Four championships. Rookie of the Year. MVP, and the three-time NBA Finals MVP. Two-time scoring champion, eight-time All-NBA First Team selections. A 15-time NBA All-Star. Shaquille O'Neal ranks 7th in blocked shots, 12th in rebounds, and 5th in all-time points scored.
How could one ever think that Shaquille O'Neal ever delivered anything but greatness, his entire career?
I'm not going to bring up his rap albums or his acting, but there is some room for argument. Still, some of my pals would say that I've got a beef with Shaq. But it's nothing personal. Like you, I'm just a sports fan.
The truth is that Shaq did change the game of basketball and the role of the center in the NBA for 19 years. But despite all of the extra hype and goodwill over Shaq's every move, I'll say that Shaq was a Top 50 player, but also the best player to ever have an NBA career so easy.
Compared with other centers and center-forwards of the relative same size --top players like Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwan, Willis Reed-- Shaq's style of play was one accommodated for by a changing NBA in the 1990s.
Often the NBA's referees excused what, for others, would clearly be fouls and did so for years. Shaq had the habit of lightly barreling into opposing players when carrying the ball, often one, two, three, four times, getting carte blanche on every dribble not afforded to anyone else, even big men. We heard on the broadcasts, too, after Shaq's first Lakers title, from the talking heads that champion players garnered "the benefit of the doubt" from referees during games. True indeed.
Strangely, off court Shaq tended to complain about other centers. When speaking to media Shaq barked about the lanky center Dikembe Mutombo, for what Shaq called Mutombo's "acting" and theatrics in drawing fouls à la Shaq.
Even less nimble big guys of similar build, like the journeyman Antoine Carr and unfit schlumpfs like The Chocolate Thunder, Darryl Dawkins, rarely got the kind of latitude that Shaq got while handling the ball in the paint. Shaq could bump and draw fouls galore. And of course, if he was under the basket he'd score. Who'd stop him?
Sure, you cannot call on a player to be graceful if his style is inherently gritty. Typically a player brings his natural traits, and improves in other areas, hopefully. One area of Shaq's game that points to his easy stride, maybe a lack of interest in developing all parts of his game was his abysmal free throw shooting throughout his career. Along with the other accolades mentioned above, Shaq does hold the record for the most missed free throws in a game, missing all 11 of his shots from the line against Seattle in a year 2000 match-up.
And while he was an indisputable force under the rim, unlike Ewing, and even the slightly above average 76ers center Matt Geiger, Shaq had virtually no outside shot, and dodgy accuracy from the perimeter. Not that anyone ever made him play on the outside.
Overall, while Shaq's impact on statistics and his team's success was immense, the fact remains that when compared with Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and even Bull Russell's game, Shaq's game was not a complete one.
Certainly a lot of people love Shaquille O'Neal, particularly Lakers fans. I agree with them that he was a phenomenon to watch. But when I think about how Jordan got fouled every time he handled the ball, and not only didn't moan about it, but scored anyway, it makes me think that the best players of all time were ones not so blessed with the size and height that Shaq got. Other future hall of famers --Jordan, Barkley, Pippen, Stockton, even LeBron-- have had to sharpen their saw instead of resting on size, natural strength, and the officials' too common blessing.
Those who watched the NBA closely and often, during the sunset of the Bulls' Jordan years saw Shaq gradually takeover the mantle of the NBA's top greatest player. The generation of players was changing as was the game we wanted to watch. Although nobody took Shaq up on his offering of shiny white Reeboks back in '98, the presence of the "big man" rebounded again in basketball, and fans wanted to see harrowing dunks. The NBA obliged.
Opinionated, better armed basketball enthusiasts and self-made experts will probably beat me over the head with their facts and stats about how great Shaq was. And I won't say that Shaq wasn't great. But as a follower of the game, I see it as I see it, perhaps wearing a different set of glasses.
Balancing style and substance, facts and flair, however, it's fair to say that Shaq was never the best center of all time, but at least a top one. Still, he was the most overrated.
Andy Frye writes about sports and life from a fan' s perspective, and tweets throughout the day on Twitter, @MySportsComplex.
02 Jun, 2011--
Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/my-sports-complex/2011/06/shaq-the-most-overrated-pro-athlete-of-all-time-retires.html
~
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com
Sharing is Sexy !
About the Author
0 komentar: