It gives you a glimpse of what Orlando Shaq would be doing in this era fresh out of LSU. As I said, Zion's the closest thing we've seen to that specimen and teams have no clue how to deal with him.
I just tried to imagine Shaq trying to defend a player like James Harden & can't stop laughing. He'd get abused so bad in the PnR, isolated to death & put into foul trouble. Or him trying to defend a workhorse like Steph out on the perimeter who will rain 3s on your ass if you only give him an inch. He'd still be dominant but he'd be food on defense every night against the elite guards.
Makes me wonder, just how many legit stretch 5’s there are out there? Call me crazy but I’ve seen big men attempt 3’s but only a few are consistently successful.
Shaq balls out in any era no matter the rules that are intact to stop him. Someone that big strong and quick will shine regardless. And Shaq was a force of nature the NBA has never seen before or since he retired.
It would be interesting to see him against modern zones with players less adept at throwing entry passes to bigs. I remember there were times where this dude didn't even try to guard the P & R. nikka was straight . Shaq would get his numbers no doubt. He got numbers against the likes of Dream, DRob, Mourning, Ewing etc. The thing is the game isn't as mano y mano as it was back then. We have the zone because of him. It's also less physical. That bull in a china shop shyt he did at his peak wouldn't fly in this league. Would he adjust and adopt more finesse and a jumper? Did he even have that in him? That's the difference between being a rich man's Andre Drummond and dominating the league. It would also be interesting to see who he played with. I doubt he'd be able to go from Penny to Kobe to Wade today. Shaq put on that weight because he ate cheeseburgers and chilled by the pool all summer. Playing in a slower era allowed him to get away with it. He was the biggest strongest C in the league the day he walked in the door.
It’s not about “balling out” or his individual numbers but his team impact and ability to win championships in this era.
