I like how you snipped out one part of my post to frame your conversation. (TLDR version) I said I was looking at contemporary players to find a comp and realized there wasn't one. I am 50 years old so all it took was to look back a bit further. The whole point is that DK is a very unique player.
Secondly I did not pick out random white guys. I could have said Larry Bird, John Stockton, Detlef Shcrmph.. That would be me picking random white guys. DK's game is unique. It just so happens that the guys he plays most like tend to have the same complexion... but at the same time not. I think Dan Majerle is a very good comp if you think that's wrong please elucidate us and point out the flaw in it and give your non-random white guy comp or step off.
It gets so tiresome when people constantly come in and someone actually puts some thought into their posts then someone just replies with some random nah I hate it because I didn't like this one word or one part but don't bring anything constructive to the conversation. It is extremely hard to do comps of guys without falling into racial traps that folks wanna set. The thing is there is a reason. Until very recently how people play basketball has almost always followed cultural lines. White Black, American, European etc because the world was a lot smaller back then. Kids in South Dakota didn't have a lot of exposure to streetball. Rural kids didn't play like urban kids. Europeans didn't play like Americans. Hell Guys from Cali and NY played totally different ball. It seemed like it was racial divides but the present has proved a bigger factor was culture and exposure. genetics play a part but culture and exposure play a bigger role in skill-based sports. Basketball is a lot more skill-based than most other major sports. Pure athleticism can only take you so far if you don't have work ethics and IQ its not gonna last. While in a sport like Football you can have a full-on long career with 0 football IQ and never learn to play the game (Cordarelle Patterson, Dave Megget, Devin Hester, CJ2000) in the present league its harder to just out-talent your way through the NFL but, its still a thing. the few guys that have done so in the NBA are literally aberrations on the planet for their time. Wilt Chamberlian, Shaq, hell Rodman and Barkley to some extent. These were guys that were physical outliers in the game.
If Zach Edey was born in 1980 or 1990 history is a lot different. I actually think he is the answer to the question could Shaq survive in today's game. I think Shaq was slightly more athletic in his younger years but edey's athleticism matches up better with the Shaq we saw in LA and Miami more than most want to admit if you factor in those 4 inches. Lets call him the weird alien lovechild of Shaq and Yao. He is much more skilled than Shaq and a much better shooter. Defensively most people misremember Shaq. His first couple years in Orlando he was a lot more athletic and was a lot more active defensively. but most of his defensive reputation was built on guards and wings wanted nothing to do with going up in that lane with him. He was scary and would whup that arse if you came in there trying to posterize. They just didn't want to try him period. Now had they tried him, who knows. But it was a different game certain levels of aggravated assault were allowed back then in the paint that won't fly today. edey is 90 the offensive threat SHaq was and honestly because of the times he is likely a better defensive player. Edey is not a liability at the end of a close game because you cant hack an Edey. He also has proven he can shoot past the paint. this is Shaqs career shot chart(
Shaquille O'neal Career Shot Chart | StatMuse) over 80% of his shots came in the paint he shot about 35% outside the paint and rarely tried (about 1900 of his career 13k or so shots) happened outside the paint. TLDR he did not have an 8 footer much less a 12 footer. Edey is not a big midrange/3-point shooter but he has shown he can make those shots he's just never been asked to. The bar Shaq set is so low.
I know that all seems like a huge tangent to nowhere but it is there because times are a-changing. People are taking the lazy route and calling Edey a slow white boy or even the most generous call him a slow big man. Compared to guys almost 100 pounds smaller to him you have a point. But he is 300+ pounds and 7'5 legit. He moves like a guy 6'10 that's insane. If Andre Drumond was 7'5 wit the same skillset and athleticism profile he'd still be playing serious minutes in the league. Edey is a 7'5 Drummond. I the NBA measurements make a lot more difference than you think If you are 6'10 with a 6'9 wingspan... undrafted 6-7 with a 6'9 wingspan teams are drooling. There are point guards that go from first round to late 2nd because their hands were 1/4 inch smaller than expected.
