NBA Stereotype.

[Diesel]

In the NBA, all you have to do to be carried by a team is be tall.

No skill set. No ability. Just have good size... IF you're 7 feet or better, you have a roster spot waiting on you.

The recent acquisition of Collins shows that. He's 7 foot, he has a job.

However, as you look around the league, that is a constant.

Johan Petro.

Michael Olowakandi

Robert Swift

Sene

Diop

Eddy Curry

Both Collins twins.

Robin Lopez.

Mickens

You don't have to be very good, just big and you will get big money.

Tyson Chandler.

Andersen V.

This list goes on and on.

Here's hoping that if you have a 7 footer in the family, you have the good sense to steer him towards basketball.

[KB21]

In the NBA, all you have to do to be carried by a team is be tall.

No skill set. No ability. Just have good size... IF you're 7 feet or better, you have a roster spot waiting on you.

The recent acquisition of Collins shows that. He's 7 foot, he has a job.

However, as you look around the league, that is a constant.

Johan Petro.

Michael Olowakandi

Robert Swift

Sene

Diop

Eddy Curry

Both Collins twins.

Robin Lopez.

Mickens

You don't have to be very good, just big and you will get big money.

Tyson Chandler.

Andersen V.

This list goes on and on.

Here's hoping that if you have a 7 footer in the family, you have the good sense to steer him towards basketball.

I agree. I mentioned this in a recent blog. Most drafting mistakes are made when you draft someone that is a big. There is too much emphasis on size and not enough emphasis on skill level, length, and athleticism when it comes to evaluating big men.

The fact of the matter is there are very, very few good 7 footers in the NBA right now.

[JTB]

In the NBA, all you have to do to be carried by a team is be tall.

No skill set. No ability. Just have good size... IF you're 7 feet or better, you have a roster spot waiting on you.

The recent acquisition of Collins shows that. He's 7 foot, he has a job.

However, as you look around the league, that is a constant.

Johan Petro.

Michael Olowakandi

Robert Swift

Sene

Diop

Eddy Curry

Both Collins twins.

Robin Lopez.

Mickens

You don't have to be very good, just big and you will get big money.

Tyson Chandler.

Andersen V.

This list goes on and on.

Here's hoping that if you have a 7 footer in the family, you have the good sense to steer him towards basketball.

LOL! i like that................Big or tall for nothing!!! is what we use to say back in high school!!!

Edited July 30, 2010 by JTB

[lethalweapon3]

Who was the dude who first stated "You Can't Teach Size!" He should get royalties from these guys for that statement.

~lw3

[buckeye242424]

Priest Lauderdale.

[macdaddy]

This is Shaq's biggest legacy right? Before Shaq, a center was about height. Blocking/altering shots, passing out of the post. Now its about strength. With a more physical nba its not enough to be Solomon Jones. You have to be able to push people out of the lane and punish them on the boards. Its why Ben Wallace could play center at 6'8 or 6'9.

[AHF]

We all saw how Shaq handled Hakeem (he didn't). IMO, Shaq didn't change the game. They just lost a legit group of centers in Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Alonzo, Dikembe, etc. Today's centers would not hold up well against guys like the Dream - there just aren't guys like him. Today's soiled big men want to play like Webber and Garnett more than interior big men of old. Now Shaq in his prime is a stud in any era but it hasn't hurt to see a limited group of largely soft big men around the league.

[Buzzard]

We all saw how Shaq handled Hakeem (he didn't). IMO, Shaq didn't change the game. They just lost a legit group of centers in Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Alonzo, Dikembe, etc. Today's centers would not hold up well against guys like the Dream - there just aren't guys like him. Today's soiled big men want to play like Webber and Garnett more than interior big men of old. Now Shaq in his prime is a stud in any era but it hasn't hurt to see a limited group of largely soft big men around the league.

So true AHF. What you state right here is the reason I know for a fact, most of the group that thinks todays NBA athletes are so much better now, never had the chance to watch guys like the above play in their prime. No way are big men today better athletes than those in past decades. Its really not even close. If Kevin Willis was playing in his prime in the 2000s he would make three or more all-star games, instead of the one he made subbing for a injured Nique.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Buzzard

[Dsinner]

To even be considered "athletic" at 7ft takes coordination. To make it in the NBA at 7ft takes skill despite what some MB poster thinks. They're not as skillful as some of the SF's or SG's but they also have feet the size of boats. Every one of the guys you mentioned would destroy any one of us in a one-on-one game and you prob wouldn't even score double digits. Stop comparing their skill-set to other position's.

[KB21]

So true AHF. What you state right here is the reason I know for a fact, most of the group that thinks todays NBA athletes are so much better now, never had the chance to watch guys like the above play in their prime. No way are big men today better athletes than those in past decades. Its really not even close. If Kevin Willis was playing in his prime in the 2000s he would make three or more all-star games, instead of the one he made subbing for a injured Nique.

I agree with you on this point. There are a lot of players that played in the mid to late 80s and early 90s that are much better than what we see today. However, it is time to realize that the game has changed. Everything is cyclic, so maybe at some point the NBA will once again be the league where giants roam. However, that is not the case today. The better centers in the NBA today are not 7 footers and would have been considered power forwards during the time of Ewing, O'Neal, Olajuwon, Robinson, and Mourning.

[Yeti]

You are right. There HAVE been way too many guys who got a chance just because of their height. And then they get classified as a project and people keep hoping they'll develop. They never do. There is a long list of failures. They stick around way too long just because they can get their hands near the basket without actually jumping. And then remember Manute Bol 7'7", Muresan 7'7", Shawn Bradley 7'6", and Chuck Nevitt 7'5". At least they played. If height were enough they'd all have been great. If you are desperate today you can try Will Foster 7'5" who couldn't get playing time at Gonzaga.

But like Horford, there have been a lot of successful NBA centers who were under 7' - Russell 6'9", Willis Reed 6'9", Moses Malone 6'10", Bob Lanier 6'10", Nate Thurmond 6"11" - of course they all played within their teams and didn't try to take over like Kareem, Wilt, or Shaq did. Can we do that? - I guess that was what Diesel was getting at ... just getting a 7-footer doesn't mean squat. Al may have to work a little harder, but he can be certainly be successful. And while I'd like Shaq for a backup, getting just any 7' pile of meat doesn't help. - (I wonder if Al would get any benefit from the old Russell/Chamberlain tapes.)

Edited August 2, 2010 by Yeti