Which new generation player at his peak could guard prime Shaq 1-on-1?

[Capn'O]

Embiid, Nurkic, and Jokic would have the best shot. But nobody.

[Capn'O]

There are probably others I'm forgetting, but probably the best defensive job on Shaq I can remember was the Blazers in the 2000 Conference Finals. Held him way below his season average on much worse %. But that was a multi-man job with Sabonis slowing him down and Wallace and/or Pippen helping. And he completely demolished them in a few previous years, to the point that Sabonis might or might not have been caught teary-eyed on the bench.

I can see Embiid doing a decent job. But given how much offensive responsibility he has I doubt the Sixers would want to stick with that matchup very much. Wemby's going to win a bunch of DPOY's but Shaq would dunk him through the rim. I vaguely remember Pek; had a few nice seasons and then vanished. I guess I'd probably go with Adams; he's strong and tough but even then gives up a few inches and at least 50 pounds.

Makes you really appreciate what a physical specimen Shaq was. I don't even think Chamberlain compares, which is saying something. We definitely haven't seen anything like him since.

Even more than this guy?



Whoops, wrong picture.

Spoiler:

If so, that's a hell of a compliment to Sheed and Sabonis.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Nobody.


Via Sports Illustrated: “In our first championship I was 345 [pounds] and then had a great summer, came back 385 for the second one,” O'Neal said. “Last championship I was 415.”

[Ritzo]

Hack-a-Shaq, so basically the bench guys burning their fouls.

[Peregrine01]

Healthy Embiid is the clear answer. He is big and strong, got very high etc etc. The difference here is Shaq also has to guard Embiid. Not only that, Shaq has to actually move. If not, Embiid is making open 3-pointers. Ohh, Shaq is guarding the 3-point line? Embiid going right past him, and if Shaq is able to somewhat move to stay in front of him Embiid, he is fouling Embiid, because Embiid is too smart.

I believe Embiid would get the most out of the matchup because Shaq would never be able to guard Embiid, but Embiid would manage on defense.

Embiid has a pretty high center of gravity and is stronger in his upper body than his lower. Despite his good size overall, I think holding his ground against Shaq is completely unrealistic. Post-defense isn't even really Embiid's strength on defense, it's his mobile rim protection and paint deterrence.

The offense thing, sure, but that's not the question. There's a million players these days who would pose problems for Shaq in that way.

Yeah, lower body strength and a strong base is the key for strong post defense. Which is why Shaq always struggled a lot more with a guy like Rodman than he did with guys like David Robinson. And as Barkley cited for his success: "it was my fat ass against their skinny little legs"

Embiid is huge but he's pretty top heavy so he's easier to move around. And his lack of balance and frequent lower body injuries indicate that he doesn't really have a strong base to stop Shaq from getting to where ever he wants. Jokic is actually better built for defending Shaq.

[NZB2323]

I actually think the Miami Heat zone would do the best job on Shaq.

[Myth]

I’m curious how Adams would do in the strength only part given how much his strength has reached legendary status. Like could he stop a Shaq backdown? Outside of that, Shaq would still beat him with spin moves and such Once Adams has his weight into Shaq. Then on the other end Shaq is free to roam and clog the paint, so an obvious advantage to Shaq overall.

Both Embiid and Jokic would be interesting matchups, but mostly because Shaq would struggle defensively against them just as they would against Shaq. If Shaq could abuse Mutombo, he could abuse them too. But I think of how Sabonis was one of the tougher matchups for Shaq. Big and long body on Shaq for defense, and passing/range making it hard for Shaq to clog the paint when he is on defense. Both Embiid and Jokic play more on the perimeter than Sabonis ever did. Nurkic would be a poor man’s version of Sabonis btw. Still big, and still some passing and range, but overall less talented than all 3 of Sabonis/Embiid/Jokic.

Wemby I’m going to speak about in terms of hypothetical peak Wemby, because current Wemby would get destroyed (BBQ Chicken). But hypothetical peak Wemby with a more efficient perimeter game pulls Shaq out further than any of them, which could tire Shaq more than usual. On defense, for Wemby to be especially effective would require more strategy because even a stronger future Wemby will still be crazy weak compared to Shaq. Yao’s length and sturdy base bothered Shaq, but Wemby will likely only have the length (more speed than Yao could help though a little). But the strategy Wemby could benefit from would be being the greatest fronter Shaq ever faced. When Sabonis wasn’t on the bench vs Shaq, Portland would front Shaq with Brian Grant and then rotate another defender on the times Shaq pushed Grant towards the perimeter and received a pass while heading for the rim. With Wemby, getting it over/around him will have a higher level of difficulty, meaning more turnovers just trying to get it to Shaq. To effectively get space cutting to the basket, Shaq would need to push Wemby closer to the 3 point line than he needed to against a guy like Grant. This gives Wemby’s teammates extra time to rotate, meaning getting the ball a bit further from the rim, and he still has to worry about a block from behind from Wemby, which wasn’t a concern against Grant. Essentially, once in good position, no Wemby is not stopping Shaq minus a couple blocks, but Wemby decreases the ease and frequency of Shaq getting in good position with an easy pass.

[Tor_Raps]

Horrible poll to not have "no one" as an option. That would win by a landslide lol

[Mr B]

Healthy Embiid is the clear answer. He is big and strong, got very high etc etc. The difference here is Shaq also has to guard Embiid. Not only that, Shaq has to actually move. If not, Embiid is making open 3-pointers. Ohh, Shaq is guarding the 3-point line? Embiid going right past him, and if Shaq is able to somewhat move to stay in front of him Embiid, he is fouling Embiid, because Embiid is too smart.

I believe Embiid would get the most out of the matchup because Shaq would never be able to guard Embiid, but Embiid would manage on defense.

Prime Shaq was bigger and more athletic than Embiid.

[JJ_PR]

Healthy Embiid is the clear answer. He is big and strong, got very high etc etc. The difference here is Shaq also has to guard Embiid. Not only that, Shaq has to actually move. If not, Embiid is making open 3-pointers. Ohh, Shaq is guarding the 3-point line? Embiid going right past him, and if Shaq is able to somewhat move to stay in front of him Embiid, he is fouling Embiid, because Embiid is too smart.

I believe Embiid would get the most out of the matchup because Shaq would never be able to guard Embiid, but Embiid would manage on defense.

Are you trying to tell me that the biggest flopper in the history of the NBA would have a chance defending prime Shaq?

[Sedale Threatt]

There are probably others I'm forgetting, but probably the best defensive job on Shaq I can remember was the Blazers in the 2000 Conference Finals. Held him way below his season average on much worse %. But that was a multi-man job with Sabonis slowing him down and Wallace and/or Pippen helping. And he completely demolished them in a few previous years, to the point that Sabonis might or might not have been caught teary-eyed on the bench.

I can see Embiid doing a decent job. But given how much offensive responsibility he has I doubt the Sixers would want to stick with that matchup very much. Wemby's going to win a bunch of DPOY's but Shaq would dunk him through the rim. I vaguely remember Pek; had a few nice seasons and then vanished. I guess I'd probably go with Adams; he's strong and tough but even then gives up a few inches and at least 50 pounds.

Makes you really appreciate what a physical specimen Shaq was. I don't even think Chamberlain compares, which is saying something. We definitely haven't seen anything like him since.

Even more than this guy?



Whoops, wrong picture.

Spoiler:

If so, that's a hell of a compliment to Sheed and Sabonis.

The stats might prove me wrong, and it could be the trauma of nearly blowing that 3-1 lead influencing me, but it always felt like Shaq got his against the Spurs. I just kept waiting for Shaq to go off in that series like he'd done all year and it didn't happen.

[Sedale Threatt]

Nobody.


Via Sports Illustrated: “In our first championship I was 345 [pounds] and then had a great summer, came back 385 for the second one,” O'Neal said. “Last championship I was 415.”

That is just f'ing shocking. Even as a Laker fan, I knew he was coming in pretty fat every fall but I had no idea he got that big. Love Shaq, he's one of my favorite players of all time, but that's honestly embarrassing. Totally unprofessional. Especially once he gave us a taste of how great he was at full fitness: 30/14 while anchoring the league's best defense.

[Capn'O]

There are probably others I'm forgetting, but probably the best defensive job on Shaq I can remember was the Blazers in the 2000 Conference Finals. Held him way below his season average on much worse %. But that was a multi-man job with Sabonis slowing him down and Wallace and/or Pippen helping. And he completely demolished them in a few previous years, to the point that Sabonis might or might not have been caught teary-eyed on the bench.

I can see Embiid doing a decent job. But given how much offensive responsibility he has I doubt the Sixers would want to stick with that matchup very much. Wemby's going to win a bunch of DPOY's but Shaq would dunk him through the rim. I vaguely remember Pek; had a few nice seasons and then vanished. I guess I'd probably go with Adams; he's strong and tough but even then gives up a few inches and at least 50 pounds.

Makes you really appreciate what a physical specimen Shaq was. I don't even think Chamberlain compares, which is saying something. We definitely haven't seen anything like him since.

Even more than this guy?



Whoops, wrong picture.

Spoiler:

If so, that's a hell of a compliment to Sheed and Sabonis.

The stats might prove me wrong, and it could be the trauma of nearly blowing that 3-1 lead influencing me, but it always felt like Shaq got his against the Spurs. I just kept waiting for Shaq to go off in that series like he'd done all year and it didn't happen.

Huh. Well the pistons used a similar blueprint in 2004. Ben had the muscle and Sheed could play rover and bother the release.

[MrGoat]

None of the above

[CodeBreaker]

Nobody

[prophet_of_rage]

There wasn't one then, there isn't one now there might be one in the future.

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

[kenwood3333]

Rodman?

[JustBuzzin]

Peak Ben Wallace.

[JasonStern]

Embiid, Nurkic, and Jokic would have the best shot. But nobody.

This is probably the answer. The only one I'd put money on would be a prime Sabonis, but he's not a new generation player.

[Warriorfan]

If Shaq was playing today he would have been 50 pounds lighter. More like Orlando Shaq

It's also easier to double post players today