Shaq Retires

[spiker]

Does that mean you'd rank him over Shaq?

I'd rank Patrick Ewing over Malone.

[ralaw]

I'd rank Patrick Ewing over Malone.

I can't argue with about Moses Malone, because he was before my time....and I'm not the type to just go off of stats. I only remember the late 90's Malone, which wouldn't be fair to him.

[FedEx227]

Just a thought...Moses Malone has more career points and way more career rebounds than Shaq.

Only if you count his ABA career is he higher in points, but even then counting ABA...we're talking about a ton more games.

Moses Malone: 1455 career games, 29,580 total points
Shaq: 1207 career games, 28,596 total points

Averages put Moses at 20.3 ppg, Shaq is at 23.7.

[spiker]

I can't argue with about Moses Malone, because he was before my time....and I'm not the type to just go off of stats. I only remember the late 90's Malone, which wouldn't be fair to him.

Only if you count his ABA career is he higher in points, but even then counting ABA...we're talking about a ton more games.

Moses Malone: 1455 career games, 29,580 total points
Shaq: 1207 career games, 28,596 total points

Averages put Moses at 20.3 ppg, Shaq is at 23.7.

I was just about to say that Malone played forever. The guy's career spanned 3 decades.

[FirstTimer]

I'd rank Patrick Ewing over Malone.

I can't argue with about Moses Malone, because he was before my time....and I'm not the type to just go off of stats. I only remember the late 90's Malone, which wouldn't be fair to him.

I'd most likely put Malone over Ewing but wouldn't argue it either way really.

Lazy. He could have been the best center of all time. But was too lazy to work for it.

He was much more brute force and less skill. I was very excited and a fan back in the early Magic days with "Penny", right out of college, but quickly became highly disappointed.

I think you feel the same way as a lot of people bucky. Shaq let his weight really baloon and I think lost some of that freakish athleticism that he had when he was younger and those heavier years IMO shaved some productive years off his career.

[Senser81]

Does that mean you'd rank him over Shaq?

In his prime, yes. For the life of a career, no.

[Primetime]

I was just about to say that Malone played forever. The guy's career spanned 3 decades.

So did Shaq's

[spiker]

So did Shaq's

I did, didn't it. Just barely. I should have just said Malone played 3 or 4 more years than Shaq.

[Dan The Man]

Shaq during that 3Peat was from another planet...

2000 vs Indy- 38.0 ppg 16.7 rpg 2.7 blks 61.1% FG

2001 vs Philly- 33.0 pts 15.8 rebs 4.8 ast 3.4 blks

2002 vs NJ- 36.3 pts 12.3 rebs 3.8 ast 2.8 blks

[Primetime]

Shaq during that 3Peat was from another planet...

2000 vs Indy- 38.0 ppg 16.7 rpg 2.7 blks 61.1% FG

2001 vs Philly- 33.0 pts 15.8 rebs 4.8 ast 3.4 blks

2002 vs NJ- 36.3 pts 12.3 rebs 3.8 ast 2.8 blks

"You're welcome Kobe."

[FedEx227]

So did Shaq's

The point is Malone had 200 more career games then Shaq, so it's not that unlikely or shocking that he'd have more total points.

[Dan The Man]

He was also able to dive into the crowd multiple times without killing anyone and for that he should be praised.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPVThz3QS44&feature=BFa&list=PLD7552ABC4D7 557BB&index=11[/ame]

[Primetime]

The point is Malone had 200 more career games then Shaq, so it's not that unlikely or shocking that he'd have more total points.

I was just being an asshole...I got his point.

[FedEx227]

I don't know if I necessarily agree with the lazy part. Was he as skilled in the post as Hakeem or Kareem, no... but it certainly didn't make him less dominant, he really didn't have to learn all those skills. He was what he was, he was an imposing, brute force center. Just because he didn't learn how to do a step-back fade away doesn't make him lazy...

He had a good jump hook and there wasn't a player in the NBA that could defend him once he got position on the block.

[bucky]

I don't know if I necessarily agree with the lazy part

He was lazy.

but it certainly didn't make him less dominant, he really didn't have to learn all those skills.

When I watched him play, back when I was a fan of his, I couldn't believe he didn't foul out within the first 5 minutes of every game. He was the definition of superstars getting calls (or really non-offensive fouls). I was uber disappointed that he wasn't forced to actually learn basketball skills. The only fouls were the hack-a-shack fouls that made Shaq disappear at the end of games, cause he couldn't make a free throw.

he was an imposing, brute force center.

That's exactly what he was. Brute force.

He had a good jump hook and there wasn't a player in the NBA that could defend him once he got position on the block.

Not until later in his career. And that's pretty much all he had. Early in his career, all he really had was a dunk.

Brute force and the league wanting to promote him made him dominate in his prime. He was lazy. He could have been the GOAT. I quickly became very disappointed.