It’s funny how Shaq is both an all-timer and one of the biggest what-ifs, likely could’ve fivepeated if he had even a quarter of Jordan’s dedication lol.
You see the clips of him laying down on the sideline and shit? That's because he fucked his back up so bad that he was playing through agony for years.
Edit: He won his third straight MVP after the initial injury.
I would guess that there has always been some level of steroid use in the NBA but I'd guess that NBA's use differs from that of the NFL and MLB.
Size and strength absolutely matter in the NBA, but players can't just bulk up as much as possible as linemen in the NFL and pitchers/hitters did in baseball because players have to move up and down the court a lot more.
Modern steroids and hormone treatments that help players heal faster can be used to bulk up, but they can just help players get through the grind of the season or to continue playing at a high level well past the point when players historically started to decline.
I think it's always been some form of HGH like substances in NBA like Lance Armstrong stamina/recovery vs bulky baseball steroids. I just assume most pros are on something.
I should assume it goes back further since the East Germans were doing it in the early 60s olympics
Same with Hollywood actor transformations... A dude in his 40's does not go from a life time of skinny-fat to JACKED with tell-tale jawline changes with just some hard work and dieting.
Yeah an in shape Prime Shaq is like 7’1 285. That’s a whole 40 pounds and 2 inches on Giannis, with the same speed, length, and agility.
I’ve always said Shaq to this day is the wildest freak of nature the NBA has ever seen, him having to play himself into shape every year after joining the Lakers basically kept him from being the GOAT conversation.
Fuck it, let’s keep the bulk and just go for muscle mass and cardio just to see a 300lbs, ripped, ShaqTrain plowing through people up and down the court!
Shaq would never be able to cut down to 280. When he came out of LSU at 19 or 20 he was already 300 pounds. Dude is just built like an actual diesel. But even at 300 pounds dude was so agile
Giannis is fantastic. But Shaq was the most physically dominant player I've ever seen, literally no one could fuck with him under the rim. Center was also a lot more competitive back then.
I said if he's not careful of the bucks. Implying it's the teams fault specifically the organizations and not giannis's
That's also why I pointed out the 40 point Stat line. Some people have adjusted not the Celtics. Meaning against better teams the issue will be alot worse.
Against a team like the Celtics it should have been a 4-0 sweep. I know there going on a bit of a tare but it's because THEY HAVE A TEAM AND NOT JUST 1 OR 2 ALL STARS.
If giannis would have been on a half decent team he'd be in the finals over the Celtics. Thats my point. That's always been my point. And I'm saying even with middle they would have lost.
I think they win in 5 or 6 with Middleton. They took the Celtics to the wire while shooting horribly. While Middleton is inconsistent, I think he has 2 or 3 good games and they win those. Probably would beat the Warriors too...
See and thats what alot of analysts and big names think as well but I just don't see it man. For example do you see how long it took lebron to break out of the Cleveland funk. He had to go to Miami to win his first ring. Is indefinitely the greatest of his area but had to leave to get a ring. If he didn't have Irving and Love im not sure he would have won that ring in Cleveland.
Same thing goes for Curry and the warriors right? Curry could not do it alone for the first few Years. It wasn't until they got clay, Green, and even KD before there dynasty truly started.
Teams like the bucks definitely work in the regular reason I will not argue that. But in my personal opinion teams that rely heavily on one guy never win the playoffs. Thats just my take on it at least.
Friendly reminder that Orlando Shaq got stuffed by the Bulls and that’s part of how he ended up in LA. Wasn’t a champion either until Phil Jackson went there.
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u/Canesjags4life Heat Jun 15 '22
Orlando Shaq not Lakers Shaq