Had to scroll down quite a bit to see Kareem. Today’s NBA places a premium on skilled big men and Kareem would be one of the ones who would excel in this era with how good his touch is.
I think most reasonable people have him top 3 all time. He's at #2 for me.
>Kareem still held the scoring title for 20 years.
Also, accumulated much without a 3 point line..... and a later start than modern players w/ full 3 years in college
Absolutely. 7’4 with a handle, great defense and the ability to shoot. If he developed in the post 90s/00s game where jump shooting was more respected from bigs he’d be elite. He was a serviceable shooter, just a little inconsistent back in the 80s
This is a great pull. The game being so much "softer" now than it was in the 80s, I think Sampson would have a much bigger advantage than he had in his day.
The answer is always Wilt!
People forget that he was mainly a mid-range shooter with unbelievable efficiency! And he even lead the league in assists for a season.
What was negative back then would mean that he'd probably be a good 3-point shooter today... just imagine a 7foot2 rebounding and defensive monster with maybe the best athleticism ever who can also shoot and pass and can play 48 min a game.
While there was never officially a quintuple double, Wilt has one that was recorded by the nba's official statistician before it was officially tracked.
[SEE HERE](https://youtu.be/ZA0vQyqJOno)
EDIT: I believe he had a chance to represent the US at the Olympics in high jump, had he wanted to. Might be considered the best athlete ever imho.
Another thing is offensive contact was allowed far far less back then so he couldn't use his size and obscene strength to his advantage the same way Shaq and Giannis were allowed to. Wilt is basically a more athletic and stronger Giannis with a slightly better spot up game
Seriously [watch this](https://youtu.be/BVJrDj5GbtM?t=189) (3:07 if you are on mobile). Difference in contact allowed is dramatic. It'd be interesting to see how Shaq or Giannis would adapt (not even factoring in the other different rules of the 60s).
>more athletic and stronger Giannis
This is pretty much unfathomable to me after watching that man do shit like hit a euro from outside the paint into a dunk on two guys at once lol
Any more athleticism for 2017-22 Giannis and he’d be a fuckin anime character 😂
Why do people get mad at this? His brother is a 15th man. Where is this energy for the nuggets having DeAndre Jordan on their team when he hasn't played?
This. Wilt is like if Wemby (minus the long range) had Shaqs strength, Howards vertical (maybe more) and Jokic's mid range.
If the last 4 years of the NBA have taught us anything, skill and athleticism always translate
Considering the fact that Wilt is the only player to block Kareem's sky hook, yeah he definitely might be the best player. Looking at his physical game, I would say he atleast as dominant as LeBron was during his prime.
The other thing is with players that size you worry about their stamina and ability to play a full season
No worries about that with Wilt averaging 48.5 minutes/game
Honestly his endurance is an underrated point in the argument. Like every player is gunna start to struggle throughout the season just cus they never went against THIS high level of athlete, so you’d wanna cut players mpg back to try to keep them fresh (duh) but even cutting Wilt’s minutes back by 10 per game, he’s still averaging 39 giving him more time to dominate
The olympics thing is a myth - [https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/cfr8zb/debunking\_most\_every\_wilt\_chamberlain\_track\_field/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/cfr8zb/debunking_most_every_wilt_chamberlain_track_field/)
[https://x.com/RealBillRussell/status/1273049821025189888?lang=en](https://x.com/RealBillRussell/status/1273049821025189888?lang=en)
I think OP is mixing up Wilt and Bill here
People weren't evening running pnr back in the day, if Russell was getting spoonfed lobs all day he'd have far more respectable offensive efficiency, Wilt played 48.5mpg and waxed his contemporaries efficiency he'd be a cheatcode today.
He also was a fantastic and high IQ passer. The league is more open to have centers be the offensive hub for a team now. Bill Russell averaging 7 or 8 assists a game is realistic for him
Just high IQ in general bro was a player coach wtf. Bro would be bam adebayo on steroid. People say bam is athletic but imagine bill Russell with decent shoes.
Putting him on today’s Celtics or Pacers would be very interesting given how they like to pace the game.
He was a track and field Olympian, a A+ defender, and would run most pretty much every other center out of the gym.
His leadership is another aspect that made him such an all-time great. Definitely can help any team knowing you have a superstar you can trust leading the team to victory beyond just the scoring.
He’d be Tim Duncan with better passing and even better defense and switching. And knowing how great Bill Russell was, he’d work on an outside shot to be a threat from deep.
Probably the only top 10 all time center modern teams couldn't pull a rudy on in the playoffs by constantly switching and putting him on islands with their best ball handlers/scorers on the perimeter.
I'm taking Hakeem all day.
GOAT defender.
Averaged 2 steals and 4 blocks for most of his prime years.
Could rebound, hit midrange shots, and was a decent FT shooter.
Shaq wouldn't like the pace of today's game and would have trouble with his defensive coverages because he was always too lazy to go out and defend past the paint.
Also don't understand why people make it seem as if Shaq won the title every season. He was great but his prime years were very short. His Orlando seasons were good but he wasn't the big body Shaq of the Lakers. And once they started winning, Shaq just got lazier and older so the Lakers shipped him out for a young and rising Kobe. You're rralistically getting only 4-5 years of peak Shaq.
Shaq in Orlando was still a force and could go coast to coast with ferocity. If anything this version of him would excel in todays NBA
I agree that Hakeem is the best answer for the question. Don’t get the Shaq slander tho
The thing about Olajuwon is that he's more like a giant guard, or wing. The footwork, the center of gravity, he's not just a very agile center, he's almost like the best pure universal basketball player you could imagine.
I think most of the greats would all do well. But these in particular.
Wilt - no other center can match his athleticism, speed, and size.
Russell - yeah, no team is going to even think about doing a PnR to have him switch onto their point.
Shaq - young Shaq is similar to Wilt. No one else would be able to stop him.
Admiral - has the size of Gobert but quicker, more agile, faster hands (steals), and can hit the 15-18 footer with consistency.
Most stacked position by far.
What some of these guys did made them elite humans let alone elite basketballers. Russell was an Olympic high jumper and Wilt and Olympic volleyballer.
Some of the finest specimens of the human race played Centre in the NBA
These guys all would be good, but I can’t believe the lack of Kareem here.
I’d imagine the best back then would be the best now.
Does anybody really have Hakeem or Shaq over Kareem all time?
Wilt and Shaq as a beast inside bullying all. Hakeem and Ewing for their shooting and not being a liability in defense. Bill Russell might be the best defensive player ala Gobert but more switchable on defense.
Also who was stopping that skyhook? The man would be at the free throw line so much. His skyhook would the center version of Steph 3. Man would just hook and turn around knowing it would go in
Assuming people in their prime without injuries, I'd say Arvydas Sabonis hands down.
He was a proto-jokic with speed and athleticism of a David Robinson.
I think Ewing would honestly do really well. He’d essentially be Gobert with a reliable 15-20ft jumper, steady free throw shooter, eliminating a lot of hunting during late game situations, with little to no loss on the defensive side. If he became a more willing passer, Ewing would be a problem for most teams in this era.
I see 5x more Hakeem answers than Wilt lmao. This sub ans their ignorance of Wilt.
The answer is Wilt and it's not even close. Prime Wilt dominated in a period where shaq/giannis would foul out in the 1st quarter from offensive fouls. Wilt NEVER got to showcase his strength, and he is stronger AND faster than prime shaq
Kareem 7'3 Agile offensively skilled was a defensive monster when he was younger.
Man played his entire career in freaking converses and still lasted 20 years plus college.
He feels like a no doubt all nba level center on paper (maybe not Jokic or Embiid level but that's depending on how well he adapts and his skill level changes with the modern game)
Hakeem would have his way.
My first thought as well, also USSR Sabonis would clean up seeing how Jokic is dominating the current NBA
No question. Sabonis would eat.
I always say as a Laker fan Jokic triggers my Sabonis PTSD
He's not my vydas, he's not your vydas, he's Arvydas
Still mad we only saw what was left after the Soviets used him... And he was still very good, but man... What could've been.
Whitsitt recalled in a 2011 interview, that when the doctor reported the results, "He said that Arvydas could qualify for a handicapped parking spot, based on the X-ray alone."
Definitely a big what if. By the time Sabonis got to the NBA he was over 30 and my knees hurt watching him run, yet he was still so good. Game really would have easily translated now
this is kind of similar to yao. his injury was because he played all year no off season. and i feel like he would have just been a bit better with better conditioning but you could also argue its why he improved so quickly so maybe its not similar
Imagine a prime Sabonis with Clyde and Terry Porter.
Stop I'll cry I stg
I saw Sabonis at this peak, he was something else, his passing even fancier than Jokic! Even then you could tell his conditioning was not great. I have no doubt that had he reached the NBA young, and hopefully vastly improved his physical conditioning, he would be immensely successful in the NBA.
My first nba game as a kid was a jailblazers team and I got to see washed Sabonis and was amazed. We were robbed of seeing him in his prime. Special player for sure.
Prime Sabas is somehow both way bigger AND more athletic than Jokic. Probably just as skilled too. Would have been a terror in any era.
Sabonis, regardless of era, would have been incredibly dominant in his prime.
Hakeem didn’t shoot a ton from 3, but I feel like we saw enough from his mid range/turnaround/fade game to say he could have developed the 3 to a respectable amount at least. To me this is the real question: who could stretch, and play the kind of D to still be effective against other modern centers?
Dream Shake + modern NBA offensive latitude would be guaranteed points.
He would feast at the rim, feast at mid-range / turn around, then with current rules and referees, he would feast at the line. He defended with his feet, not bulk or clubbing his man, so he wouldn't be a foul-out casualty. If he can extend to 23', great, but wouldn't have to. It seems like his form was good, so straight on threes seem like they would be available.
all you gotta do is imagine Rudy with an elite post game
Hakeem was a better defender in every aspect of defense
and better perimeter defense
I'd make the argument that Perimeter defense was easier in the 90s
The Dream Shake to draw the modern foul then strong enough to still make the shot would be top tier.
Stretching the floor isn't the only thing that matters if all the rest of the game is so great. Case in point, Bill Russell would be the perfected form of Draymond Green in today's game. His lack of offensive game would mean next to nothing bc his play making and unshakeable defense and elite rebounding and fast break floor running. Frankly, the answer is almost all of them would still be elite and unstoppable bc as much as the game has changed, those dudes has skills that would still be immensely valuable and still translate.
Big guys didn't shoot threes back then; they stayed under the basket to rebound and created open threes for other players. If Hakeem played today, he would shoot threes and probably be pretty good at it.
He wouldn't even need to shoot 3s, post defenders are worse today than in the 90s. Hakeem would be dunking more in today's NBA than he did in Phi Slamma Jamma.
Hakeem's the greatest defender in NBA history. That's why he would be my vote.
He was elite and strong enough at defending some of the greatest big-men of all-time yet had quickness to guard perimeter players in a pinch. No center has ever been in the Top 10 All-Time Steals list except Hakeem. Pair him up with a big man that can shoot 3's and you can potentially have a formidable duo
He also never seemed to get tired. He'd defend like all 5 positions on the court and still toss up a 24-10-6 with 3 steals and 4 blocks.
While fasting during Ramadan too. Can't forget that. In fact, he was [just as good, if not better during Ramadan.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/g1uy1n/hakeem_olajuwons_stats_while_fasting_during/)
Imagine prime Hakeem with Dirk at the 4. They complement each other so well.
Yeah, everyone talks about his dream shake and offensive ability, but his defense was even better. Dude would lock down every single center in the league today. He had the speed and athleticism to step up on stretch centers and get back to recover in the paint.
horry played with shaq, timmy, hakeem. he said hakeem was the best by far. and thats not some prime bias since he played with all of them primed.... which is kinda crazy that he did but i mean hes a kind crazy tier of role player [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C8EyoXjPhvE](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C8EyoXjPhvE)
And Hakeem basically called Jordan unguardable by anyone.
Your center doesn't need a 3 point shot when they're an elite post scorer, rim protector, relative playmaker, and rebounder. If anything I'd prefer to not have my star center able to shoot 3s since it's easy to settle for them.
His era was the overall most talented time in the league history for the center position and he clowned all of them on both ends of the floor. Hakeem is the best two-way center of all time.
People have to realize this they always look at stats and be like they didn’t do this or that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t adapt to todays game. So he had a solid mid range I’m pretty sure he would adapt his game to fit today’s game. He would be a nightmare. Athletic, crazy post game, could shoot the middy and he probably be able to adapt and stretch the floor to 3
We just had Embiid win MVP and i think we can all say that Hakeem is better in basically every way. He would dominate
Was gonna say this . Dudes finesse was able to beat all time great centers at their peak . He'd dominate now
Best center I ever watched.
He’d make so many of these big we trot out nowadays look like absolute traffic cones considering post play and post defence is pretty much a lost art barring a few dudes.
Arvydas Sabonis would be a problem
In wake of Walton's death, I've thought Jokic is basically the answer to "what if we saw Arvydas play in the NBA in his prime, or Walton have 79'-85' healthy and not trapped on the Clippers?" Arvydas was awesome old, heavy, and on bad knees.
Sabonis was so much more athletic than Jokic. He was a great rim protector. He was the best center in the world in the 80s.
Sabonis was also 7'3, so 4 inches taller than Jokic. He has to be one of the biggest "what ifs" in NBA history.
The biggest for multiple reasons. The first is obvious, what would sabonis had been? The second reason is because HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE 90'S BLAZERS WITH DREXLER. That team already went to the finals twice. The 90's could have been blazers era and that has wild ramifications for mj.
The biggest imo. Watching footage of him in his prime im 100% convinced he would’ve been one of the all time greats and revolutionized the nba at the time
I know it's a different era, but prime Sabonis is probably the greatest center of all time. He had the size and strength to body anyone. Hell, I think he could stand toe to toe with prime Shaq in the paint. He could shoot threes, drive to the hoop, rebound, and block shots. He was also a Jokic level passer. I remember watching old washed up Sabonis highlights when he was on the Blazers. At least once a game he'd throw the most ridiculous pass you've ever seen. "He's not MY-vydas. He's not YOUR-vydas. He's AR-vydas." Sportscenter was so good in the 90s.
Great point - makes it worse we didn't get to see him stateside in his prime. Really was just sharing the thought as tribute to Big Bill. Wanted to give the Big Fella his due and putting him in a convo with Joker and Arvydas maybe keeps some light on his game and when he was healthy how special he was. Shine On BW.
The first stretch 5. Man if the Blazers got him when they drafted him in the 80’s? We win at least two Titles.
Between Sabonis staying overseas, the injuries to Walton and Oden and the existence of DeAndre Ayton ya'll have the worst center luck of any franchise
Don’t forget Sam Bowie…
Should have listened to Bob Knight’s advice. “Just play Jordan at center”
Pretty wild to leave Sam Bowie out of those names… You know, the guy they picked over MJ?
How dare you overlook Bill Laimbeer
Basically a bigger, more athletic and offensively skilled Domas. Also was one of the top playmakers at his position. He’d fuck shit up.
Prime Shaq would kill everyone. There isn’t a scheme or lineup out there right now that could stop him. He changes the game and forces you to modify your roster. You need big men to do nothing but foul him, but that takes up valuable roster space as well as minutes. He’d be the biggest game-changer by far IMO. The others while legends have some sort of analogue in today’s game. There is nobody like Shaq.
Shaq is one of those talents that just straight up changes how games are played, another one being Curry.
I think they're the only guys to do so. Jordan and LeBron are super wings, not fundamentally different from any other wing--just better than the rest. Shaq changed other teams' rosters and Curry flipped the game inside out.
Jordan changed the game because his dominance and play was at a time when the NBA still was primarily dominated by bigs. He did what he did as his size to a level no one had seen before.
[удалено]
1965? Bit late to the party there, young fella.
because soon as Jordan retired Houston went back to back and the Spurs won the next year
He followed the Pistons that one because they had the best combined guards in the league. And the Lakers best player was a point guard. Larry bird was a small forward. The 80’s were dominated by the 1’s and 3’s.
Larry was like 6’10 and Magic was 6’9 they were not your traditional 1s and 3s. They were giants.
They straight up changed and created rules because of Jordan...
[Shaq also changed structural standards for stanchions and backboards](https://youtu.be/ASGBDmZj6o0)
Shaq was something else to see as a kid. Like nothing of seen before or after. Always laugh at how it wasn't a big deal for him to tear down an entire backboard.
Well, let's include Barkley and Rasheed Wallace too.
They changed the rules for Mark Jackson too…
Which ones? Other than putting in flagrant fouls to protect him? The "Jordan Rules" was a strategy developed by the BB Pistons to stop him. The triangle was used to spread the floor and counter that strategy.
If prime Shaq was in the league today there'd be guys whk aren't in the league that'd get signed just because you need someone big enough to give him some kind of resistance.
As a Canadian, you must be referring to Todd Carlyle MacCulloch
Specifically, Orlando Shaq. Guy moves like Giannis but is probably 100 lbs heavier.
I can't tell if this sub overrates Orlando Shaq or underrates Lakers Shaq. Orlando Shaq would be the best player in the league, or if not certainly in the discussion. Lakers Shaq would be the goat in this league lmao
I don’t think it underrates lakers shaq. I think it’s more that the style of play at that time is so drastically different that maybe he wouldn’t have put on all the weight to begin with. Just to be able to keep up with the pace
Correct. He could get away with the weight/laziness because the game was much slower at the time. Lazy Shaq would not last long being pulled out to the 3 point line all night long on screens and switches while he guards players like Giannis/Wemby/Jokic/etc.
But the point of this is that bigger slow Shaq would change the league to match his style. 3 >2 if you expect the 2 to shoot 50% and 3 33% or whatever. Shaw would shoot 80% in the paint, and teams would have to add big slow guys to slow him down
Didn’t Boban have insane, basically goat-level offensive efficiency advanced stats? I’m obviously not equating Boban to Shaq, but no amount of offense will cover someone who can’t run up and down a court for 40 mins a night and can’t defend outside the low post.
Shaq moves a million times better than Boban
I mean Jokic just won a title and he’s not exactly what I would think of as agile. I’m a casual though so maybe it’s not the same.
I dunno man. "Lazy" Lakers Shaq was playing 40 minutes a night in the regular season at like 400 pounds. Also post defense and offense are some of the most tireding things you can do in the NBA.
Gotta be people who didn’t watch him play in Orlando and LA and are just going off highlight videos or something. He was such a better all around basketball player in Los Angeles for their three peat.
His skills and BBIQ improved over his Orlando days, but he didn't need to get to 400 lbs (his real weight, by his own admission) to get smarter and more skilled. Shaq tells the story that he bulked up in LA to deal with physical play, but based on his offseason weight gain patterns, this looks a lot more like rationalization. He was also at his best in 2000- yet most of his weight gain came after that.
Are you joking? LA Shaq was on a different level. Not sure why people on here think Orlando version was better because he was a little slimmer. LA Shaq was a destroyer of worlds.
it's all hypothetical I think people just believe Orlando would be more SUITABLE for today's game, whereas LA you have to ask if he can be so great that the game bends towards him
He was better for todays league is the point usually being made. 380 pound Shaq would gas out immediately and probably be injured as much as Zion.
Today’s style of play would likely never let Shaq get to that size.
2000 Shaq was not 380. People need to specify which LA Shaq they mean.
> Guy moves like Giannis Lol. Lmao, even. Orlando Shaq was great but had nowhere near Giannis' mobility. Also, LA Shaq would eat Orlando Shaq for breakfast.
Although I think Shaq was amazing, I wonder the tradeoff in W/L against high efficiency 3pt shooting teams. I don't know the answer but trading 2s for 3s often creates enough space to win a game.
That’s always the big question with Shaq, how he’d do on switches and the like that take him to the perimeter, especially in the modern game. For one thing, I don’t think he balloons in size, which people forget he did quite purposefully on the Lakers because he was tired of - in his own words - taking so much physical punishment. He wanted to dish it back. And it worked beautifully for the game at that time which was for the most part very slow-paced (it’s why the Nash/D’Antoni Suns were so revolutionary). Shaq could just become enormous and effectively unmovable in the block. Nowadays I think he’d try to stay closer to his Magic weight and style, running the court and generally being a lot more mobile. He was always an intimidating rim protector but I think he could have also adapted to the increase in range and floor spacing.
Yes that’s what people forget about Shaq. He was an athletic freak and pretty mobile in Orlando. In todays game he’d never get that big of a
that big of a what
Big as them San Antonio women
You have the answer to that question in the form of 00-01 lakers. Horry, Fox, Kobe and Fish all were excellent defenders while being great 3 point shooters. Horry and Fox especially would be in high demand in todays game And 00-01 Kobe? Monster. But I digress, my point is that Lakers team would fit today’s nba to a T.
Not if your 2s is at 80-90%. Trading 2s for 3s makes sense at 50% for 2s vs >33% for 3s. You have to shoot above 50% on 3s to fight a 75% 2s
Lol yeah man if his 2’s were at 80 or 90 he’d score 100 a game. Problem is he was never near that percentage or even 75 which makes sense cause that’s a ridiculous and superhuman percentage You’re doing math for fantasy percentages that never have happened nor would they happen
shaq vs chet would be a murder
I’m not sure a 345 pound man could sprint that often down the floor. The early 2000s was the slowest era ever. Not saying he couldn’t run fast when he had to. But that ‘when he had to’ amplifies like 1.5x over in todays game and I doubt it wouldn’t result in fatigue/injury/weighloss and or playing into magic Shaq shape.
We already have Prime Shaq in today's NBA. He's called Bol Bol
Daily reminder that the most dominant player of all time Shaq has been swept SIX times in the playoffs in his own time.
For Context https://sportsmanor.com/nba-did-shaquille-oneal-ever-get-swept-in-the-playoffs/ >Many of these sweeps happened during the time O’Neal spent with the Orlando Magic. Shaq was swept by Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers in 1994. The very next year, he made it all the way to the NBA Finals, just to get swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. Yet again in 1996, he was swept by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. >In 1998, he failed to win a single game against John Stockton, Karl Malone, and the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. The following year, he was swept by Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Finally, O’Neal lost 4-0 to the Bulls in the 2007 playoffs, albeit at the backend of his career And they say it was more about Hack a shaq, his early Orlando days and playing again players that are still lengendary right now.
Has 4 rings to make up for it so it really doesn’t matter. Especially since 5 of those sweeps came before his 3 peat.
Does he really have 4 rings? I’ve never heard him mention it wow that’s surprising I appreciate the magic fan stepping in to be like ‘actually sir almost all of his sweeps occurred when he played for my team let’s get the facts right’
The non-existence of illegal defense would make his post game a lot harder to work with, but the lob finishing...yikes. He offers no shooting, but Giannis doesn't either. Prime Shaq is today's league wouldn't get away with the 'play myself into shape' bullshit, but if his handle improves, I can see him as Giannis+....scary.
Hakeem
This is the answer. In his best years draymond had commensurate value in the postseason to an MVP player well Hakeem is better on defence and an all-nba level offensive player. His best seasons came when his team wast built to be 4 out around him. Shaq would get killed by elite shooters on offence and whilst he'd still be an incredibly valuable player he would be flawed enough defensively that he wouldn't break the game like dome people think. If we don't just limit it to centres though there can only be one answer. Kevin Garnett. 7' Draymond on defence and on offence well -> He can be a primary ball handler and initiator for offence, every team has pgs who can actually run pnr with him and throw him lobs he had this for like 6 months in his career despite being an athletic beast with gogo gadget arms, he shot over 30% from 3 across the 4 seasons he took 3s in his career and shot over 45% on long 2s during his offensive prime. There is no reason this couldn't have been like 4 or 5 3s at like 37%.
Young Orlando Shaq had enough mobility and speed to be the best player in the league if he played today. If Shaq didn’t stop caring and gain all that weight IMO he would be considered the greatest player of all time.
It’s insane to think just how much more dominant Shaq could have been if he took things a little more seriously (free throws, conditioning, defense). One of the greats of all time and in some facets of the game had huge room for growth
David Robinson. The guy didn't look like yr typical Center. He was proto Giannis.
I was looking for this response. I had Dream first, but Robinson would be unreal in todays game.
Imagine the front court with him and Wemby at the 4.
Yep, the admiral was essentially Giannis, who was forced to play traditional C.
I think it’s Kareem. Kareem was every bit as talented and versatile as Wemby, if not more, but came up in an era where big men were relegated to doing stuff in and around the basket. Even Kareem, who is typically pretty humble and self-aware, has said that he could have been a good perimeter player but was told to play a traditional center role. And despite that very defined role, Kareem still held the scoring title for 20 years. Imo, he should be a top-3 candidate for the GOAT discussion (and not 3) and it feels like he rarely is
Young Kareem moved like a gazelle, dunking over Wilt, one of the most efficient scorers for 2 decades with the skyhook. Kareem’s hype coming into the league wasn’t Wemby’s level, it was LeBron’s level of hype.
Kareem was probably the surest thing ever drafted at #1 with 3 national championships in a row and the most dominant career in college basketball history back when top players stayed in school. LeBron was the chosen one, Wemby is the alien, but Kareem was "can basketball survive Lew Alcindor". He was so dominant that media feared his reign would be too boring to watch.
Kareem is probably still the best College basketball player of all time.
Kareem lost twice in College. 2 times in 3 years, never in the tournament. One of the games was against Houston in the Astrodome and it’s an all time classic.
Damn, never knew this. That’s absurd.
Genuine question without googling, didn't they ban dunking in college games for a few years because of Lew? Or was that Wilt or Russ?
Yeah it was to slow down Lew Needless to say the dunk ban didn't slow him down much. Didn't stop his successor Bill Walton either lol
It was Kareem and it's part of the reason he developed his touch to the level he did
People don’t realize what a great passer Kareem was as well. Not Walton/Sabonis-level (let alone Jokic), but just underneath those guys. Put him in the modern game and he’d probably average 6-7 assists just murdering teams that had to send doubles in the post, all while putting in DotY-level performances every season. I fucking hate the Lakers but I love Kareem, man. What a legend.
Rarely is ? He’s a top 3 lock in every goat list I’ve ever seen
True, but seemingly every time it is about the best centers of all time he just gets glazed over, as if he isn't the obvious 1st pick
Had to scroll down quite a bit to see Kareem. Today’s NBA places a premium on skilled big men and Kareem would be one of the ones who would excel in this era with how good his touch is.
I think most reasonable people have him top 3 all time. He's at #2 for me. >Kareem still held the scoring title for 20 years. Also, accumulated much without a 3 point line..... and a later start than modern players w/ full 3 years in college
Over Lebron?
Ralph Sampson was basically Wemby in the 80s. He was an all-star back then, but I think his game would translate much better today.
Absolutely. 7’4 with a handle, great defense and the ability to shoot. If he developed in the post 90s/00s game where jump shooting was more respected from bigs he’d be elite. He was a serviceable shooter, just a little inconsistent back in the 80s
This is a great pull. The game being so much "softer" now than it was in the 80s, I think Sampson would have a much bigger advantage than he had in his day.
The answer is always Wilt! People forget that he was mainly a mid-range shooter with unbelievable efficiency! And he even lead the league in assists for a season. What was negative back then would mean that he'd probably be a good 3-point shooter today... just imagine a 7foot2 rebounding and defensive monster with maybe the best athleticism ever who can also shoot and pass and can play 48 min a game. While there was never officially a quintuple double, Wilt has one that was recorded by the nba's official statistician before it was officially tracked. [SEE HERE](https://youtu.be/ZA0vQyqJOno) EDIT: I believe he had a chance to represent the US at the Olympics in high jump, had he wanted to. Might be considered the best athlete ever imho.
Another thing is offensive contact was allowed far far less back then so he couldn't use his size and obscene strength to his advantage the same way Shaq and Giannis were allowed to. Wilt is basically a more athletic and stronger Giannis with a slightly better spot up game
Seriously [watch this](https://youtu.be/BVJrDj5GbtM?t=189) (3:07 if you are on mobile). Difference in contact allowed is dramatic. It'd be interesting to see how Shaq or Giannis would adapt (not even factoring in the other different rules of the 60s).
I'd say much better spot up game and general shooting at high level, while also being taller.
>more athletic and stronger Giannis This is pretty much unfathomable to me after watching that man do shit like hit a euro from outside the paint into a dunk on two guys at once lol Any more athleticism for 2017-22 Giannis and he’d be a fuckin anime character 😂
Wilt effectively was an anime character.
Basically imagine Giannis but 3 inches taller, somehow even stronger and just as fast in transition. Plus he has a great turnaround game
And you don't have to sign his little brother to act as a 3 million dollars cheerleader.
As a Bucks fan, I resent this. Thanasis is his older brother
Thanasis is 6'7"; Giannis is 6'11". Technically, Thanasis is the 'little' brother :)
Why do people get mad at this? His brother is a 15th man. Where is this energy for the nuggets having DeAndre Jordan on their team when he hasn't played?
Also extremely mobile and athletic
Yes. I don't see what anybody could do against him in today's game, except himself being tired from sleeping with thousands of women lol...
Wilt’s kryptonite would be social media, though. Couldn’t have put up his off the court numbers nowadays.
This. Wilt is like if Wemby (minus the long range) had Shaqs strength, Howards vertical (maybe more) and Jokic's mid range. If the last 4 years of the NBA have taught us anything, skill and athleticism always translate
Considering the fact that Wilt is the only player to block Kareem's sky hook, yeah he definitely might be the best player. Looking at his physical game, I would say he atleast as dominant as LeBron was during his prime.
He wasn't the only player as Mark Eaton, Ralph Samson, Olajuwon, Manute Bol and Artis Gilmore blocked it.
But I think Wilt was the only player to block it multiple times in a playoff match and that too at the end of his career.
The other thing is with players that size you worry about their stamina and ability to play a full season No worries about that with Wilt averaging 48.5 minutes/game
Honestly his endurance is an underrated point in the argument. Like every player is gunna start to struggle throughout the season just cus they never went against THIS high level of athlete, so you’d wanna cut players mpg back to try to keep them fresh (duh) but even cutting Wilt’s minutes back by 10 per game, he’s still averaging 39 giving him more time to dominate
The olympics thing is a myth - [https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/cfr8zb/debunking\_most\_every\_wilt\_chamberlain\_track\_field/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/cfr8zb/debunking_most_every_wilt_chamberlain_track_field/)
[https://x.com/RealBillRussell/status/1273049821025189888?lang=en](https://x.com/RealBillRussell/status/1273049821025189888?lang=en) I think OP is mixing up Wilt and Bill here
He'd be at worst the best PnR threat in the league
People weren't evening running pnr back in the day, if Russell was getting spoonfed lobs all day he'd have far more respectable offensive efficiency, Wilt played 48.5mpg and waxed his contemporaries efficiency he'd be a cheatcode today.
I’d like to see Bill Russell transported into today’s game. He could guard 1-5 and disrupt everything.
He also was a fantastic and high IQ passer. The league is more open to have centers be the offensive hub for a team now. Bill Russell averaging 7 or 8 assists a game is realistic for him
Just high IQ in general bro was a player coach wtf. Bro would be bam adebayo on steroid. People say bam is athletic but imagine bill Russell with decent shoes.
Timmy D with Bam's mobility
Putting him on today’s Celtics or Pacers would be very interesting given how they like to pace the game. He was a track and field Olympian, a A+ defender, and would run most pretty much every other center out of the gym.
His leadership is another aspect that made him such an all-time great. Definitely can help any team knowing you have a superstar you can trust leading the team to victory beyond just the scoring.
Love this. He’d be Draymond on steroids and with a respectable attitude.
He’d be Tim Duncan with better passing and even better defense and switching. And knowing how great Bill Russell was, he’d work on an outside shot to be a threat from deep.
Probably the only top 10 all time center modern teams couldn't pull a rudy on in the playoffs by constantly switching and putting him on islands with their best ball handlers/scorers on the perimeter.
Bill Russell in today’s game is basically super saiyan draymond green imo, would be absolutely dominant defensively.
Probably not the best but Yao Ming is an underrated pick
If he can stay healthy. It was always Yao's biggest issue.
Yao’s fadeaway was actually ridiculous
I'm taking Hakeem all day. GOAT defender. Averaged 2 steals and 4 blocks for most of his prime years. Could rebound, hit midrange shots, and was a decent FT shooter. Shaq wouldn't like the pace of today's game and would have trouble with his defensive coverages because he was always too lazy to go out and defend past the paint. Also don't understand why people make it seem as if Shaq won the title every season. He was great but his prime years were very short. His Orlando seasons were good but he wasn't the big body Shaq of the Lakers. And once they started winning, Shaq just got lazier and older so the Lakers shipped him out for a young and rising Kobe. You're rralistically getting only 4-5 years of peak Shaq.
Shaq in Orlando was still a force and could go coast to coast with ferocity. If anything this version of him would excel in todays NBA I agree that Hakeem is the best answer for the question. Don’t get the Shaq slander tho
Hakeem in his prime doesn't even look real. Too quick and smooth.. doesn't even make sense.
The thing about Olajuwon is that he's more like a giant guard, or wing. The footwork, the center of gravity, he's not just a very agile center, he's almost like the best pure universal basketball player you could imagine.
No recency bias but Bill Walton wit today’s modern sports medicine would make it a conversation
I think most of the greats would all do well. But these in particular. Wilt - no other center can match his athleticism, speed, and size. Russell - yeah, no team is going to even think about doing a PnR to have him switch onto their point. Shaq - young Shaq is similar to Wilt. No one else would be able to stop him. Admiral - has the size of Gobert but quicker, more agile, faster hands (steals), and can hit the 15-18 footer with consistency.
Most stacked position by far. What some of these guys did made them elite humans let alone elite basketballers. Russell was an Olympic high jumper and Wilt and Olympic volleyballer. Some of the finest specimens of the human race played Centre in the NBA
They all would be so dominant. They’re all transcendent players
These guys all would be good, but I can’t believe the lack of Kareem here. I’d imagine the best back then would be the best now. Does anybody really have Hakeem or Shaq over Kareem all time?
All the reasons people are listing Hakeem really apply even more for Kareem
Bill Walton
Wilt and Shaq as a beast inside bullying all. Hakeem and Ewing for their shooting and not being a liability in defense. Bill Russell might be the best defensive player ala Gobert but more switchable on defense.
Most of them tbh, as long as they can protect the rim. You can’t double-team centers today like you could back in the day
Hakeem is always the answer.
Kareem would destroy most modern Centers in the post. We was also extremely agile for his size and would likely be able to defend extremely well.
Also who was stopping that skyhook? The man would be at the free throw line so much. His skyhook would the center version of Steph 3. Man would just hook and turn around knowing it would go in
Assuming people in their prime without injuries, I'd say Arvydas Sabonis hands down. He was a proto-jokic with speed and athleticism of a David Robinson.
Wilt Chamberlain....any contact is a foul in today's NBA. How would you deal with him?
Both Dream and Shaq would eat freely.
Patrick Ewing. Consistent outside jump shot
In his time, Ewing was considered the best jump shooting center ever
Grew up with the 90s Knicks. Ewing game was a smooth jump shooter. I think people who never saw him play would be surprised.
I scrolled far to see Ewing. I'm curious how his game would have translated today
Hakeem the dream would murder. Could anybody imagine Patrick Ewing playing today?!
I’m bias as hell but Ewing would dominate. Elite defender, nice jumper and could hit some 3s, good passer too.
He always hit those baseline jumpers. I can imagine he would be great in the corner in today's NBA.
I think Ewing would honestly do really well. He’d essentially be Gobert with a reliable 15-20ft jumper, steady free throw shooter, eliminating a lot of hunting during late game situations, with little to no loss on the defensive side. If he became a more willing passer, Ewing would be a problem for most teams in this era.
Feel like a healthy Bill Walton or Hakeem would be awesome to watch with how the game is played
Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, Yao
I see 5x more Hakeem answers than Wilt lmao. This sub ans their ignorance of Wilt. The answer is Wilt and it's not even close. Prime Wilt dominated in a period where shaq/giannis would foul out in the 1st quarter from offensive fouls. Wilt NEVER got to showcase his strength, and he is stronger AND faster than prime shaq
Kareem 7'3 Agile offensively skilled was a defensive monster when he was younger. Man played his entire career in freaking converses and still lasted 20 years plus college. He feels like a no doubt all nba level center on paper (maybe not Jokic or Embiid level but that's depending on how well he adapts and his skill level changes with the modern game)