in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

The last two posts sum it up, but I also don't know if people realize that you can "chin" the ball with your elbows parallel. If you pivot in this position it is not an offensive foul. There's a fine line here but it's clouded because the average player either has good position when they pivot, causing the elbow to go around the defender's body, shielding you... or the defender had position and trying to pivot just won't work (in which case, swinging the elbow is an obvious foul). Shaq was so big and strong that he literally could pivot a defender out of the way making it harder to tell the difference between an elbow swing and a proper pivot bc they both resulted in the same outcome. Add the insane number of fouls he took in without a call and it only made sense to give him the benefit of the doubt in many of those situations too.

Good point, and made me chuckle a little remembering Shaq just basically bullying people down low.

[choadler]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

Uhh, Shaq got fouled on pretty much every play, bro.

Uhh, He pretty much ran over people on every play bro.

[wwharton]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

Uhh, He pretty much ran over people on every play bro.

Was going to just ignore this until I realized you made the original post that I and the other 2 replied to. So my question is, how is this response contributing to the conversation? This is the message board equivalent to "I know you are but what am I?"

[Sarah]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

The thing about Shaq is the NBA basically allowed Shaq to commit offensive fouls at an alarming rate. Guys would stand there and he would basically run over them and they would either call a foul on them or a travel on Shaq. He would turn into them with his elbow, make contact with their face and they would get a foul called on them. If they called basketball games correctly, Shaq would have fouled out of nearly every game.

Shaq played in 2 different eras. In the 90's the NBA was more physical then, and there was a good number of big men in there that can challenge Shaq in the low post. Somewhere in early 2000, I think the NBA change the rules defensively and somehow eventually became contact sensitive. Also, in the early 2000, not too many big men can challenge Shaq (compared to the 90s), and somehow he became a factor why the physical aspect of the game was change (if I remember correctly, Cuban is one of the owners who call for the change).

The way I see it, if Shaq started his career in this contact sensitive NBA, then you are right. He should be called foul on every low post offensive play of his. But in the 90s, hard fouls (equivalent to flagrant fouls today), and plowing defenders out of the way is almost normal.

[24]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

In Terms of the overall package i would have to say Magic Johnson due to his ability to play every single position on the floor. He was dominant no matter where you put him and if AIDS didn't cut his career short i can only imagine what his stats would look like and how different the 90's would have been.

[bakan723]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

The thing about Shaq is the NBA basically allowed Shaq to commit offensive fouls at an alarming rate. Guys would stand there and he would basically run over them and they would either call a foul on them or a travel on Shaq. He would turn into them with his elbow, make contact with their face and they would get a foul called on them. If they called basketball games correctly, Shaq would have fouled out of nearly every game.

I agree. I think Shaq got away with offensive fouls all the time.

But when other players did that same pivot move with they're elbows sticking out they would get called on it all the time. So the consistency wasn't there in the refereeing, as Shaq was getting the superstar treatment in regard to this move.

[wwharton]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

Shaq played in 2 different eras. In the 90's the NBA was more physical then, and there was a good number of big men in there that can challenge Shaq in the low post. Somewhere in early 2000, I think the NBA change the rules defensively and somehow eventually became contact sensitive. Also, in the early 2000, not too many big men can challenge Shaq (compared to the 90s), and somehow he became a factor why the physical aspect of the game was change (if I remember correctly, Cuban is one of the owners who call for the change).

The way I see it, if Shaq started his career in this contact sensitive NBA, then you are right. He should be called foul on every low post offensive play of his. But in the 90s, hard fouls (equivalent to flagrant fouls today), and plowing defenders out of the way is almost normal.

Two things were put in place. Zone defense was definitely a result of Shaq. The 3 second back down rule I think was part Shaq but more guys like Barkley and Mark Jackson.

[wwharton]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

I agree. I think Shaq got away with offensive fouls all the time.

But when other players did that same pivot move with they're elbows sticking out they would get called on it all the time. So the consistency wasn't there in the refereeing, as Shaq was getting the superstar treatment in regard to this move.

Again, a case of not understanding the rule.

[loloben]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

In Terms of the overall package i would have to say Magic Johnson due to his ability to play every single position on the floor. He was dominant no matter where you put him and if AIDS didn't cut his career short i can only imagine what his stats would look like and how different the 90's would have been.

I don't think Magic is very unstoppable. He is great, and one of the top players of all time, but he never put up a great amount of points.

[AgentKiwi38]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

I think you need to mention 2 names in here.

The one guy scored 100 points in one game, grabbed 55 in another and broke every other rebound and point record at the time he played and a lot of those records are still active: Wilt Chamberlain.

And the other guy who probably has the worlds most known name ahead of Jesus (I guess a lot of Asians and Arabs don't know Jesus) and that's not just because...he simply IS the best player who ever played the game of basketball and the greatest athlete in all of sports ever. He is the G.O.A.T.

But actually I agree with bringing Shaq into the discussion but since we talking about the one or two best offensice forces...I leave it with Wilt and Michael. If there had to be a third guy involved it most likely would be The Diesel.

[bakan723]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

Again, a case of not understanding the rule.

I understand the rules just fine.

We get it, your a fan of Shaq.

[Playmakers]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

I know he's not in the conversation but one guy who was a beast only to have injuries to wipe out his career was Bernard King

Now i'm not saying he's Jordan but this guy was a monster and there was no defense who could stop his shot

At 6'7" and 205 pounds, Bernard King epitomized the NBA small forward of the 1980s. With his long arms and quick release, King was an explosive runner on the fast-break and a tremendous scorer. King led the NBA in scoring in 1985 with 32.9 points per game and was selected twice to the All-NBA First Team and three times to the NBA All-Star Game.

In 1977-78, his rookie season, he set a New Jersey Nets franchise record for most points scored in a season with 1,909, at 24.2 points per game. He would later surpass this record with his 2,027 point season in 1983-84, earning the first of his back-to-back All-NBA First Team selections.

On January 31, 1984, as a Knick, King made history by becoming the first player since 1964 to score at least 50 points in consecutive games: scoring 50 points on 20 for 23 shooting with 10 free throws in a 117-113 Knicks victory over the San Antonio Spurs on January 30, and following it up with another 50 point performance in another road victory - this time in a 105-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks - on 20 for 28 shooting and 10 free throws.

The next season, on Christmas Day, 1984, King lit up the New Jersey Nets for 60 points, becoming just the tenth player in NBA history to score 60 or more points in a single game. King had scored 40 points by halftime, and finished the game with 19 of 30 shooting from the field and 22 of 26 from the free throw line.

[Drewski]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

I think you need to mention 2 names in here.

The one guy scored 100 points in one game, grabbed 55 in another and broke every other rebound and point record at the time he played and a lot of those records are still active: Wilt Chamberlain.

And the other guy who probably has the worlds most known name ahead of Jesus (I guess a lot of Asians and Arabs don't know Jesus) and that's not just because...he simply IS the best player who ever played the game of basketball and the greatest athlete in all of sports ever. He is the G.O.A.T.

But actually I agree with bringing Shaq into the discussion but since we talking about the one or two best offensice forces...I leave it with Wilt and Michael. If there had to be a third guy involved it most likely would be The Diesel.

Agree with these sentiments. Wilt is definitely 1a. I think MJ and Shaq(Primed) is an arguable point. Shaq was just devastating on the offensive end, and his size made him impossible to stop. I guess you have to tip the hat to MJ, but I think if you look at Shaq there is an argument to be had.

[wwharton]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

I understand the rules just fine.

We get it, your a fan of Shaq.

And you clearly DON'T get it. I hate Shaq. I think he's an *** and got a pass for many mean and insensitive things he did bc he was just "Shaq being Shaq" or trying to be funny. I think he took his talent for granted and never reached his full potential as a player and would've had less injuries if he had a stronger work ethic. And I hated his "ring chasing" at the end of his career (not bc he did it but bc he was still running his mouth).

My hatred for Shaq has been well documented around these parts, but the difference is I understand the rules of the game and respect his immense talent... and most importantly, I can make an objective opinion not driven by my personal feelings about a player or stance in a discussion.

[ANDROMADA 1]

Re: in nba history, who has been the hardest player to stop?

Wilt. I dont think It's even a contest.

Guy averaged 50 points a game for a season.

I'd love to look at his box scores for that season.

If you had "only" a 25 point game one night, you had to score 75 points the next to maintain your scoring average.

You just might be right about that....

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/438984-wilt-chamberlain-did-he-really-play-in-weak-era