[Hoot Gibson]

I think that I will rest my case on this one. I will not convince fans of this generation that their beloved Shaq was not even close to being the best that he could have been or the best center in the history of the NBA.

One parting thought. Suppose Steve Nash had racked up the kind of numbers that he has but instead of playing today, he had played during the 60s and 70s. How many of you who are knocking Wilt would have ever considered it possible that Nash would have won multiple MVPs playing the game today? My guess is that almost none of you would have conceded that he would even be able to start on a "modern" NBA team because of his size and relative lack of athleticism for his position.

Great athletes and great basketball players did not suddenly appear on the scene in the 1990s or at the dawn of the 21st century, the way that many of you seem to believe the did. The best college center that I personally have ever seen play was Bill Walton. I don't like the guy and injuries kept him from having the kind of NBA career that he enjoyed at UCLA but when he was healthy he was scary good.