Shaq is one of the most physically gifted bigman of any era. He may not have the soft touches that of Hakeem or Kareem, but Shaq was just as effective. Shaq draws defenders which means easy basket for his teammates. Kobe is considered one of the best today because of his 3 championships, but let me point out that in all those titles, Shaq was always the Finals MVP. So, Shaq may not have won if Kobe was not there, or if Phil Jackson was not coach, such argument will never be resolved. But it is an undeniable fact that when the Lakers had a 3-peat, Shaq was their MVP.

Shaq versus other great centers is an unfair argument because today’s players are far more athletic than the players from the 60s,70s,80s, and yes, even the 90s. Today’s players are more muscular, on average taller, can jump higher, can run faster. In short, current players are more athletic.

Judging Shaq in the “best ever center” argument should depend on his impact for his team and the rest of the league. He went to the Olando Magics who were a below .500 team, and in three years Shaq took them to the NBA Finals, while posting incredible numbers. Shaq was not “schooled” by Hakeem in their Finals match. The Magics were scoring at will inthe first half of game 1, but the rest of the Magics choked (especially the consecutive freethrow misses of Nick anderson) which allowed the Rockets to catch up and eventually win. The Magics never recovered, and they were swept. But only because the magics were inexperienced. Shaq was very young then. He was in way over his head. But his numbers was still very incredible.

In the Lakers, Shaq was 3-time Finals MVP, which should be enough to determine whick Laker then was “the man”. No question. Kobe, especially in the first championship was very raw, and had more bad games. he was OK in the second title, but Shaq was still Batman, Kobe was Robin. Kobe had a better scoring output than Shaq in their 3rd title, but Shaq still won Finals MVP. Although Kobe can make a case that he should have won, but Shaq was clearly more consistent, and the only reason kobe piled in more points is because he shot the ball more. Shaq’s field goal percentage is so much higher than kobe’s.

In Miami, Shaq’s contribution was readily apparent when in his first year as a Heat, he went neck and neck against Steve Nash for MVP honors which Nash eventually won. But that says a lot of Shaq’s impact. In his second year, they won, Shaq contributed with great performances throughout the playoffs and Finals(not just the last finals game). It was only during Shaq’s last year as a Heat that his contribution was seriously questioned, but that is only because his touches were initnionally limited.

As a Sun, Shaq leads the team in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage, and is second in scoring. He was able to adopt to the current return of the Suns’ “run and gun”, averaging above average numbers in their first three games with Gentry as head coach, even if he takes fewer shots than 3 or 4 other Sun players. The Suns need Shaq come playoffs because he brings with him size which the Suns lack, especially now that Amare Stoudemire is out for the rest of the season with an eye injury.

The best way to sum up Shaq’s career is to list his past accomplishments, which are as follows:
4x NBA Champ
1x NBA MVP
3x Finals MVP
13x All-NBA team selection (8x in 1st team)
3x All-defensive team
15x All-star
3x All-star MVP
1x World basketball Champ
1x World Basketball championship MVP
1x Rookie of the Year
1x Olympic Gold Medalist
currently #7 in all-time career points, can potentially (given current trend) reach top 5 at the end of the 2009 season.
currently #2 in all-time field goal percentage leader
is among the all-time elite in blocks and rebounds (and his totals are still undetermined, will revisit at the end of his career).

Clearly, all the above stats sh beould enough to make an argument for Shaq to be among the top Centers of All-time.

Oh, Do I believe Shaq will retire in 2010? I do not know. All I know is, he has a lot left in the tank, any team will benefit signing him after his contract with the SUns and it will be a great loss for the NBA if he chooses to retire in 2010.

Wow! I know I’m adding this comment WAY after the discussion has ended. But I can’t leave this board without commenting. I can’t leave the BS undisputed.
First, Shaq WAS a dominant center. Who cares about free throws at the end of the game if you’re already 20 points up before the final minutes? Seriously. Shaq was a beast and you HAD to play team defense on him. Second, Russel IS the best center of all time. Just ask Shaq, Robinson, Hakeem, etc. They ALL admit that Russel was the man. If even they count Russel as better, why would you guys argue it? The guy had THREE 40-rebound playoff games and was the first to average 20+rebounds per game (in his ROOKIE SEASON!). 11 rings in 13 season, 5 as the league MVP. Best ever. Period. You guys are all posers for suggesting anything otherwise. Thirdly, Hakeem didn’t own David Robinson. In the 94-95 playoffs Robinson played with a broken tarsal. That’s why he couldn’t cover Hakeem’s “dream shake”. It had nothing to do with teams or dominance. Robinson was injured. The pure numbers don’t lie, though. That’s why Robinson was the IBM player of the year 5 years in a row. Nobody meant more to his team in that era – not even Jordan. Robinson took a team that had 5 straight losing seasons and LOST 61 games in 1988 and immediately made them contenders. They had a (then) record turnaround and won 56 games the next year. The next time the Spurs played ball without Robinson (96-97) they again lost 61 of their games. It may have been luck that the Spurs landed Duncan, but it wasn’t coincidence that the two seasons between 1988-2003 that the Spurs played without Robinson they lost a combined 122 games. Yet WITH Robinson (and very frequently very little else) they were a perenial contender. Duncan just provided the little extra to get them over the hump. Take the Admiral out of the game and Duncan wouldn’t have won it either with the surrounding cast. I mean, come on! David Robinson scored 71 points to win the scoring title playing alongside guys like Jack Haley, Vinny Del Negro,
Lloyd Daniels, Chris Whitney, etc. If your reaction is “WHO???” That’s exactly my point! He played with NOBODY! His most talented teamate was a crazed-out Dennis Rodman NOT in his glory years like back in Chicago. Robinson Dominated his era like nobody since Bill Russel. And that was an era that included Hakeem, Ewing, Shaq, Parish, Mourning, Mutombo, etc. He played real talent and beat the crap out of them. It’s fun for the younger crowd to say that Shaq dominated David, but it just isn’t true. It took YEARS before Shaq got even his first win against David. THAT’S why Shaq disliked David. Not some stupd story about not getting his autograph as a kid. You guys really think David Robinson (Saint David as he was on SI’s cover) would have treated a kid poorly who wanted his autograph? No way. Shaq didn’t come up with that story til his 17th straight loss to David. SEVEN-FREAKING-TEEN! David is at least #4 all time. Per game and per minute stats prove it. When you take the caliber of teamates into account and how many triple and quadruple-teams he faced it’s even more amazing. He was Dwight Howard before Dwight Howard was Dwight Howard – only WAY better. Finally, Wilt the stilt Chamberlain. The guy scored 100 points in one game. 100! And he AVERAGED 50.4 points per game that year along with 25.7 Rebounds! I don’t care how crappy the competition is, you’d be hard-pressed to put up those numbers against collegiate-level competition! They guy deserves his place at #2. And the only reason he didn’t have more rings is because he played in the Bill Russel era. Who the heck could beat that dynasty? Obviously, nobody since they won 11 titles in 13 years. Beyond those four men, however, the only other center that belongs in the discussion is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also played real competition and came out ahead. He wasn’t just an also-ran with the Lakers. He was their go-to guy. It wasn’t Worthy, Scott, or Cooper. Magic covered sometimes, but mostly it was Kareem. When he retired he was the all-time NBA leader in NINE statistical categories, including points scored.

So, here’s the only way I see the top five can go in terms of dominance.

1. Bill Russel 35 and 40 rebounds!
2. Wilt Chamberlain 50.4 points & 25.7 boards for a SEASON!
3. Kareem Abdul Jabbar all-time leader in … everything
4. David Robinson Quadruple Double, Only player in NBA history to lead the NBA in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and win NBA MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year in his career
5. Shaq O’Neal – nobody can really say they’d want to face the Big Diesel in his prime. Except for the guys ranked 1 – 4!

Hakeem deserves mention in this list. Other than that, the other centers are just really good, not great. Mikan, Walton, Ewing, Parish, Nance, Ming, etc. Howard could get there, but only time will tell.

Okay, guys. If anyone reads this it will have been worth the time to write it. Have a good one and keep loving the sport. The NBA – I love this game!