this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2023

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Would Prime (Lakers) Shaq be better or worse in todays NBA? And in what ways, from a tactical perspective, would he fit in? (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by Eden_Burns@alien.top to c/nba@nba.space

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I was thinking, obviously he was more mobile and handled the ball in Orlando, and he'd do that a lot more in a modern offense, but MVP Shaq who was bigger and handled less, would he be better or worse?

It's common to just say any legend from the past would dominate now, and Shaq would definitely draw even more fouls now than he did even back then. But also, so much of Shaq's game would be an offensive foul now, I think hack-a-Shaq would be even worse, and he'd be drawn away from the basket and into pick and rolls CONSTANTLY so his weaknesses would be exploited a lot more.

Personally, I can see Shaq averaging a lot more points, but fouling out a lot and being nowhere near the defensive presence because he'd be hunted on switches constantly and drawn out to the perimeter, and his rim protection would be less useful when you've got bigs who stretch the floor and can pass (Jokic being the prime example but even Embiid is passing really well this year).

Or do you just surround Shaq with shooters like Dwight in Orlando except he's twice the offensive player, and you live with him being exploited on defence because your offence would be unstoppable (aside from hacking him)?

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[–] GlueGuy00@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

young Zion is a 25+ point scorer in this league. Shaq would be a walking 40

[–] Original-Common-7010@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

A prime shaq i todays nba would be around 25~30lbs lighter just because how the game is played today. He would destroy people.

[–] Smooth_97@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

37.0PPG 17.0RPG 4.0APG 5.0BPG

[–] jslee0034@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I’d love to watch Orlando shaq in this nba with someone like Trae young or Melo or Halliburton. Easy 15+ assists

[–] Eden_Burns@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Hali for sure cause he's hyper efficient and low turnover

[–] Middle-Welder3931@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

The question I like more is what happens if 21yo Shaq got drafted in 2023, familiar with today's game and what is required of modern big men.

[–] Far_Lie_7760@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I feel like if Shaq played today he would never really get as big as he did when he was on the Lakers. It would just be 10 years of Magic Shaq, who is still one of the strongest players of all time

[–] CrissCrossAppleSos@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

As a rule, everyone from the past would be worse today. I’m sure you can find exceptions, but it’s a decent rule

[–] Known-Specific5869@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

These questions are so pointless. The game has evolved. We have atleast 30 players in the league now that’d change the nba world 20 years ago.

[–] DerekMorganBAUxxi@alien.top 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Not true at all what 💀

[–] Known-Specific5869@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Bit of an overstatement, but I still stand on what I said.

[–] motorboat_mcgee@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's already plenty of big men that aren't fantastic perimeter defenders, he wouldn't be any worse there. I think fans these days really underestimate how quick he was in LA, even if he was bigger. His last season or two, he definitely was slower, but 96-01 he was pretty damned quick.

Anyways, on defense, he'd be doing similar to other bigs in the NBA, mostly 'hiding' near the rim, and helping on inside shots/grabbing boards. Would be targeted on PnRs, and depending on the players involved that could go whatever way.

On offense, he'd be unstoppable, unless they call a bunch of offensive fouls on him. But, Giannis, Zion, etc get away with a fair bit of physicality, so I think he'd be ok.

[–] JKaro@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

You offensively scheme against Shaq the same way you would vs. Embiid, Jokic, etc.

[–] jt_33@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

He would destroy all these skinny fragile C’s. They would get dunked on a couple of times and then sub out for injury.

[–] Itsmattdellavedova@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

He’d definitely still dominate on offense as nobody would be able to handle him , and Shaqs post game was elite as well as being an above average passer , if you surrounded him with shooters and a PG who could help set the table I think he’d still dominate

Dwight was dominant with a similar team build, and Shaq is above and beyond what dwight could be, so I could we it working for sure

Defensively is something yet to be desired but I’m sure he wouldn’t get as big as he got as for a legit 7 footer Shaq was quick on his feet, especially in ORL. He was basically a dancing bear . With the drop coverage and the precedence of shooting he could get exposed but hard to know

[–] banidiots@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Shaq would dominate maybe 32/10 a night. But with the 3 point being so dominate his defense would take a little hit

[–] TurbulentJudge1000@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Prime Shaq would be much worse. He wouldn’t be able to stay on the floor due to the pace of play.

Orlando Shaq would’ve dominated though.

[–] podcast4ddict@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

50x better