Do you think Shaq is tarnishing his legacy by staying in the game too long? I understand he is only 32-33 years old but his body cant take much more. Yes, He just won his 4th NBA title but I think we can all agree Dwayne Wade got them to that point. He is not the player he used to be. He only scored 9 points in the championship game. His numbers are declining. Should he retire while on top?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (James17_Dunn @ Jun 30 2006, 03:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think Shaq is tarnishing his legacy by staying in the game too long? I understand he is only 32-33 years old but his body cant take much more. Yes, He just won his 4th NBA title but I think we can all agree Dwayne Wade got them to that point. He is not the player he used to be. He only scored 9 points in the championship game. His numbers are declining. Should he retire while on top?</div>No I don't think Shaq is tarnishing his legacy. What he did before won't change no matter what he does now. He is a big guy so he can stay in the NBA for a few more years. It's not like this guy is small like Iverson for example.I give you 100% that if Shaq was not on Miami's team this past season the Heat would not have: Won the title, Not get to the title, and probably not even play in the Eastern Conference finals. And Wade did get them there, and did amazing stuff in the playoffs espacially in the finals, but if Shaq was not there in Miami with his big presence in side Wade would not have been able to do that by him self even with those very nice roll players. And he should not retire stay atleast 2 more seasons.
Shaq is not ruining his legacy, but the next generation of fans may not remember him how we do. It's a lot like Gary Payton,Grant Hill,and Penny Hardaway. When you guys usually think of them, you think of players that were pretty good. But if you'd seen them you would know they were all some of the greatest to ever play at their respective positions. I still think Shaq should stay around a little longer though.
lol. i want him to stay. hopefully he'll break a hip or something and then people'll realize how old he really is.nah i'm kidding. he still has some left in him.. if he still has the jokes he still has the moves.
no way....people are to critical on Shaq. You say that he did so poorly in the finals but that is just compared to what he normall does. And perhaps part of the reason that he didnt do as well is because Dwayne was doing so good....did u ever think of that? Also, people are saying that Shaq didnt play that well through the entire playoffs but he didnt do much worse than his numbers in the regular season.18.4 PPG and 9.8 RPG in the playoffs. He played by far the best out of any center in the entire playoffs yet we are doubting if he should retire...How about this short answer. NO
Shaq has not overdone his stay. He was a big reason why Miami got this far and winning his 4 championship was great. He is declining though, I agree. I like Shaq and he was the most unstoppable player in the league in his prime but he should retire soon while he's still on top. 18 and 9 are solid numbers but nothing like what he used to do. He has a little more left in the tank and can be productive next year but he should retire soon before his numbers drop and he gets more injury problems.
He is slowing down in his game.. But, every player will and I think he should at least go one more year.
Shaq is lazy, he doesn't want to workout and eat right.Any break down of his body is only his own fault. Look at Zo and Karl Malone. Shaq is really making a bad career choice...
Listen. These people are f*cking human beings.Shaq plays basketball because he likes it, because he finds it fun. If I were in his position, on a good team that depends on him, I would relish it. If I were in his position, where I can go out, score 10 points and grab 5 boards, and still win, I'd relish it.Most of all, Shaq is human. He likes basketball and wants to continue playing it. How will his leagacy be ruined? No one judges him on what he's doing with the Heat now, beacuse he's 5 years past his prime. It's all about wining and having fun, two things he is doing alot of
Shaq isnt the same as he was in his prime but its not like he's that bad that he should retire. He is still one of the most if not the most dominate C in the game, if it wasnt for him the Heat wouldnt even be in the Finals. Sure he didnt preform too well in the Finals but he did pretty good in the regular season aeraging 20 and 9. He is still a good player and he's only like 33 or 34
Yeah I think he should retire. If he did Dallas would be celebrating their first championship but instead Shaq gets his 4th ring. He is thriving in becoming more of a role player for Wade now and that is smart.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (James17_Dunn @ Jun 30 2006, 12:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think Shaq is tarnishing his legacy by staying in the game too long? I understand he is only 32-33 years old but his body cant take much more. Yes, He just won his 4th NBA title but I think we can all agree Dwayne Wade got them to that point. He is not the player he used to be. He only scored 9 points in the championship game. His numbers are declining. Should he retire while on top?</div>No Shaq is not tarnishing his legacy. He was still a huge art of the Heat winning the finals. Your only looking on the offensive end. During the Finals Shaq pretty much owned the paint. He turned the Mavericks into a pussy little shooting team which really affected them. Because of Shaqs presence in the post the Mavs were barely getting anywhere near the post. They were settling for jump shots, turn around jumpers, etc. You can't say that was because of Wade. Shaq might lose his offense but he will not loose his presence and dominance he brings in the paint. You act like Shaq is doing horrible on offense to though. Bringing 20 and 10 a night isn't bad in my opinion especially as a second option.
Shaquille O'Neal might be a lot more inconsistant but that doesn't matter, that man if left open can make you look silly and he gets a lot of attention on defense. It doesn't matter if he scores 20 a game or not he's still a guy thats automatic inside. I think Shaq still has 4 years remaining on his contract at around $20 million per season, in 2 or so years this could definatly hurt the team if he's really aging.
Shaq will hurt the team eventually but right now he is still moving decently but if he gets out of shape again Miami will be in trouble.
He is slowing down, but come on man. You don't retire when you are still the most dominate interior guy in the League, and currently the best center in the League. He won a championship recently, and without him they NEVER would have gotten close to that far. When he is done, he will know. He is not ready to go yet as he is still playing at an elite level, and still pretty young for a legend like him. I say 2-4 more years and then you hang up the sneaks.
