I think its unfair for Shaq...because he is being judged not according to his performances when he was a center of the Lakers, but also for his poor performances after his Laker days and for the controversies and negative impressions accorded to him when he left the Lakers.. But if you keep these latter things aside, we should remember that Shaq was unstoppable during his Laker days..With him and Kobe being the only 2 all-star quality in the team, Shaq and Kobe led the Lakers to three championships...No team even came close to defeating the Lakers inspite of Lakers lack of talents(they only had 2.5 talents- Shaq,Kobe and a half)..Not even the team with the deepest bench NBA ever had- the star-studded Portland Blazers(during Wallace and Sabonis time) could stop Shaq and the Lakers. Does anyone remember that? and for 23consecutive years, the Lakers,with Shaq and Kobe, were almost undefeated in the whole playoffs and in the championships..
Kareem? He was famous and he retired with a perfect image...but as a Laker center, he was not as dominant as Shaq was, and he had a strong supporting cast all the time that Lakers would have still won championships with or without him. That will certainly not be the case with Shaq's lakers teams. Look beyond the controversies or Shaq's poor performances after his Laker's days. Go back to 1999 to 2001 or 2002... and remember the Laker's Shaq(not the Miami, Phoenix nor the Cleveland's Shaq).
And as for the best NBA center of all time..Just watch Wilt's old videos...he dominated Kareem during his younger days...and contrary to popular beliefs that Bill Russell actually stopped him..Nahhh...Bill Russell had better teams and received more love(and sympathy and favor..being an underdog to Wilt)..but Wilt vs Russell?(let the videos prove it)
tom huffman - 14 years ago
Wilt was the best center of all time. If you are talking overall Laker history, then it is Kareem.
Jason - 14 years ago
Airplane v. Kazaam
The hell I don't. LISTEN KID. I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.
vs.
Hey, don't turn your butt on me! I'm the man of the ages, straight out of the pages. Hang on! I'm contagious, outrageous, spontaneous! You can't contain this. I am KAZAAM!
Kareem wins.
Unlearned Hand - 14 years ago
George Mikan by a large margin
Neal - 14 years ago
Ray Felix and Jim Krebs.
Fella32 - 14 years ago
Kareem without questions. Most points in NBA history and the Skyhook. Enough said. G Mikan a close second because of all the titles his teams won and he was the driving force of the team and the NBA in that Era. Wilt - most dominating force - they had to change the rules of the game to stop him. That says alot.
Julian F. Bumbrey - 15 years ago
Kareem had the total package and I idolized him. The "Sky Hook" what a wepon! All of them were great in their own right, but Kareem stands out with the 6 rings (1 with Milwaukee) and he was so fundamentally sound as well and the pedigree from UCLA and Wooden; case closed!
BRed - 15 years ago
Classic! A Mike Smrek reference.
I can remember fans chanting his name late in the fourth quarter of some Great Western Forum blowout.
BRed - 15 years ago
I agree that Kareem is likely the best Laker center in terms of an entire career. However, Shaq is just getting screwed here. Only 5%? He certainly had a better run with the Lake show than Wilt did, who was past his prime by that point.
But what I'm really pissed about is the failure to mention Vlade Divac, the best flopper in NBA history!
elden - 15 years ago
the big E...elden campbell. nuff said.
stuckInBayAreaHell - 15 years ago
Kareem all the way. Wilt is the only other candidate, but not nearly as many championships and an inability to dominate a 6-9 guy (no matter how great he was) hurts your rating as a center. Anybody over 12 who voted for Shaq must have had a small part in Kazaam.
Escogido - 15 years ago
Never heard of this "shack" person...when did he play for the Lakers? I saw Wilt and Kareem play against each other and as Lakers...no contest. Kareem is the most team oriented, unstoppable offensive force in NBA history. And while i'm rifting, the Laker teams of the today are sooooooooooo ridiculous. When you let a highschooler run your team, it is the demise of "manly sports"
Rob in the 93003 - 15 years ago
The only real debate can be Wilt vs Kareem. Wilt was only here at the tail end of his career. Kareem won 5 championships with the Lakers and was a key contributor to those NBA Finals victories. Wilt was not dominant in much of the Lakers postseason runs. My vote is Kareem by a wide margin!
LakerDan - 15 years ago
Anyone who voted for Shaq must be a recent Laker fan.
SouthOC - 15 years ago
Wilt had the most talent. Kareem was the most successful. And although Shaq was an offensive force, he was too lazy to play defense.
Hopefully we'll be adding Drew to this list someday.
FishGuy5 - 15 years ago
Where's Vlade??
laker lover - 15 years ago
just off the top of my head, Chuck Nevitt, Mike Smrek, Earl Jones, D.J. Mbenga, Mychel Thompson, Mark McNamara, Dave Robish, Mel Counts, are a few of my favorites
I think its unfair for Shaq...because he is being judged not according to his performances when he was a center of the Lakers, but also for his poor performances after his Laker days and for the controversies and negative impressions accorded to him when he left the Lakers.. But if you keep these latter things aside, we should remember that Shaq was unstoppable during his Laker days..With him and Kobe being the only 2 all-star quality in the team, Shaq and Kobe led the Lakers to three championships...No team even came close to defeating the Lakers inspite of Lakers lack of talents(they only had 2.5 talents- Shaq,Kobe and a half)..Not even the team with the deepest bench NBA ever had- the star-studded Portland Blazers(during Wallace and Sabonis time) could stop Shaq and the Lakers. Does anyone remember that? and for 23consecutive years, the Lakers,with Shaq and Kobe, were almost undefeated in the whole playoffs and in the championships..
Kareem? He was famous and he retired with a perfect image...but as a Laker center, he was not as dominant as Shaq was, and he had a strong supporting cast all the time that Lakers would have still won championships with or without him. That will certainly not be the case with Shaq's lakers teams. Look beyond the controversies or Shaq's poor performances after his Laker's days. Go back to 1999 to 2001 or 2002... and remember the Laker's Shaq(not the Miami, Phoenix nor the Cleveland's Shaq).
And as for the best NBA center of all time..Just watch Wilt's old videos...he dominated Kareem during his younger days...and contrary to popular beliefs that Bill Russell actually stopped him..Nahhh...Bill Russell had better teams and received more love(and sympathy and favor..being an underdog to Wilt)..but Wilt vs Russell?(let the videos prove it)
Wilt was the best center of all time. If you are talking overall Laker history, then it is Kareem.
Airplane v. Kazaam
The hell I don't. LISTEN KID. I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.
vs.
Hey, don't turn your butt on me! I'm the man of the ages, straight out of the pages. Hang on! I'm contagious, outrageous, spontaneous! You can't contain this. I am KAZAAM!
Kareem wins.
George Mikan by a large margin
Ray Felix and Jim Krebs.
Kareem without questions. Most points in NBA history and the Skyhook. Enough said. G Mikan a close second because of all the titles his teams won and he was the driving force of the team and the NBA in that Era. Wilt - most dominating force - they had to change the rules of the game to stop him. That says alot.
Kareem had the total package and I idolized him. The "Sky Hook" what a wepon! All of them were great in their own right, but Kareem stands out with the 6 rings (1 with Milwaukee) and he was so fundamentally sound as well and the pedigree from UCLA and Wooden; case closed!
Classic! A Mike Smrek reference.
I can remember fans chanting his name late in the fourth quarter of some Great Western Forum blowout.
I agree that Kareem is likely the best Laker center in terms of an entire career. However, Shaq is just getting screwed here. Only 5%? He certainly had a better run with the Lake show than Wilt did, who was past his prime by that point.
But what I'm really pissed about is the failure to mention Vlade Divac, the best flopper in NBA history!
the big E...elden campbell. nuff said.
Kareem all the way. Wilt is the only other candidate, but not nearly as many championships and an inability to dominate a 6-9 guy (no matter how great he was) hurts your rating as a center. Anybody over 12 who voted for Shaq must have had a small part in Kazaam.
Never heard of this "shack" person...when did he play for the Lakers? I saw Wilt and Kareem play against each other and as Lakers...no contest. Kareem is the most team oriented, unstoppable offensive force in NBA history. And while i'm rifting, the Laker teams of the today are sooooooooooo ridiculous. When you let a highschooler run your team, it is the demise of "manly sports"
The only real debate can be Wilt vs Kareem. Wilt was only here at the tail end of his career. Kareem won 5 championships with the Lakers and was a key contributor to those NBA Finals victories. Wilt was not dominant in much of the Lakers postseason runs. My vote is Kareem by a wide margin!
Anyone who voted for Shaq must be a recent Laker fan.
Wilt had the most talent. Kareem was the most successful. And although Shaq was an offensive force, he was too lazy to play defense.
Hopefully we'll be adding Drew to this list someday.
Where's Vlade??
just off the top of my head, Chuck Nevitt, Mike Smrek, Earl Jones, D.J. Mbenga, Mychel Thompson, Mark McNamara, Dave Robish, Mel Counts, are a few of my favorites