ShaqAttack3234

Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone or Artis Gilmore?

I think that prime Wilt would have trouble guarding Shaq because Shaq in 2000 was 340 pounds while Wilt in his prime was 275. However I think Wilt in his Laker days when he was over 300 pounds would actually be a better matchup against O'Neal. He wouldn't score as much as younger Wilt but he'd have a better chance at containing O'Neal. On the other hand even when he was younger Wilt was slightly bigger than Dikembe Mutombo and far more athletic, plus Shaq would have to use alot of energy guarding Wilt.

Moses Malone was strong but I think he was too short to guard Shaq considering he's 3 inches shorter and O'Neal outweighed him by a good 60-70 pounds. Maybe he could make up for being a lot smaller but it'd be tough.

Artis Gilmore would be an interesting matchup. He's as tall as Shaq and one of the few players who was anywhere near Shaq's strength. I could see Shaq struggling against him.

I personally believe that Shaq's 2000 season was the best season a big has ever had so I'm interested to see who you think would have the best chance against him? He pretty much defined unstoppable with a 7'1", 340 pound frame, a 36 inch vertical leap, incredible footwork, the strength to bench press 465 pounds and tear down baskets and the speed to outurn everyone on fastbreaks.

jericho

Did he have a 36-inch vertical leap and great speed on the break when he weighed 340 lbs.? I think Shaq became noticeably slower and less nimble the farther he got above 300. Nevertheless, in his prime he was amazing.

I think Moses would consistently outrebound Shaq and get his share of points against him, but he'd have a lot of trouble stopping Shaq in the post. Much as I loved Moses' game, Shaq at his peak would probably have the edge in a playoff series.

Gilmore is a better physical match, and I suspect Shaq would hate playing against him. Artis would make him work hard, but Shaq would still come out on top.

I have to think Wilt is by far the best matchup, with his incredible combination of size, strength and agility. Wilt was incredibly competitive in any individual matchups that really pushed him. The fact that he scored less in later years didn't mean that he couldn't...he was just evolving his game at the request of certain coaches. I wouldn't be surprised to see (in a hypothetical universe), a 30 year-old Wilt post 40-20 against Shaq just to show that he could.

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Krstic All Star

Wilt, for the reasons jericho has already stated.

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tsherkin

Hmm, in 2000, 2001, Shaq was still in generally very good shape and quite explosive. You could see it any time the Lakers ran the Shaw/Shaq Redemption play, where he spun baseline quicker than anything that size has ever moved and then got up quite high for the thunderous finish. Yeah, he lost some of his athleticism when he got REALLY fat in 2002 and later (and as he aged, obviously), but he was in prime form during his MVP year and the second title year (physically and otherwise).

But how valuable would those extra rebounds be when many of them would be second and third offensive boards off of his own misses? Moses would score and board in general just fine but I don't think it would be a huge deal given the massive physical disparity between the two. Remember, this is a guy who has favorably attacked Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning and come out looking just fine.

Agreed, Gilmore was never a scorer of sufficient caliber to truly challenge Shaq in a team matchup but his rebounding and post defense would be REALLY frustrating.

Wilt, at least from the mid/late 60s onwards, would be the best combination, absolutely. Probably '67 or later, to be more specific.

Wilt at 270+ was a guy who was at least comparable to a David Robinson athletically and who had scoring prowess anywhere inside 15 feet, as well as the strength to at least make things moderately interesting with Shaq.

More to the point, he had stamina that others have not since evidenced and he had rebounding abilities shared (at least relative to his contemporaries) that pretty much no one outside of Dennis Rodman and Bill Russell have displayed (and neither of them had much to do with scoring, certainly not at Wilt's prolific levels). Beyond that, he was also one of the best passing bigs of all-time (especially in the time period we are discussing), so he's going to have that extra threat dimension with which to attack Shaq.

I think Shaq would still be likely to get his points but as with Gilmore, you probably wouldn't be seeing him shoot 60%+, probably more like 50-55% and he'd be struggling and carrying 3 or 4 fouls at the end of most games. Wilt was an outstanding athlete and player.

ShaqAttack3234

As far as Shaq's athleticism well he still had the vertical leap and quickness in 2000 and 2001. He weighed in at 340 in training camp before the 1999-2000 season and he was atleast 10 pounds heavier during the 2000-2001 season. I saw him get his head atleast at rim level a few times around that time and since Shaq is 7'2"-7'3" in shoes that gives him a 33-34 inch vertical while dunking a basketball. So without a basketball he could easily have a 36 inch vertical still.

As for Wilt well I think if they matched up in Shaq's era 40-20 for an average is impossible because of how much slower the pace is today.

I think to bother Shaq you need a guy who is a legit 7 footer, 275 plus pounds, a good offensive threat but also athletic and quick. Wilt seems to be the clear best matchup.

jericho

Maybe unlikely, but surely not impossible...

__________________
Favorite players: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Bill Russell, Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe, Sidney Moncrief, Lafayette Lever, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West...and Brooks Thompson

ShaqAttack3234

Yeah but the closest to that has been Shaq's 38.0 ppg and 16.7 rpg against Rik Smits/Dale Davis/Sam Perkins in the 2000 Finals. Nobody has had a 40-20 series in atleast 40 years.

jericho

Sorry, I meant in a single game. I don't think even Wilt would average 40 and 20 against O'Neal in an entire series.

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Favorite players: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Bill Russell, Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe, Sidney Moncrief, Lafayette Lever, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West...and Brooks Thompson

ShaqAttack3234

Well then that's possible. I consider prime Shaq and prime Wilt to be on about equal levels and Shaq had a ton of 40-20 games even against hall of fame level defenders like Dikembe Mutombo so I could see Wilt doing the same. Wilt's the only player besides Shaq who I could imagine having a 60-20 game. Shaq did it vs the Clippers in 2000.