Then proceeded to show video of both doing the same type of moves (offensively and blocking shots). Hakeem rookie year: 20.6 pts, 11.9 rbs, 2.7 blocks, 35.5 mins Embid rookie year: 19.8 pts, 7.8 rbs, 2.5 blocks, 25.3 mins
I've only seen one video of one shot by Embiid in an NBA game making a dream shake move, and it seemed overly thought out vs instinctual from hours and years of practice and execution. I've scoured his highlights this year for more. Seems like it should be easier to find, if it's a staple move, since there are 101 variations of the move. Porzingis also has a video of one dreamshake His offense right now looks more like Ewing and Robinson to me, and that is no slight. They are HOFers -- Robinson leading the league in scoring and Ewing reaching 29 ppg, in an era of centers. I don't get these comparisons the Hakeem who redefined speed and footwork at the center position. Is it just because Ewing and Robinson never won a title? He damn sure can block well, though. Very quick off his feet and covers a lot of ground on help defense.. Reminds me of Ewing and Olajuwon
Hakeem was unbelievably smooth, that's a huge difference. Embiid has plenty of similarities but tons of differences as well. I saw one play on here that reminded me of Hakeem. I mean, there's one play where he gets the ball on the block and he passes right away. I know it's just one game, but Embiid is his own man. He's not the athlete that Hakeem is but he can stretch the floor so that's a bonus. I like him a lot but he's no Hakeem. Put your back to the basket 25 times a game and we'll talk about Hakeem. Until then.. he's a minor comparison.
Ewing is an awesome comparison, but even Ewing played on the block quite a bit. The game is so different now.
The kid is good but my god do the NBA media like to over hype stuff. There's an article on front of ESPN NBA saying he should be in the MVP discussion.....
Ewing and Robinson did move out and like to face up. They liked to shoot 18ers too. I think in today's game, they would shoot 3ptrs like Towns and Embiid do. Dream would also face up and attack off the dribble, but obviously known more for back to basket situations. But it's the speed and footwork that really set him apart.
Embiid is more polished offensively as a rookie and much bigger. Akeem was a bouncier more nimble athlete with some quick hands to go along with his quick feet. How many steals did Akeem have vs. Embiid?
I think the main comparison would be his defense. Not too many players block shots to keep it in play which Hakeem was known for.
Agree. But Ewing was known for that too. Ewing and Dream were very similar on d. Ewing taller and quick, but Dream quickest. I think he is at Ewing/Dream level defense.
I think comparing him to Hakeem is a stretch, but I remember people comparing KAT to Duncan. It's just a testament to how good these young fellas have been. I am not offended by someone saying he plays like Hakeem. I highly doubt he ever becomes as good as Dream, but Embiid has a good future has being a high caliber player in the NBA. Right now he does a lot of the things that Dream did. He is a very talented offensive talent, and thus far he has shown to be a very good defender. He will never have the moves that McHale or Dream had, but I think he could still be very effective in today's league even if we're moving away from the paint. The good thing about him is that he also has shown signs of stretching the floor. The NBA is hitting a good point with big men.
Don't forget, Akeem was sharing stats with Sampson. That was a real team vs this Embiid development team called the 76ers. And more "polished." I don't know about that. He was hitting that baseline fadeaway out of the gate.He destroyed the defending champion Lakers in 4 games straight in just his second year, scoring like 36ppg and they had to bait him into a fight to get him off the court. I'll never forget a quote from Pat Riley saying after their 2nd win a row, asked about how was going to stop Akeem ,,, "I don't know. We didn't know he was this good."
Looking back, this is making me remember the two series with Phoenix. How did we beat them. They were crazy good. Charles Barkley Kevin Johnson Cedric Ceballos Dan Majerle AC Green Oliver Miller Danny Ainge These 7 guys averaged 110 ppg. Answer: Hakeem He made us winners with all the things he did. So many utensils at his disposal that Embiid just doesn't have, but he could if he works on his game.
I think Embiid has immense potential, however that being said I don't think you can start to compare Embiid to Hakeem yet. Embiid will need a few healthy years in the league first then we can reasonably revisit this comparison.
Polished only in that he's more of a finished product offensively than Akeem. Embiid is already doing the dream shake and shooting 3's on consistent basis. Akeem was certainly a scorer early on but he didn't become a well oiled machine until his championship years.
I saw hakeem in Embiid at Kansas. He's got the talent. But I don't believe Embiid's feet are going to hold up to the stress. I think he'll have a relatively short career, maybe shorter that Yao's, and if he does elongate it, I think he will become footwork limited and become more like Vlade then Hakeem. Just can't see his feet holding up to all those Hakeem moves.
I don't see the similarities but that isn't a slight on his game. He's clearly got a bright future ahead of him as long as he remains healthy. His footwork and repertoire of moves will increase the longer he remains in the NBA.
I'd really like to see the videos of him doing it a lot. I've only seen one dreamshake in an NBA game from him, which was the very basic Show the Ball, Spin the Other Way move. The guy has scores of highlights now. It should be easy to find like 5 of these moves, so we can see how polished it is, with instinctual counters or not. I'd be very happy to change my opinion on this.
