A lot of people raised their eyebrows after Kobe Bryant’s recent comments on Shaquille O’Neal and his lack of work ethic. ESPN’s analyst Stephen A. Smith also has an opinion on the matter, and he picked Shaq as the most dominant force in the history of the NBA, putting him ahead of some legendary players.
“I know a lot of people who look at me aren’t going to like this. Shaq in his prime, how the hell could you prefer Kobe in his prime? Ladies and gentleman, it’s simple. Shaquille O’Neal is the biggest force I have ever seen in the history of basketball. I only got tapes of Wilt Chamberlain, I saw Shaquille O’Neal,” Smith said.
However, Smith added that centers rely on guards while guards don’t need dominant centers.
“Shaquille O’Neal, at 325, 350 pound is the most dominant force I have ever seen on a basketball court, but I would never ever pick a center over a guard or a wing player because the big man needs the guard to take care of him. The guard don’t need that,” Smith continued.
Smith then explained how Michael Jordan didn’t need a dominant center to win titles during his time with the Chicago Bulls. Also, he stated that several big men desperately need guards to help them winning NBA championships like it was the case with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, or Shaq with Kobe and Dwyane Wade.
“Shaquille O’Neal is the most dominant force I’ve seen. Did he win the title with Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel? How about with Penny Hardaway? Dennis Scott? Did he win a title? No. But when he had Kobe, what happened? When he had Dwyane Wade, what happened? I’m going to take a guard/wing player over a big man, a 7-foot bona fide center any day of the week.”
“… The fact that matters is, you need a guard, unless you got a forward that can step away from the basket and is a threat on the perimeter. Period. (…) This is not to say that Kobe was better or he was more dominant than Shaq. What I’m saying is that in the sport of basketball, a wing player that is elite can do more for you than a big man who is elite,” Smith concluded.
