Harden has definitely been impressive. You want to know where the great players separate themselves from everyone...........in the PLAYOFFS!!!!! The elite players separate themselves from the great players by winning rings.
I don’t know, in your hypothetical scenario maybe a lot of rockets fans will feel that way, but definitely not this rockets fan. I love James Harden but I love the dream. Harden can for sure hold the number two spot and put a ton of distance between number three, but he’ll never be number 1. I’ll never wear a Harden jersey that some kid at school stole from that old store at 11th and Shepherd. I’ll never carry Hardens card in my wallet. Harden is a great player in an era where guards are magnified by the rules. Olajuwon was the most skilled big man I ever saw. Give me Olajuwon
not sure if he can catch Hakeem...Hakeem was elite on both ends and is considered a top 10 player of all time Harden has a great shot at cementing himself as the greatest offensive player in Rockets history, 1 of the best offensive weapons in NBA history, 2nd greatest Rocket of all time, and 3rd best SG of all time with an MVP, 2 rings, and continuing his dominant play for a few more years Honestly, Harden is having 1 of the greatest primes you’re ever gonna see. It’s crazy because he used to be a 6th man and doesn’t have elite physical tools. his stats so far in his prime: 27.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 7.7 apg on 61% TS with a PER of 25.6...insane
Too much of my memories of Hakeem are tied to his legendary playoff runs that brought the city of Houston its first two professional sports championships. Nothing Harden does in the regular season will approach that or “creep up” on that.
Voted no based on the criteria that you laid out. I do believe Harden has a chance to surpass Olajuwon's greatness to the Rockets, but to do so he will have to go above and beyond Hakeem. Hakeem has the luxury of coming first and more importantly bringing Houston its first major championships. For Harden to surpass him he would have to not just equal, but exceed Dream's contributions to the team and city.
Harden has a chance... As many have said....playoffs and specifically 1 championship are next on his list of accomplishments. With 5-7 years left, meaning 2 real windows left he has a real chance. If he gets 1(real chance), We can all start talking about 1a and 1b for the Rockets. If he gets 2(doubtful), we start fighting over who is 1 and 2. If he gets 3(really doubtful), he moves our beloved Hakeem to 2nd greatest Rocket. PS: James will be better in total points....this should not be expected to be a tie after 18 seasons.
Came in here hoping @tinman was dropping knowledge ...... Hakeem >>>> Beard I don’t think he will ever catch him.
Harden has gained ground or even surpassed moses now as the second best Rocket ever. Olajuwon however is a ghost that is or will be hard to catch.
Career arc is definitely in the same stratosphere. Chips, of course count but only to an extent. Examining the player next to the player is the way to go here, lest we hear a tale of Bobert Horry. Scoring ability, I mean, Dream was one of a kind on the block. But James is maybe the most gifted, complete threat the Rockets have ever had. How do you decide between them? Defensively, of course Dream is going to stand high above basically everyone who's ever played. Even with Harden having interest in defense, he'll never be in the same category because he's not a rim protector. Player to player, nod still going to Dream but with the caveat that Harden is probably the best offensive player in Rocket history. Dream might be a top 10 player all time, probably the best player in HOUSTON history for any sport and holds the heart of everyone who lived in Houston in the 90s. That may never be undone, and if it is, well, it will be ferociously talented player like Harden to do it.
Look, I love James Harden. People can hate and talk about him disappearing in the playoffs because he absolutely has. Chalk it up as needing to mature. Hell, Hakeem had quite a bit of maturing to do at one time early on too. What we are privileged to watch on a nightly basis is greatness. These things don’t happen often. Do people realize this? I appreciate it as much as anyone. That said, no one will touch Hakeem and what he provided night in and night out for the Rockets orginization. For me its Hakeem. Love that dude, but damn it might get really close! And further, who cares!? Why can’t we have both? They are both great and both Rockets. Why do we need to pit them against each other?
I love Harden, but Dream is the greatest athlete in all of Houston professional sports and the only guy to bring multiple titles to the city. Harden has a LOT of ground to cover to catch up with him. And even if he does somehow bring 2+ rings to Houston, Dream's overall impact with his defensive dominance simply can't be ignored. But the thing that really separates them for me isn't even defense, it's big game performance. Hakeem was that rare player who not only thrived in the postseason, but his numbers actually got better in the playoffs as he dominated other great centers of his era. On the flip side, Harden is known for his inability to step up in the postseason, which is a narrative he has to completely rewrite if he wants to catch Hakeem.
Classic example of the lack of knowledge of newer age fans when speaking on older generation NBA basketball. James Harden can break all of Hakeem's scoring records to date, but he'll NEVER be a better basketball player than Olajuwon. You can't measure a players impact with boxscore numbers or analytics. Hakeem dominated BOTH sides of the court on a consistent basis in the regular season AND playoffs. Plus the game was 10x more physical and harder to get points. There wasn't any complaining about "getting tired" from Hakeem. I'm not saying this from a bitter old school basketball fans perspective either. Hakeem is pure greatness as a basketball player. Outside of MJ, you can argue he was the 2nd best basketball player EVER
