Shaquille O'neal or Tim Duncan?

Question

-Both were 1st overall Draft pick in their class

-Both won Rookie of the year

-Both were 4 time NBA champions

-Both won the MVP award (Duncan twice)

So who do you think is:

Better in their Prime?

Better now?

Better as a Rookie?

Hardest to defend?

Better defender?

Better rebounder?

More skilled?

More athletic?

Who had a better career?

Who makes teammates better?

Who is better overall?

Answer 1

DUNCAN ALL THE WAY Shaq is VERY overrated.

DUNCAN is the MAN!!!

Answer 2

Tim Duncan...plus he doesn't talk smack like Shaq!

Answer 3

Shaq

Duncan

Shaq

Duncan

Saq

Shaq

Duncan

Duncan

Shaq

Shaq

Shaq

Answer 4

Duncan

Answer 5

tough one

Answer 6

So who do you think is:

Better in their Prime? shaq

Better now?duncan

Better as a Rookie?shaq

Hardest to defend?shaq

Better defender?shaq

Better rebounder?shaq

More skilled?duncan

More athletic?shaq

Who had a better career?duncan

Who makes teammates better?ducan

Who is better overall?shaq

Answer 7

Prime - Shaq, by far.  Shaq was the most dominant NBA player in his prime, and there probably hasn't been that great of a distance between the most dominant player and the 2nd most dominant player (who was Tim Duncan, btw) since the days of George Mikan.

Russell and Wilt had each other...then Wilt and Kareem. Then Kareem and Walton (briefly)...then Kareem and Moses Malone... then Magic and Bird... then Jordan and Magic...then Jordan and Barkley... Jordan and Olajuwon... Jordan and Karl Malone... Then along came Shaq.

Duncan is obviously better now.

They were both outstanding as rookies... Shaq won ROY in a 96-2 vote over Zo,  while  Duncan won over Keith van Horn by a 113-3 vote.   Shaq played 3 years in college, Duncan played 4.

Ducan was hard to defend because his fundamentals were so good.  Shaq was hard to defend because he was physically a difficult match up.   Shaq probably presented more of a problem to defenses than Duncan, and he certainly got to the line a lot more than Duncan did.

Even though Shaq was never a good FT shooter, getting the opponent in team foul trouble is an advantage to your team, because it can put other guys to the line sooner than they would have gone otherwise.

Duncan was probably a better defensive player.  Shaq was intimidating in the middle, particularly when he was young and in shape, but Ducan was better from a fundamental standpoint.

Duncan is more skilled.  He has more range on his shot, he's just as good a rebounder as Shaq , if not better.    His career rebound average is 11.8 compared to Shaq's 11.5, but Duncan hasn't hit the decline phase of his career yet as badly as Shaq has.  I'd say that, in their prime, they were very close as rebounders, maybe too close to call.

Shaq was more athletic in their prime, but he's not in the same shape he used to be in.

They both had outstanding careers, obviously.  Shaq has an argument to be called the most dominant individual player ever, because of the distance between him and the #2 guy (Duncan) when Shaq was in his prime.  I wouldn't rank Shaq as the #1 player ever on that basis, but he does have a bit of a legit argument.  You can't say that about Duncan.

Elliot Kalb in "Who's Better, Who's Best in Basketball" makes that argument in favor of Shaq, ranking him as the #1 player in NBA history (this was right after Shaq three-peated as Champion and Finals MVP with the Lakers...he might not feel the same way now).   The eight players that have an argument to be called the greatest ever, in Kalb's opinion, are Shaq, Jordan, Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Bird, Magic and Oscar.    Tim Duncan was not in that group of eight, but Kalb did rank Duncan as the #9 player in NBA history. One can argue about a few spots in the rankings, but I think he has Duncan pegged fairly well.

Both Shaq and Duncan made their teammates better. Robert Horry certainly wouldn't have won any rings with the Lakers were it not for Shaq.

Both Shaq and Duncan, in their primes, were better in the playoffs than they were in the regular season.

Better overall?  It depends how much you want to weigh these factors.  If there was a draft of all the players in NBA history (a real draft, not a fantasy draft), I would guess that Shaq would be chosen before Duncan.  

Center is a tough position.  To be the best ever, you have to be better than Wilt, Russell and Kareem.  I'm not sure that Shaq has done that.

I do think that Tim Duncan is, in fact, the best power forward of all time.

I know it's a long answer.... but you asked a lot of questions.

Answer 8

shaq

duncan

shaq

shaq

duncan

duncan

duncan

shaq

duncan

duncan

duncan

the spurs were trash with robinson until duncan came on board and got robinson his ring

Answer 9

Better in their Prime? Shaquille O'Neal (superdominant then)

Better now? Tim Duncan (Shaq is too old now)

Better as a Rookie? Both

Hardest to defend? Before - Shaquille O'Neal; Now - Tim Duncan

Better defender? Tim Duncan

Better rebounder? Tim Duncan (he can cover more on the floor than Shaq)

More skilled? Tim Duncan

More athletic? Before - Shaq (athletic despite his mass), Now - Duncan

Who had a better career? Both

Who makes teammates better? - Duncan

Who is better overall? - Can't judge... Duncan plays PF and C seldom...Shaq is stuck at C... but not excluding positions... it's Tim Duncan

Answer 10

Better in their Prime - Shaquille,he was simply unstoppable.

Better now - Both are rusty,but Tim Duncan still drops 20 and 10.

Better as a Rookie - Shaquille,Tim didn't get much time.

Hardest to defend - Shaquille no doubt,one of the best offensive

players.

Better defender - Tim Duncan.

Better rebounder - Tim Duncan,he still pulls down boards in his 35's.

More skilled - Tim Duncan,King of Fundamentals.

More athletic - Shaquille is a f****s and all,but I'll go with him.

Who had a better career - Tim Duncan,not totally hands down though.

Who is better overall - Tim Duncan,he is the greatest power forward of all time,or maybe there's just too much competition for the Center position.

Answer 11

Good Question

In their prime its Shaq, he absolutely dominated

Now is Duncan

Shaq as a rookie cause he was already NBA size

Defend against is Shaq, cause he is so much stronger than anyone else

Defender is Tim Duncan, he never takes a play off

More Skilled is Duncan, he shoots better and has more moves

More athletic, Shaq because anyone that big that can move that well is a miracle

better career is a tie

Teammates better is Tim Duncan, he is never a distraction and has never complained

Overall better is Tim Duncan, bbecausehe has done more and stayed out of the spotlight, which is a big plus to any team. I would want Timmy D on my team if I had the choice