As the NBA becomes an increasingly guard-driven league, traditional big men have become somewhat of an afterthought. But the son of one all-time great center believes his pops would dominate this generation’s pool of basketball talent.
What legendary big man was best equipped to dominate in today’s NBA?
Shareef O’Neal says The Big Fella in his prime would manhandle today’s NBA. Which Hall of Fame big man do you pick?
It’s been a long time since a traditional big man has won the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Perimeter players have won each of the last 10 MVP trophies, with Dirk Nowitzki — an inside-outside scorer — winning in 2007. In fact, only Shaq and Tim Duncan represent as true big men to win the award this century.
Instead, Russell Westbrook won last year’s MVP award by way of the most impressive regular season since Oscar Robertson. Stephen Curry scoffed at the three-point line to the tune of back-to-back MVPs, including the first-ever unanimous nod. Kevin Durant won in 2014, and LeBron held an oligopoly on the league’s award from 2009-2013, with Derrick Rose winning in 2011.
Dwight Howard was the only big man to receive first-place MVP votes this decade — three in 2011, three in 2010.
But it can be easy to forget just how dominant big men like Shaq, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson were just two decades ago.
O’Neal became the first player in NBA history to win Player of the Week in his first week as a rookie; he used it as a springboard to become the most feared center of his generation, and possibly of all-time. Robinson won MVP as one of the best two-way centers of that time — think of DeAndre Jordan if he could score as well as he defended.
And as good as The Admiral was, Hakeem destroyed him in the 1994-95 Western Conference Finals.
That begs the legitimate question: Are traditional bigs truly outdated, or are none of the big men today as good as they were in the past?
Could a young Shaquille O’Neal dominate the NBA the way he did 20 years ago, or would he be too slow for the speed of today’s game? Would Hakeem’s unmatched post repertoire still be as effective in a league that’s veered away from low-percentage two-point shots? Would David Robinson be the best center of all time if he played with this generation?
What about Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell? Would they be all-time greats if they played in 2017 and not the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s?
Let us know in the comments
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