Shaq made quite a name for himself when he played in the NBA, earning a reputation as the most dominant center in the league, something Jason Williams doesn’t think he’d be able to stake claim to in today’s game.
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Shaquille O’Neal was a winner at every level of his career. He finished his career with four titles, three during a historic run with the Lakers and one more with the Miami Heat following his fall out with Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles.
He led the Lakers three-peat from 2000-2002, winning Finals MVP every time. There was nobody in the league who had an answer for him, and he showed that fact off on a nightly basis.
However, former teammate and Heat and Kings guard believes that Shaq wouldn’t have the same dominant effect against today’s defenses that he did back in the day.
Jason Williams doesn’t believe Shaq would dominate the NBA today
Jason Williams’ opinion is definitely controversial as Shaq is largely looked on as one of the most dominant players ever. His combination of size, skill, speed, and finesse is umatched, and it’s why people look back at his career so fondly.
So, why doesn’t Williams believe that Shaq would dominate in the same way in today’s game?
“Shaq wouldn’t be as dominant as he was back then today,” Williams explained. “Just because there would be four or five guys around him that didn’t even have the ball. It’d be tough.”
While Williams’ point about teams scheming around him makes a little sense as there’s almost no doubt that Shaq would receive a double team every time he entered the post, it’s also likely that Shaq would still be a tough draw no matter what.
The way he handles his body and size is something that would translate to today’s game and would certainly make it difficult for teams to defend against. He’d also still be a terrific rebounder and paint presence on defense. We can never truly figure out how good Shaq would have been in today’s game, but with some guys, you just know.
Williams and Shaq won a title together in 2006 with the Miami Heat, and even after moving away from LA, Shaq showed he was still one of the best centers to ever play the game, averaging 20.6 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks per game in his tenure in the South Beach.
