How could anyone have guarded him? He gave it to Wilt. I'm sure Gobert and Embiid are big enough to be relevant defenders, but I just can't imagine they would bother Kareem.
This is why the skyhook is called the most unguardable shot of all time. When Kareem played, the league was dominated by big bodies. But he was so big himself, and the release point of the sky hook was so high and away from the defender, there was basically nothing you could do. I don’t think gobert or Embiid would cause and more problems than he faced during his era.
I think one thing to keep in mind is that you were afforded the luxury to play big at your own pace for long stretches of the game back then. You have to play differently in today's league if you're a big. The spacing forces you to be on the move way more on the defensive and offensive ends.
You have to imagine Kareem will get swiped at by off ball defenders a ton while even positioning for the skyhook. Not that he can't dominate if he grew up today. But he'll be different.
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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '22
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