does anyone else agree with me to say that Shaq is now and always has had one of the least amount of talent?

no big guy is a good dribbler (although most can't lead the break and go between the legs like Shaq)

big guys aren't supposed to be jump shooters, far more succesful to have a good post player big man than a jump shooting one

as for passing, Shaq is one of the best big men passers of all time so I don't know what you are talking about there. He always finds the cutter and kicks the ball out to 3 point shooters

What basketball do you guys watch.

Centers are not responsible for dribbling or passing skills. Their forte is inside the paint scoring and offensive and defensive rebounding.

When necessary Shaq, just as ANY OTHER center, will pass the ball back out to a guard or forward if he is defended and cannot do anything else with the ball.

His power IS his talent.

Because of his build and size, he will NEVER be a good free throw shooter.

If Shaq were a forward or guard, THEN I would question his dribbling and passing skills.

I always question the ability of the guards of getting the ball inside to the center, not the other way around.

When Shaq was with Orlando way back when, if Anfernee Hardaway hadn’t been a ball hog like Coby, Shaq Horace Grant and Hardaway could have taken them to a championship.

Chris- David Robinson could shoot, so it's not accurate to say no center could do these things. Heck even Rik Smits had more of a post up game than Shaq.

Truth, is right Shaq did develop into a good passer. He is not the best passing big man of all time however, and it took him several years before he was even decent at passing.

Shaq came into the league and could do NOTHING skill wise. He still does VERY LITTLE skill wise. He offends my basketball sensibilities, I'm offended everytime he takes the court.

Kevin McHale was a post player, Shaq is an overgrown freak who is funny and good with the media and a nice guy so it's hard to hate him, but as a basketball player I do hate him. Shaq is probably single handedly responsible for the lack of development from thousands of youth across this country who never saw Kevin McHale play and don't know how to play the game of basketball skillfully they just try and copycat Shaq

Also Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki are both 7 footers who can dribble, why can't Shaq?

Is that why Shawn Bradley, Manute Bol and Gheorge Muresan have all those rings? That explains it. But seriously he isn't required to do the jobs of point guard, he's what you call a "true center." On offense he plays with his back to the basket and until recently, before the emergence of Dwight Howard and Greg Oden at OSU, many experts were claiming that he was the last of a rare and dying breed of dominant true centers instead of the center-forward combos like Dirk, KG, and Duncan. You're underestimating his footwork, his passing ability, rebounding and his court vision when you say he lacks basketball skills. The man has six finals appearances and four rings, so he's obviously more then just a random big guy. Compare his career stats at NBA.com with the other good big men in the league right now and you'll realize that he brings more to the table then just his size.

Average skills???

How soon they forget!

Shaq will go down as one of the top 5 centers EVER.

His footwork was excellent, his touch great. Many pundits are amazed that for a guy who is such a good shooter of the ball (career nearly 58%!!!) cannot hit free-throws!

To try & pass him off now as 'mediocre but big' is an insult. I guess those that have done so are around 12 years of age, and only started REALLY watching basketball 2 years ago.

That's the thing with basketball, if you are a huge man, you will get a chance. I know Shaq has a ton of talent, drive, and intimidation, but that same talent in a smaller frame would not equal the dominant hall of famer type of numbers that he has put up. He is the beneficiary of gigantic genes that's for sure. I think King Kong must be somewhere in his family tree!

I love Shaq and have NOTHING bad to say abut him. You can't argue w/ the winning that he has brought to every team he has been on.

I definitely agree that Shaq doesn't have a whole lot of talent. In fact, I'll go one further and tell you that I don't think he's one of the best ever. Stern added rules to facilitate Shaq as a star to try to replace Jordan (hop step rule and contact rules in the paint, aka offensive fouls only outside the semi circle)

His one attribute is his strength. I always wondered if he would be able to succeed against an offensive lineman from the NFL. Someone just as big and athletic.

YES! this is what i have been saying for the longest time! i totally agree with you. he's definitely not like most centers in the league, especially if you compare him to the next generation of centers. im not a big heat fan, but i actually liked the team when he wasnt playing. alonzo is older than shaq and yet the man still got it! the only talent shaq has is being a huge man. other than that, he just plain sucks especially now that he's older. he should just retire soon.

Hakeem Olajuwon used to handle him pretty well, and he was closer to 6'10 and 240 lbs.

Shaq is very powerful for a big man, there have been other big men who could not move or jump like he can.

There have been other big men who never went anywhere, including his team mate and fellow big man from LSU, Stanley Roberts.

But he does not have the skills that Hakeem, Kareem, Wilt or Russell had.

Still, I'd say he is in the top 10 of all time center wise, because of his ability and domination.

i would have to disagree with you, even though shaq is not one of my favorite players he is a great player. his explosiveness has declined because of age and injury. now basketball is not just about dribbling, shooting, and passing. you have rebounding, steals, blocks. the defensive end is just as important as offense. have you heard the saying "defense wins games, offense sales tickets".