As many know, the NBA didn’t officially start tracking dunks until the 1996-97 which happened to be Shaq’s first year in LA, meaning the NBA doesn’t have any of Shaq’s dunks with the magic tracked. However this doesn’t mean that was the first time dunks were ever tracked. The broadcast would occasionally show dunk totals. Straight from the broadcast itself sounds pretty damn reliable I’d say yeah? The other source is from the late Harvey Pollack 76ers media guide NBA statistical yearbook which has every players dunk totals. This shows Shaq had 381 dunks in the 1993-94 season. As well as an article published just before the 1994-95 season tipped off mentioning the same. My question to you guys is how believable is this to you ? 381 for a single season feels unfathomable, because once they started tracking dunks in 97, shaq never came close to matching this total again anyway. But the broadcast itself shows it, Harvey pollack a stat guru has it on his yearbooks too. So I can’t see a reason for it not to be reliable. What do you guys think? Is this accurate? Do any of you have any other source/proof that confirms this as well? There is probably some of you who was around for shaq with the magic so you could have a say on if this is accurate too. Let me know
by KorgKronan
2 Comments
I will agree. Magic Shaq was basically all dunks, with a bit of hooks and jumpers here and there. Yes, Magic Shaq shot J’s. He never faked the funk on a nasty dunk.
He had some little hooks, and a very ugly one-armed baseline turnaround fadeaway, but his primary weapon was being stronger and quicker than everyone else. He was not an offensive arsenal. He was just a monster.
Dwight Howard was sort of the same way but he was more mechanical than Shaq so it didn’t work as well for him, but being stronger and quicker than everyone else is obviously more than enough