ESPN Got Shaq In His Feelings...Throws Shots at DunGawd After Being Ranked Below Him

[murksiderock]

as a suns fan I remember years of seeing Amare giving Tim work

Not trying to hate, but I keep seeing people talk about accolades and comparing runs and all this extra shyt

the only thing I'm thinking in this convo is if you put Shaq against Tim ... prime for prime
you can bring up all the extra shyt but Shaq would absolutely hurt Tim Duncan
same with how Hakeem beat Shaq, and Shaq wanted to do HBO 1v1
Shaq would have hurt Hakeem and laughed about it on TV infront of the world

and I have no Bias ... I was a Blazers fan after Bulls and then Suns fan
Both dudes are legends ... team wise Tim gets the W ... but nah not 1on1 ... shaq would punish 95% of the big men of all time
you hear about Wilt not trying to hurt guys and all this shyt ... Shaq usually wanted to hurt you.... that nikka was different

Duncan did have the 3 ... knockdown every midrange jumper and perfect technical game, but I dont see him doing what he wants against shaq 1v1 especially not mad Shaq
Tim aint built or strong enough for all that.

yall are arguing the career aspect over the reality of Shaq saying he would drop him off... I can say with a straight face that if shaq wanted to shorten Duncan's career he could have, without breaking a sweat
but this is exactly why rings matter, people are only harping over the fact of how the career played out instead of the reality of the matchup. Not even mentioning they dont play the same position, even though a few cats tried to say they do.

You're not about to sit here and say Shaq won all the matchups versus Duncan lol...

Also, peak for peak, sure it goes to Shaq. Outside of the 3peat years, what were the actual years he was better than Duncan?

 

[VBM]

They beat a bum ass Nuggets team an overrated Boozer/DWill Jazz team lol then were handed the WCF when Stat and Diaw were suspended lol

To be fair, we were supposed to get that Spurs/Mavs rematch in 07 and Dirk shyt the bed against Golden St.

 

[Miggs]

To be fair, we were supposed to get that Spurs/Mavs rematch in 07 and Dirk shyt the bed against Golden St.

We can play the what if game endlessly in this shyt....Dude is arguing the run they took to win in 2007 why of all years would you pick THAT one...

 

[VBM]

We can play the what if game endlessly in this shyt....Dude is arguing the run they took to win in 2007 why of all years would you pick THAT one...

True, Spurs caught a break with GS knocking off Dallas, the hip check and Bron going super-saiyan against Detroit and then forgetting how to shoot in the finals.

 

[Oldschooler]

Shaq's laziness only comes into question when a player of a similar level is put up against him (like Kobe or LeBron). Duncan is not in that group. He was a very good player who was in a great system with great players alongside him. You could have put many other PFs in his spot and they would have similar accomplishments.

I rank players based on their ability to play the game not their accomplishments (which are the products of circumstance). Tim Duncan simply doesn't play the game on the same level Shaq did. That is why they are not comparable. PERIOD.

Yea but this ain't a 1 on 1 tourney like I said Shaq would man handle anyone in any era. When you compare players for all-time lists you have to take into account titles, stats, system, and help. Otherwise i can just say Vince Carter or Tmac are better players than Wade, which by your definition is true.

Duncan was the best post defender in the era he competed against centers even though he had more finesse in his game. This anchored and enabled the spurs to play their system and they were always known as one of the best defensive teams cus of Duncan. You can't replace him with KG or Dirk and win so many titles because it would have never worked in the Spurs system.

 

[Swagnificent]

Go back and "watch the tape" since that's your thing hahahahaha....

I don't need to watch the tape. I lived and breathed it.

Comparing Duncan to Shaq is disrespectful. Duncan's peers are the likes of KG. It ain't Shaq.

 

[Big Boss]

who defeated the lakers in the 99 playoffs???

 

[FabTrey]

You claim to be the same age as me and yet you seem to act like you didn't experience the same shyt the rest of us who were alive for the early 2000s experienced. I can entertain a Kobe vs LeBron debate. IMO LeBron is great enough where I can see people thinking he was better than Kobe. I will never understand how anybody who watched Shaq and Duncan play for their entire careers would think Duncan is even in the same class as Shaq let alone better.

If you had to win a game and your life depended on it and you had a Prime Shaq and Prime Duncan available, who you taking? To me this is the only way to ever get a true answer on who is better than who. I refuse to believe anybody who saw Shaq play in his prime would take Duncan over him.

i have shaq ahead of duncan. but i can totally understand why duncan is ahead. why?

because GOAT debate is not a peak debate breh.

that's why you are always left out in this conversation because your illogical 'eye test' criteria. GOAT debate is always about the whole body of work. that's why many believe duncan is ahead of shaq. that's why Hakeem is never top 5 even though he arguably had top 5 peak. if

and to answer your question, that's a very hard debate. a prime duncan I get everything including better FT down the stretch and a better leadership. This is a classic bill russell/wilt debate and there's no right or wrong answer.

 

[VBM]

Looking at their matchups, Duncan more than held his own against Shaq throughout his career.

Games Played Between Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal

 

[Swagnificent]

Yea but this ain't a 1 on 1 tourney like I said Shaq would man handle anyone in any era. When you compare players for all-time lists you have to take into account titles, stats, system, and help. Otherwise i can just say Vince Carter or Tmac are better players than Wade, which by your definition is true.

Duncan was the best post defender in the era he competed against centers even though he had more finesse in his game. This anchored and enabled the spurs to play their system and they were always known as one of the best defensive teams cus of Duncan. You can't replace him with KG or Dirk and win so many titles because it would have never worked in the Spurs system.

Well I do rank T-Mac higher than Wade and Vince on a similar level cause I value ability over accolades.

Accolades are largely products of circumstance. We saw how little playoff success Wade had after Shaq and before LeBron. Imagine if T-Mac never got hurt and got to play with Shaq or LeBron. You telling me he ain't sitting on 3 rings as well? How about giving KG guys like Tony Parker, Manu, and Kawhi? You don't think he wins more rings?

Counting up accomplishments isn't a very smart way of ranking who is the best. If you want to rank who had a better career then sure. But to me when you say Player A is better than Player B then you are talking about their ability to play the game. And when it comes to playing the game Tim Duncan doesn't compare to Shaq.

 

[Swagnificent]

Also, peak for peak, sure it goes to Shaq. Outside of the 3peat years, what were the actual years he was better than Duncan?

1992-1998 versions of Shaq are better than Duncan in his prime.

You acting like young Shaq wasn't a beast.

I would take rookie Shaq over any version of Duncan. That is how much of a disparity I believe there is between them as basketball players.

 

[Elim Garak]

If the Lakers won in 99 I wonder if Shaq would claim the title was an * ?

 

[Swagnificent]

Looking at their matchups, Duncan more than held his own against Shaq throughout his career.

Games Played Between Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal

Smh. You box score analysts never fail to surprise me.

For those of us that actually watched those games, we know there is no comparison. At their peaks in the early 2000s, there was nobody saying Duncan was better than Shaq (let alone on the same level). Hell many people had KG rated higher than Duncan.

Shaq is on another tier compared to Duncan. Anyone who thinks they are comprable as ball players is lying to themselves.

 

[VBM]

1992-1998 versions of Shaq are better than Duncan in his prime.

You acting like young Shaq wasn't a beast.

I would take rookie Shaq over any version of Duncan. That is how much of a disparity I believe there is between them as basketball players.

 

[Oldschooler]

Counting up accomplishments isn't a very smart way of ranking who is the best. If you want to rank who had a better career then sure. But to me when you say Player A is better than Player B then you are talking about their ability to play the game. And when it comes to playing the game Tim Duncan doesn't compare to Shaq.

In that context i agree with you and I share the same feeling that winning championships and counting up accolades is overrated and I do not like that championships are valued so much. When we are discussing all time lists and comparing guys from different eras you have to bring up stats and accolades because its the only way to make a logical argument to people who haven't seen these players play.