MVPs: 1. Finals MVPs: 3. All-NBA 1st Team: 8. 2nd Team: 2. 3rd Team: 4. All Star: 15. MVP: 3.
Defensive POY: 0. All-Defense 1st Team: 0. 2nd Team: 3.
#22 Career PPG. #8 Career Points. #15 Career Rebounds. #16 Career BPG. #8 Career Blocks. #8 Career eFG%.
Points Champ: 2. eFG% Champ: 6.
Career Averages: 24 PPG/ 11 RPG/ 2 APG/ .6 SPG/ 2.3 BPG/ .582 eFG%/ .527 FT%.
Best Season: 30/ 14/ 4/ .5/ 3/ .574/ .524 (1999-00).
Postseason Averages: 24 PPG/ 12 RPG/ 3 APG/ .5 SPG/ 2.1 BPG/ .563 eFG%/ .504 FT%.
Best Postseason: 30/ 15/ 3/ .4/ 2.4/ .555/ .525 (2001).
Why he's below Hakeem Olajuwon: Shaq wasn’t half the defender Hakeem was, and, though he was still one of the best players in the league while these guys were all around, his dominant period came after Hakeem, David Robinson, and Ewing were past their primes. It doesn't bother me much that he would be out of shape at times during the regular season because he always brought his best stuff in the postseason, but he did cost himself some regular season awards which would make his resume look a bit better.
Why he's above the rest: Shaq is the challenger to Wilt Chamberlain’s title of most dominant offensive center of all time. He led the league in FG% a record 10 times. In the 2000 Finals, he scored at least 33 points in every game; in the 2002 Finals, he scored at least 34 points in every game. Wilt never even averaged 30 points in a Finals series. If I could pick any center for a playoff run, I’d take peak Shaq. He averaged 30 and 15 in both the 2000 and 2001 postseasons. No one else has ever averaged those numbers in a postseason that resulted in a championship even once.
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