O’Neal discusses how analytics shifted big men’s dominance in the paint to perimeter play and playmaking.
Nikola Jokic has redefined what it means to be a center in today’s NBA. The league is no longer a space for dominant post players muscling their way to the basket. Instead, big men are expected to shoot from deep, handle the ball, and facilitate plays like guards.
Players such as Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jokic represent this new era, blending size with skill in a way that would have been unimaginable two decades ago.
O’Neal’s displeasure
Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most dominant centers in NBA history, isn’t a big fan of this shift. He believes analytics have stripped today’s big men of the physicality and aggression that once defined the position.
“Right now you got a lot of unskilled guys trying to play the post who don’t like taking the contact,” O’Neal said. “Which makes the analytics numbers sound about right. And if you don’t want to feel the contact and you’re looking at something that’s in your favor, it’s just going to push you out even more.”
O’Neal built his Hall of Fame career on sheer dominance in the paint, punishing defenders with brute force. Modern centers are more likely to step outside the arc than post up on the block.
It all comes down to how the game has evolved today. Teams today rely heavily on efficiency metrics, which show that a 3-pointer is statistically more valuable than a 2-point shot from the post. Traditional low-post play has been sidelined, with defenses tightening around the paint and offenses prioritizing spacing.
The modern center
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama embodies this new wave of big men. In his rookie season, the 7’4″ phenom attempted 394 3-pointers, making 128 of them. He has surpassed that mark just over halfway through the current season with 403 attempts. O’Neal took only 22 3-pointers in his entire career.
Wemby shoots and is also his team’s primary ball-handler. Unlike traditional centers that rely on guards to set up plays, the Frenchman frequently initiates the offense, using his dribbling and playmaking ability to create scoring opportunities.
It’s a lot of work, and this level of versatility wasn’t required from centers in past eras. In 2000, a dominant big man like O’Neal was expected to stay in the paint, overpower defenders, and score efficiently around the rim. Today, teams value mobility and range over brute strength, leading to a complete transformation of the position.
Teams can field a lineup without a dominant big man or center — that wasn’t the case decades back when teams played with one and sometimes two centers. The Houston Rockets of the mid-’80s fielded the twin towers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. The Spurs of the ’90s played David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
It is almost non-existent in today’s game of positionless basketball, and a center of O’Neal’s caliber would also have to adapt and play the modern game.
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