Three mighty sailin' men -- one Shaq, brave and sure
Posted: May 3, 2005
Tayshaun Prince might be the best player on what might be the best team, but there's no doubt about who is the best player in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
That'd be Shaquille O'Neal. His long postseason journeys are as familiar as a Gilligan's Island rerun (is this the one where they almost get back home?), but every few years Shaq gets a new little buddy.
Before Dwyane Wade there was Kobe, and before Kobe there was Penny. Wade is only one season into his tour of duty, but he is stacking up well in comparison to his predecessors.
vs. one another
| Anfernee
Hardaway | Kobe
Bryant | Dwyane
Wade |
| Years with Shaq | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| Championships | 0 | 3 | - |
| Division titles | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| First-team All-NBA | 2 | 3 | - |
| Best season | '95-96-21.7 ppg,
4.3 rpg, 7.1 apg | '02-03-30.0 ppg,
6.9 rpg, 5.9 apg | '04-05-24.1 ppg,
5.1 rpg, 6.8 apg |
| Regular-season record | 167-79 (.679) | 435-189 (.697) | 59-23 (.720) |
| Playoff record | 18-18 (.500) | 78-44 (.639) | 4-0 (1.000) |
vs. one another -- and Gilligan
| Gilligan | Anfernee
Hardaway | Kobe
Bryant | Dwyane
Wade |
| Pet nickname | Little Buddy | Penny | *#@! | D-Wade |
The weather started
getting rough when ... | The tiny ship was tossed | Shaq started seeing free-agent dollar signs | Kobe wouldn't pass the ball anymore | Check back if the Heat loses a playoff series |
| If not for the courage of ____, the Minnow would be lost | The fearless crew | Penny's doctors | Kobe's lawyers | Zo's kidney |
| What the first mate always would do to keep from getting thrown in the lagoon | Say something funny, maybe make a stupid face | Get Shaq the ball | Cover for Shaq's awful free throw shooting with big shots | Cover for Shaq's awful free throw shooting with big dunks |
| What the first mate would not stop doing until he got a top-of-the-noggin smackdown | Eating all the coconut cream pie | Making commercials | Taking 3s, talking to Jim Gray | Does this guy do anything wrong? |
| Strangest guest appearance | Roman Gabriel, then quarterback of the L.A. Rams, playing island headhunter No. 2 | Lil' Penny, any time he said the things Big Penny wished he could get away with: "You can't guard me; the Secret Service couldn't guard me" or "Hey, Tyra, you left your toothbrush at my house" | Dennis Rodman, playing a power forward | Shaq and Zo, together? Really? It's like Alien and Predator or King Kong and Godzilla suddenly joining forces |
| Ginger or Mary Ann? | Mary Ann | Tough to tell | We thought Mary Ann, but then -- without warning -- Ginger | Mary Ann |
| Reunion episode? | There were three-culminating with the Harlem Globetrotters paying a memorable visit | Given Penny's bad wheels, Blue Chips II: Electric Boogaloo might have more shelf life than anything on the court | Maybe with Phil; with Shaq, he'd pull a Tina Louise and have someone else play his part ... | ... Oh, wait, Wade already is doing that |
» More Graf analysis| More NBA analysis | 
Dan Graf–Profile|SportingBlog|Archive
Dan Graf–Profile|SportingBlog|Archive
