Was Shaq the greatest rookie ever?
- Thread starter dreskii
- Start date
I think he is definitely in the discussion. I still think that Shaq came in when the league had the best crop of C's from top to bottom in NBA History.
He came in and dominated...got them to the finals in a couple of years and held his own against who I consider a top 3 center.
He came in and dominated...got them to the finals in a couple of years and held his own against who I consider a top 3 center.
Hakeem 1985
20.6 PPG/11.9 RPG/2.68 BPG while playing next to Ralph Sampson
Took a lottery team to the playoffs and improved one of the worst defensive teams in the league to top 5(4th)
20.6 PPG/11.9 RPG/2.68 BPG while playing next to Ralph Sampson
Took a lottery team to the playoffs and improved one of the worst defensive teams in the league to top 5(4th)
Ethnic Vagina Finder
The Great Paper Chaser
A
Wilt still ave. 18.6 rebounds a game at the age of 36 in his final season. He was a role player but he still logged 43 MPG. And that much faster pace when he was younger you speak of.. He never came out of games.
Mic-Nificent
I didn't eat nobody
Look at his roster.
Are you really gonna sit there and try to argue that Magic wouldn't have beasted on any other team?
Let's be real here, Shaq played the game like nobody else before him, right from the get go, nobody was throwing out big bodies like d-rob & ewing like rag dolls and for someone to be doing that as a ROOK you can't base that on anything besides watching him play.
DROB's numbers were absurd for a rook too but stylistically he was still in the realm of the ewings, malone, hakeems, kareems etc....
When shaq hit the league, you could tell something was different, not by numbers but by the way he played the game.
A
We're not talking about that wilt though, were talking about 1960's wilt. And The pace in the 70's was still much faster then today.
Faster pace=more possessions which= more shots which translates to more points and rebounds
Carlos Huerta
Just keep my rep red
Kobes Two Jerseys
8 or 24 best player of the era
Are you really gonna sit there and try to argue that Magic wouldn't have beasted on any other team?
Did he though?
Mic-Nificent
I didn't eat nobody
superunknown23
Superstar
Shaq came in and dominated bigs in the greatest era for NBA centers (Hakeem, DRob, Ewing, Zo, Deke, etc).
In terms of competition, he's clearly up there. Centers usually take longer to get established even when the competition is mediocre like today.
In terms of competition, he's clearly up there. Centers usually take longer to get established even when the competition is mediocre like today.
nikkas always saying "ever" or "all-time" and acting like shyt just started 20 years ago. It's one thing to say "greatest I have seen" but nikkas just go completely overboard with this "all-time" shyt.
What's sad is that it was par for the course for rookies to come in and beast throughout history. The extended incubation period is a rather new phenomenon.
Mic-Nificent
I didn't eat nobody
It's because of the influx of players who spent limited or no time playing in college. So you end up with a lot of raw talent that needs a LOT of refinement in most cases.
Zo came out the same year and put up 21, 10, 3. Dream put up 20/10 his rookie year. Ewing, Robinson, Duncan all did their thing as rookies. Wilt's rookie season has been thoroughly discussed. Jabbar and Russell had nice rookie years. Unseld won MVP as a rookie. This "10 and 10" for the first couple years shyt is a rather new phenomenon. Up until recently nikkas were coming in at grown ass men (20-22) and knew how to play big men basketball. Now nikkas are coming in 18-19 and it's all based on potential and athelticism.