'92-shaq, '93-cwebber, '94-glenn rob, '95-joe smith, '96-iverson, '97-duncan, '98-olowokandi, '99-brand, '00-kenyon martin, '01kwame, '02-yao, '03-lebron, '04-dwight howard, '05-bogut, '06-bargnani, '07-oden or durant. who would you select as your number 1 pick if these players were in the same draft class? i guess, drafting 8th wont be so bad after all..but who is your number 1 of all number 1's and why?
2007-05-24 22:55:40 · 11 answers · asked by Michael M 2 in Sports ➔ Basketball
If you look at all of these players on how good they were coming out of college you would have to say SHAQ. SHAQ was dominant as hell in college. You could tell Duncan was good, but not as good as he has been in the pros. I believe the answer is SHAQ.
2007-05-24 23:36:29 · answer #1 · answered by tbone 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Easy question. Shaq would be the obvious 1st choice with Tim Duncan coming in a close second. Shaq has 4 championship rings while Duncan has 3 and may even tie him for 4 this year. The reason why I would take Shaq over Duncan or any of the remaining players in this no. 1 picks draft is due the fact that you have probably the most unstoppable player during his prime. Shaq commanded the double team or he'll make you pay. I'm pretty sure TD does that too but if Avery Johnson has taught us anything last year is if you can put a big shot blocking presence (Diop, Dampier) on him, you can frustrate him and take him out of his game. That won't work on Shaq because he will pound on you and disrupt your "D". If you double him, he'll make you pay by rotating it to the open man. Duncan is good but I think more often than not, he was a product of the system while Shaq is a man-child that plays a no holds bar game. How many players do you know that can go outside their comfort zone by switching teams and yet still bring home another championship banner? People may say D-Wade was the reason why Shaq got his 4th ring but you have to keep in mind that without Shaq, Wade would be stuck in Kobe's current shoes. I doubt many will disagree that when it comes to dominance in their prime, Shaq stands tall above this list.
2007-05-25 06:57:51 · answer #2 · answered by JR 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Obviously looking at their entire careers, Duncan. He's been the most consistently great from day one, both offensively and defensively.
If just for a single season or two, then sure- Shaq in his 2000-2002 form. But his early years in Orlando he got schooled by other centers like Olajuwon, Robinson etc, and since 2003 he's spent more time injured than on the court. And even in his prime, he was never really great defensively.
Brand, AI and LeBron are the next best, and there's a pretty big dropoff after that.
2007-05-25 06:14:55 · answer #3 · answered by Proto 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
tim followed by shaq. shaq has more titles and is the more marektable superstar but duncan is far more durable than shaq and is a player that u respect b/c of not only how hard he plays but ALSO because of his work ethic. how many times has duncan come into a season out of shape and postponed surgery until the beginning of the nba season? its pretty much common knowledge that shaq doesnt get into a season mentally until after the all-star break.while timmy just keeps playing. he might not be the flashiest or the most quotable but id take him over all the other #1 picks.
2007-05-25 10:28:07 · answer #4 · answered by carlos l 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know statistically Duncan has done better than shaq, but look at who Duncan plays against and with, and look who Shaq had to play against when he was in his prime. Duncan has nearly no one near the levels of experience of the centers and forwards that Shaq played against during his early and middle parts of his career. Patrick Ewing, Olajuwon, Barkley, David Robinson.
Look at who Duncan plays against, or better yet, look who he played with...David Robinson. Yeah, he does play against some great FORWARDS, but Duncan is a center, there are just no more centers like there used to be. So who is really the better of the two? That's an easy pick. Shaq
2007-05-25 06:53:01 · answer #5 · answered by livelyidiot 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I say it has to be lebron, but duncan and shaq are dominant and iverson is sick. Lebron just has the skill set to play any position on the court at any time
2007-05-25 06:59:42 · answer #6 · answered by billy j 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Duncan of course.
In his career, the two-time MVP (2002, 2003), three-time NBA champion (1999, 2003, 2005) and three-time NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005) 1998, he was voted Rookie of the Year and elected into the All-NBA Rookie Team, made the first of nine NBA All-Star Teams – among them eight First Team nominations – ten All-NBA Teams – among them nine First Team nominations – and ten All-Defensive Teams, among them seven First Team nominations. With these impressive performances, Duncan is one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons, along with Hall of Famers Bob Pettit 10 seasons, Larry Bird 9 seasons), and Oscar Robertson 9 seasons, and is notably the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first nine seasons (1998-2006). Duncan is one of only six NBA players to ever win ROY and all three MVP awards.
2007-05-25 07:59:33 · answer #7 · answered by Sam 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
gotta go with duncan,,its all about the rings,,or also shaq,,both have proven they can get the championship,,the only other player would be lebron he probably will get a ring or 3 the others have proven to be great talents but cannot get the job done,,
2007-05-25 06:09:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
gotta go with a big man operating inside - shaq or tim. the draft class is full of big, quick players. it's better to have a rare commodity in a pure inside player.
2007-05-25 06:17:28 · answer #9 · answered by pure playa 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
if you started at 1991 that would be the answer to this question.Grandmama Larry johnson out of UNLV Greatest player of all time
2007-05-25 06:24:27 · answer #10 · answered by Nick S 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋