Quote:
Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson
And during that time, Shaq was better. You list all those titles and Conference championships- like I said, Duncan had much greater longevity- and better work ethic.
But yes, Shaq on his best day eats Duncan for breakfast. I should clarify that I don't mean this in any way as a knock on Duncan. That's just how g*ddamn amazing Shaq was for those few years. At his absolute peak, I think Shaq was one of the top 3 greatest players ever. I'll take Shaq in his prime over anybody except MJ and Kareem. Wilt, Magic, Larry, you name it. He just completely controlled the game and made his opponents sh*t themselves with fear. Duncan is an absolutely phenomenal player. Greatest PF ever. Definitely top 15 all time and arguably even top 10. But he never just completely owned the game or terrified his opponents the way Shaq did from '99-02.
When the Spurs dethroned the Lakers in 2003, Shaq had already started to decline, I think. He was always fighting nagging foot injuries and was never fully healthy. That goes back to work ethic because he had a terrible habit of routinely showing up to training camp overweight. During the offseason he was always off making awful movies or worse rap albums instead of training and conditioning. Plus those last two years in LA, the Lakers locker room atmosphere was just a complete circus and they never had their heads in the game- which once again goes back to work ethic.
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Shaq was a beast. I think the league created the offensive 3 seconds in the paint rule because of Shaq killing people down low. I would not say Shaq declined in 2003. From 2004 to 2007 with the Heat, he was still the best center in the league. Miami would not win the championship in 2006 without him. I still want to know how the hell Shaq's debut album 'Shaq Diesel" went gold status in 2 months. WHO THE HELL WAS BUYING THAT ALBUM? The whole NBA? LMAO