2021 NBA OFFSEASON THREAD: Media Day...SHENANIGANS

[freeze]

You don’t forget stuff like this…

even more so, you dont forget how t made you feel. like anything was possible.

MJ-Kobe-Bron-Curry. All gave me that feeling. Like bro...how are you doing this. Those the moments you remember when there's something you want to accomplish. When you saw something that looked impossible, til it wasnt.

 

[freeze]

Idk how bro

 

[finessence]

Man’s definitely is the best shooter.

Larry, Ray, Dirk and Reggie Miller all somehwere battling the other spots.

Steph is to shooting, what Vince is to dunking.

 

[had pants]

 

[toneboi76]

I think Klay Thompson has a legit case as #2

Man’s definitely is the best shooter.

Larry, Ray, Dirk and Reggie Miller all somehwere battling the other spots.

Steph is to shooting, what Vince is to dunking.

 

[IATT]

I think people legit forget how much of a beast Shaq was tho. The book on him now is that he 'didn't fulfill his potential'. And him being a clown on TNT probably doesn't do him any favors

shaq didn’t fulfill his potential thou..

but league was too easy for him.. if dude was one of the crazy competitive guys that constantly wanted to work or craft his game could only imagine how much more dominant dude woulda been

david Robinson is a freak of nature that we might never see again.. AND shaq would regularly punk THAT dude

 

[addict4sneakers]

I can’t say Shaq didn’t fulfill his potential.

 

[wavycrocket]

The Earl Watson interview on Barron Davis podcast is dope. I’m laughing at how they were surprised at how Magic really talks

 

[amitt5504]

I can’t say Shaq didn’t fulfill his potential.

Yea we confusing potential with expectations. Sure there’s probably expectations that Shaq could’ve been better but he definitely reached his potential

 

[addict4sneakers]

Yea we confusing potential with expectations. Sure there’s probably expectations that Shaq could’ve been better but he definitely reached his potential

Looking at his accolades how much better could he have been though? Yeah he put on a bunch of weight but I’m trying to remember what playoff performance he tricked off because he wasn’t outstanding. At least in his prime

 

[amitt5504]

Looking at his accolades how much better could he have been though? Yeah he put on a bunch of weight but I’m trying to remember what playoff performance he tricked off because he wasn’t outstanding. At least in his prime

Can’t really say. It’s the same **** with Jokic and Embiid. Both are great but ppl feel they should be able to do more considering how some things are ridiculously easy for them

 

[IATT]

I can’t say Shaq didn’t fulfill his potential.

the man said “I got hurt on company time, so I'll rehab on company time”

I don’t blame him, but he could have accomplished a lot more.. obviously still extremely successful but we saw how much of a dominant force dude was

it’s also not hard to see how he could have prolonged his career if he just stayed in shape and kept his weight down

when you’re younger, it’s easy to side with shaq in the whole Kobe beef.. but outside of Kobe telling on shaq, when you get older you can see how frustrating shaq could of been when you’re working your a)22) off

 

[addict4sneakers]

the man said “I got hurt on company time, so I'll rehab on company time”

I don’t blame him, but he could have accomplished a lot more.. obviously still extremely successful but we saw now much of a dominant force dude was

it’s also not hard to see how he could have prolonged his career if he just stayed in shape and kept his weight down

when you’re younger, it’s easy to side with shaq in the whole Kobe beef.. but outside of Kobe telling on shaq, when you get older you can see how frustrating shaq could of been when you’re working your a)22) off

That quote is wild but he played 19 seasons. Kareem played 20. It was ugly at the end but he was getting beat up for a long time.

to keep a thousand Kobe wouldn’t have been able to say anything to me considering what his personal life did to the 04 season but that’s just me.

 

[IATT]

Can’t really say. It’s the same **** with Jokic and Embiid. Both are great but ppl feel they should be able to do more considering how some things are ridiculously easy for them

neither guy is shaq level.. and embiid has injury concerns outside of weight

we just saw with Chris Paul how he changed up his diet lost weight and hes looking a whole lot better

we also saw how jokic losing weight helped him

imagine if shaq cared to stay in shape instead of using the season to play into shape

 

[atlsfinest]

I can’t say Shaq didn’t fulfill his potential.

Yea we confusing potential with expectations. Sure there’s probably expectations that Shaq could’ve been better but he definitely reached his potential

I disagree. Shaq had GOAT potential so being a top 10 player, while still incredible, would be considered not living up to expectations. Shaq, LeBron and Wilt Chamberlain are the three most talented basketball players ever.

Imagine Shaq If he worth diligent about taking care of his body as a player like LeBron? Or if he worked on the deficiencies in his game like Kobe? He would be in that 1-3 range instead of the 8-10 range.

Famously chose to miss half of a season because he didn't want to rehab during The offseason, he routinely came to training camp out of shape and his weight ballooned while playing for the Lakers. Despite all of these flaws he was still arguably the best player in the league for a long stretch.

Shaq was just so physically gifted that he could be the best player in the league while giving 75%, imagine if he gave 100%?

Imagine if he vowed to come into shape every season.

Imagine if he said "free throw shootings are a big weakness of mine, let me do my best to become at least an average FT shooter"

Imagine if Shaq watched what he ate and didn't gain 50+ while playing for the Laker.

Or imagine if he was the type of player to obsessively work on his game and add new moves to his repertoire every season. Imagine if you were the type of player to obsessively watch film and try to get better?

 

[Moheezy]

Looking at his accolades how much better could he have been though? Yeah he put on a bunch of weight but I’m trying to remember what playoff performance he tricked off because he wasn’t outstanding. At least in his prime

Good point, I would say that it would be marginal improvements:
- Another one or two scoring titles
- Another MVP or two
- Maybe prolonged his prime by a couple of more years

Crazy how another MVP can be seen as a marginal improvement. Just goes to show how great he was. But also, those can lead to maybe another title too which would put him in the top tier status as atlsfinest mentioned above.

 

[HOU$TON]

shaq didn’t fulfill his potential thou..

but league was too easy for him.. if dude was one of the crazy competitive guys that constantly wanted to work or craft his game could only imagine how much more dominant dude woulda been

david Robinson is a freak of nature that we might never see again.. AND shaq would regularly punk THAT dude

 

[pmatic]

Shaq could've applied himself more (rebounding, defense) and got himself in better condition. But he probably had one of the best peaks ever and is a top 10 player ever.

 

[IATT]

I wouldn’t even say if he was as diligent as jordan or Kobe or some of those clearly over competitive dudes

but just imagine if dude just worked out regularly in the off-season.. change up his diet

im not even talking about trying add stuff to his game in the off-season or study the game like Duncan did where even after his knee stuff he was still a dominant force

but just do stuff to keep his weight down so he wasn’t looking as rough as he did

 

[Based Jesus]

It's well known Shaq was a lazy fatass (relatively, compared to the average person obviously not).
He's said it himself. That's where the "Didn't maximize his potential" thing comes from.

Still one of the greatest to ever do it. He just aint have the work ethic of some of the people ahead of him on the list and you gotta wonder what it would've been like if he did.

Imagine a better Shaq with a longer peak I wouldn't even bother to play the game at C back then, I'd pull an AD and demand to be a PF everywhere I go

 

[addict4sneakers]

Again I’m arguing when did his flaws stop him in the playoffs. And at the end of his career, the league was changing. Would have been a tall task to ask 34 year old Shaq to lose 50 pounds.

Can’t say he didn’t work on his game, he was more than just a dunking machine in LA like he was in Orlando. Man never missed any jump hooks and he shot them **** off his right shoulder right handed.

 

[ill steelo]

Almost 20 years in the league, 28 ppg for 10 straight years, scoring titles, more finals MVPs than anyone besides MJ & Bron, more titles than anyone besides MJ & Cap/Magic & Kobe, spearheaded the 3rd modern 3 peat ever & arguably the most dominant individual playoff run we’ve ever seen.

He had video game tools, he had a video game career.

 

[IATT]

Shaq could've applied himself more (rebounding, defense) and got himself in better condition. But he probably had one of the best peaks ever and is a top 10 player ever.

hard to deny his dominance.. and when you speak of most dominant seasons or playoff runs, hard to put anyone over him

But he should unquestionably be a top 10 player ever.. locked in.. but he’s in the backend of that group for me

To me he’s behind Mj, bron, magic, bird, Duncan, Kobe, russell, Kareem





and I don’t necessarily blame him with some of that group.. jordan is a psychopath.. Lebron level of commitment to training and all of that on top of being probably the most gifted athlete ever.. Kobe was a mix of both with the work ethic and being crazy competitive

but he had it in him to easily be over a decent amount of those dudes by just having a better diet and/or staying in shape.. ain’t a coincidence his body started breaking down as he got older and couldn’t get away with not continuously staying in shape anymore

 

[rolaholic]

 

[addict4sneakers]

Alright bet

Why is Bron ranked ahead of Shaq on an all time list?