<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mr.Wade:</div><div class="quote_post">Shaq has bigger hands than Yao... nuff' said. We can argue about this until freakin' pigs fly but it won't go anywhere. We will never know who's the best or who's better than who unless we took a timemachine and had everybody in their primes go against each other... which obviously will never happen. The centers are always the most disputed list... I myself prefer Olajuwon over the big 4 of Shaq, Wilt, Kareem and Russell.</div> I agree, we can argue until the cows come home but its always fun/informative to have a competitive debate. I wont believe that Shaq has bigger hands than Yao. When is the last time you saw someone 5 inches taller than you with smaller hands?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AA13:</div><div class="quote_post">Your mistaken my friend. Wilt would have dominated Shaq'. Wilt was quicker and stronger than Shaq' is now. Wilt could have dominated in any era of basketball. He was just so dominant you can't even describe it in words. And the tape you saw of Kareem and Wilt was probably toward the end of his career. And I'm curious why you think Mikan doesn't belong in the top 5. He layed the groundwork for the centers of the future. The game was also changed to try and stop him from dominating. So I would appreciate it if you would enlighten me on why Mikan doesn't belong in the top 5..</div> First off, the way the game has changed, it would be impossible to put up 100pts in a game. If you want to judge them on stats, then Wilt is the victor. But if you want to be logical, and put them one on one, both in they're prime, Shaq is EASILY the best. The question is, was Wilt strong enough to stop Shaq from getting position in the paint under the basket, the answer is NEVER, EVER, EVER. Nobody can do that. There hasn't been a player in history with Shaq's combination of size, strength, and speed. I seriously dought Wilt or anybody could stop Shaq. When people brag on Wilt's strength, I quickly remind them that he's about the size of the average center this day in a age. By the way, I think Mikan is you're symphathy pick because he was the first bigman. But he OBVIOUSLY ain't better than Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, Wilt, Russell, Moses, or even a young Ralph Sampson. If you think he was, then please explain how
Wilt was 7'1 and probably 310 in his most muscular years, he was much quicker than Shaq i assure you. Wilt would have put up a tougher battle for position than anyone in the NBA right now and Wilt probably would have stopped Shaq from scoring 4-5 times out of 10. Wilt would have scored on Shaq at will, Shaq is pretty stationary on defense and Wilt would have danced around him and jumped right over him every time. Again, you can post your opinion all you want but let me see some evidence that Shaq can hang with the best of them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">Wilt was 7'1 and probably 310 in his most muscular years, he was much quicker than Shaq i assure you. Wilt would have put up a tougher battle for position than anyone in the NBA right now and Wilt probably would have stopped Shaq from scoring 4-5 times out of 10. Wilt would have scored on Shaq at will, Shaq is pretty stationary on defense and Wilt would have danced around him and jumped right over him every time. Again, you can post your opinion all you want but let me see some evidence that Shaq can hang with the best of them.</div> Lol. I don't know who you're talkin about. A young Shaq would have dunked on Wilts head. I've seen Shaq bring the ball up court, crossover, spin and hang on the rim. Wilt didn't have the talent to do any of that.
Wilt was a better overall athlete than Shaq, if Ben Wallace were 7'1 thats what the body of Wilt looked like, Shaq cant compete with that. Im through with arguing with you because all you ever do is say Shaq can do this or that. I've put forth my argument, my points, and I've backed them up with facts and evidence, you dont have to agree but so far you havent proven that Shaq is any better than anyone.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ignignot:</div><div class="quote_post">Is this a joke? Where's George Mikan? Bill Walton plays ten solid, unspectacular years in the league as he's better than the first dominant center and most dominant center of the entire opening era of professional basketball? blalalalbblalabalba Ben Wallace!? What a joke!</div> I cant rate Mikan over Ben and Walton because he played in 40's 50's and i have not saw'n he's game and yes i overrated Bill.. he had only 1 GREAT season in 77 when he won the title (1978 was too) but Ben Wallace..why this is joke for u ? Wallace has 3 defensive player of the year titles and 1 champ ring..he is great rebounder,stealer and blocker..yes i know that he is quite bad in offense ,but he dont need to score for impacting the game.Hmm yes Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld..i underrated them i think that only Elvin deserves better place. (actually i hate Bill and i think lot's of ppl are overrating him)
1.Wilt Chamberlain You talk about him being taller than others and Shaq would tear him apart cause Wilt was weak.Well think again,look how Shaq tries to save Kobe from being ass kicked by Reggie Miller and then ask from Sports guys how Wilt helped his 6'10 240 pound mate. Talk about Wilt being weak. Now you can say that he only won so few rings.Those 8-9 times Wilt and Bill met in the playoffs(Don't remember the series or games),the Celtics won 7 of them and by a total margin of 9 points! Wilt even didn't get the ball in the crunch time and so didn't Russell.Bill had better teammates and he blocked alot of shots but Wilt blocked more and got 55 rebounds against him while Russell had like 15. Also Wilt had alot of coaches so he didn't have a system that he was used to. If you think that Wilt was weak and a loser,think again. Thanks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">Wilt was a better overall athlete than Shaq, if Ben Wallace were 7'1 thats what the body of Wilt looked like, Shaq cant compete with that. Im through with arguing with you because all you ever do is say Shaq can do this or that. I've put forth my argument, my points, and I've backed them up with facts and evidence, you dont have to agree but so far you havent proven that Shaq is any better than anyone.</div> Wilt is obviously everybody's "symphathy" pick because he's from the ol school. But the facts show he wasn't the athlete, didn't have the strength, or ball handling skills of young Shaq(and played against players much smaller and weaker than him). I've seen centers smaller than Shaq dominate and dunk on Wilt, (Kareem, Russell, Walton), what makes you think Wilt had the super powers to stop Shaq (4 out 5 times ), he had a hard enough time stopping Kareem. In closing this exhausting but very entertaining debate, I like all the centers mentioned. But the fact remains that a player of Shaq's caliber didn't exist in the 60's. Shaq is a rare specimen, and I dought any player EVER will have the strength to stop a young Shaquille O'Neal. While he didn't have many post moves, he just would DUNK ON YOU'RE HEAD! Shaq is hands down the G.O.A.T. Thank you SHAQ KAREEM HAKEEM RUSSELL WILT(Couldn't even stop Russell or Kareem, how could he stop a young powerful Shaq) P.S. Mikan can't realistically be in the top 5, another one those "syphmathy" picks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">Wilt is everybody's "symphathy" pick because he's from the ol school. But the facts show he wasn't the athlete, didn't have the strength, or ball handling skills of young Shaq. I've seen centers smaller than Shaq dominate and dunk on Wilt, (Kareem, Russell, Walton), what makes you think Wilt had the super powers to stop Shaq (4 out 5 times ), he had a hard enough time stopping Kareem. In closing this exhausting but very entertaining debate, I like all the centers mentioned. But the fact remains that a player of Shaq's caliber didn't exist in the 60's. Shaq is a rare specimen, and I dought any player EVER will have the strength to stop a young Shaquille O'Neal. While he didn't have many post moves, he just would DUNK ON YOU'RE HEAD! Shaq is hands down the G.O.A.T. SHAQ KAREEM HAKEEM RUSSELL WILT Mikan can't realistically in the top 5, another one those "syphmathy" picks.</div> Symapthy Pick!? That statement is simply retarted. Your not closing this deabte because you represent your argument with statements like: "Shaq' would dunk on Wilt's head." I hate it when people like you say that Wilt and Russell wouldn't dominate in the leauge today because they are from the 60's. Wilt Chamberlain is simply the best athlete the game has ever seen. He is also IMO the greatest player ever. If you were to compare accomplishments, Wilt would dominate Shaq' and if you were to compare talent Wilt would also get the upper hand. You keep saying that Shaq' is so strong all he has to do is dunk on players. Wilt was just as strong if not stronger than Shaq'. He played a power and finesse game. He was the perfect post player. And you say that there wasn't a player of Shaq's caliber in the 60's! Wilt was better than Shaq' and Russell was just as dominating as Shaq'. You clearly have no knowledge of Wilt's accomplishments, talent or dominance if you put Hakeem ahead of him. The next time you start a debate please have facts to back up your arguments.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AA13:</div><div class="quote_post">Symapthy Pick!? That statement is simply retarted. Your not closing this deabte because you represent your argument with statements like: "Shaq' would dunk on Wilt's head." I hate it when people like you say that Wilt and Russell wouldn't dominate in the leauge today because they are from the 60's. Wilt Camberlain is simply the best atlete the game has ever seen. He is also IMO the greatest player ever. If you were to compare accomplishments Wilt would dominate Shaq' and if you were to compare talent Wilt would also get the upper hand. You keep saying that Shaq' is so strong all he has to do is dunk on players. Wilt was just as strong if not stronger than Shaq'. He played a power and finesse game. He was the perfect post player. And you say that there wasn't a player of Shaq's caliber in the 60's! Wilt was better than Shaq' and Russell was just as dominating as Shaq'. You clearly have no knowledge of Wilt's accomplishments, talent or dominance if you put Hakeem ahead of him. The next time you start a debate please have facts to back up your arguments.</div> It is a symphathy pick. You're "so-called" best center of all time got manhandled by Kareem. Kareem was the first center of our generation that was longer, more athletic, smarter, and simply BETTER than Wilt. His numbers against Wilt show that too! You're best argument is Wilts stats from like 1965 or something, but considering that was 40 years ago, and how the NBA has grown ALOT MORE DIVERSE than it used to be in the 60's, I don't see him putting up those numbers today. The facts show, players of today are just as big, if not bigger, and stronger then Wilt was back then. While I do respect everybody's opinion, Wilt's game of power would be less effective against player's just as powerful as him. In addition, Wilt didn't have too many post moves too use if he played today, and that's crucial in considering him against Kareem, Hakeem, and even Shaq. Even Shaq has a reliable jump hook. Bottom line, stop dreaming. Shaq weighed more, was more talented (could hopstep in lane, spin, crossover, something no bigman was doing back then) and more powerful (shattering backboard in this day in age is incredible). Although it's very hard to compare players of different era's, the difference is power between Wilt and Shaq is visibly noticeable. Shaq is not only the most powerful player in the NBA, he's probably one of the most powerful men on earth!! Still NO COMPARISON
To the people saying Shaq would destroy Wilt and that he was so much stronger, Shaq is one the greatest centers of all time no dobt but a)wilt had more moves, he could dunk, layup,finger roll, and actually had a decent outside shot(you dont get 100 points on dunks alone) wilt would not be overpowered with shaq's size, wilt later in his career did weigh in at more than 300 pounds and he could bench press over 450 lbs, wilt was 275 pounds of muscle, shaq is 250 lbs of muscle and 70 lbs of fat. As someone said, wilt did get dominated by Kareem at some point, but could even shaq stop the sky hook? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">WILT(Couldn't even stop Russell or Kareem, how could he stop a young powerful Shaq)</div> Yo genius did you ever see the stats wilt had compared to rusell, rusell didn't stop wilt at all, the celtics stopped wilts team. I think you better ask your pops to order espn classic... p.s wilt had much better defense than shaq, at his peak shaq averaged a little over 3 blocks, if blocks were counted in the days of wilt and russel both of them would have probably averaged 5 or more a game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But he OBVIOUSLY ain't better than Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, Wilt, Russell, Moses, or even a young Ralph Sampson. If you think he was, then please explain how</div> Ralph Samson? come on...
The game has changed so much in the modern day now, that it is almost impossible to compare old school players to the new school ones. The rules have been modified, altered and taken away or new ones set in since the start of basketball. Wilt and Russell played in the 60's. We know they are dominant and very good players, but do we, or can we ever assume how their game translated to the game we have now??? No we can't. And vice versa goes to Shaq and Hakeem. Although they have the edge in the category that they were born later and after the game of basketball evolved into what it is now. Not just 1 man putting on a show and not being able to be stopped. I'm not taking any sides, (although Hakeem is great). It's impossible to pick. I can't see anyone putting up 100 points in a game these days... it's just too hard. There are zone defenses, triple teams, and new rules... I mean if the player is THAT hot, than you can run so many different types of defenses to shut him down. To get 100 points... you'd have to score a 2 point basket every minute (rougly).... just putting it in perspective.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rockfan06:</div><div class="quote_post">Hahahaha!!! You actually think Wilt Chamberlin could dominate like that against players of today (keep dreaming). People who put Wilt as the best center are probably 40 yrs old and up.lol. You have to remember guys, back in those days, the players were ALOT smaller than they are now, so in other words Wilt was playing against mostly midgets.lol. Here's the list: Shaq- Most dominant in the game HANDS DOWN! Could dominate any era, just imagine if he was playing in the 60's with the midgets. Kareem- Most unstoppable move in NBA history, could score on ANYBODY (including Wilt, Shaq, Russell etc...), and even dominated the league 20 years plus, INCREDIBLE! Hakeem- Most talented Center EVER! Could crossover, spin, dreamshake (2nd most unstoppable move ever), jump hook in the lane, block shots, rebound, steal etc.........Could dominate any era also. Russell- Won 11 championships. NUFF SAID!! Wilt- The most dominant of his era, could play with best of them.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rockfan06:</div><div class="quote_post">Well you're young so I'll take it easy on you. For one, Wilt didn't play against players his size, there weren't any 7'6 centers back then. There may have been a few 7 footers, but they weren't as mobile and athletic as the ones today. In other words, if Chamberlin score 100 pts in one game in the 60's, Shaq would have score 200. Shaq is bigger, faster, stronger, and despite what you claim, has alot more moves than Wilt did. Honestly, there is no comparison.</div> Truthfully, in a way this sounds ridiculous. You don't understand something. Back then, there were only 8 or 9 teams in the NBA, the NBA was not watered-down like it is today. When Wilt averaged 50 he was going up against Russell maybe 20 or so time in a season, and to average numbers like he did against the best defensive player of all time said something. Without a doubt Wilt could play today. Back when Wilt was a young lad he did high jumping and track in high school. Those skills carried over into his career. He weighed 275 and was incredibly strong, blocking dunks from fellow centers and PF's. He was, imo, one of the greatest athletes in the world at that time. Who, playing today, is going to stop Wilt Chamberlain? Wilt was faster than Shaqqy poo, and not to mention had heart like KG. His rebounding was off the charts. Say what you want, but even if he was playing with "midgets" he was getting double and triple teamed nightly, instantly, from tipoff. I want to see even my boy Shaq do that. Oh yea, I forgot, Wilt played every minute of every game for an entire season. That includes foul trouble, technicals and all. Stamina like you would not believe. I think he was superhuman in ways. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting NbaBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">Wilt was so good becuase there was no one to stop him and he was the biggest player at that time. I knoe people are gona disagree with me but i think he is complete sh*t</div> ... <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree, we can argue until the cows come home but its always fun/informative to have a competitive debate. I wont believe that Shaq has bigger hands than Yao. When is the last time you saw someone 5 inches taller than you with smaller hands?</div> A chinese man named Sun Mingming tried to get into the NBA this year, but to no avail. He stood at 7'8", bigger than anbody else in NBA history (yes, than Muresan) It was said he had a good shooting touch, but had small hands for someone that size. Also, watch when Yao shoots, his palms are on the ball, while Shaq only uses his fingertips to shoot. (Andrew Bynum made fun of Shaq because of his FT shooting, and he's said to have small hands too) Lamont said a lot of things I like..Wilt had a 'wiry' strength. He looked skinny, but was just so incredibly powerful that he wouldn't have had a problem playing defense on Shaq. A young Shaq didn't have any low post moves. He was criticized as a youngster, because all he wanted to do was dunk, only after that did he develop his spin move, and little jump hook. Wilty had his unstoppable low post fingerroll that is gone from today's game. This isn't biased either, I believe Shaq to be the second most dominant force in the history of the league, but he doesn't have the stamina, fire, or mindset to accomplish half of what Wilt has. Oh yea, nightly, WHO does Shaq go up against that weighs as much as he does? Ming is in the 300's, as well as Diop. Curry, Jerome James, are in the 280s. And while I agree there are taller players nowadays, that doesn't mean they don't suck. I'm sure Brad Miller could dominate Shaq when he's 38.
