I thought this would be a joke, i mean its not even close. But i see people picking DH. Yao was Unstoppable on offense, DH not so much. Games on the line, you go to Yao. DH is a beast on D, but Yao was a great defender too. Then you talk about championchip attitudes, DH is a joker, a child and to a certain extent a cancer as hes already stirring up trouble in LA.
There was a period in Yao's career, not even lasting a season, in his 4th year, when Yao was literally on par with prime Hakeem(but not championship Hakeem) in terms of impact. If Yao hadn't suffered that injury in his 4th year, and continue to not have debilitating injuries, he would go down as this decade's Shaq. The guy that was "putting up numbers because there are no other center." I'm only writing the above because there are seemingly some newer fans who never saw prime Yao, as if it was a legend that your grandparents pass down. Because my actually response to thread is, ARE YOU ****ING KIDDING ME?
No homer here ... If Yao had a full career with minimal injury, he would be known as the best big man to play the game. He was unstoppable ... Actually nearly unstoppable ... The one thing that could stop him did.
Would anyone took Pau Gasol over Dirk Nowitzki because of Pau can actually plays a little defense? Thats it. Prime Yao was nearly unstoppable on offense and defensively he was very very underrated. Yao's last 2 years he was closing the post beautifully, and let me repeat again. Before Kobe injured Yao (2nd game against Lakers, probably would have take the lead to 2-0) that year, he was unstoppable on offense. That hook shot and post fadeaway shot was more than beautiful.
Yao was better scorer, everything else Howard so it's not even close. Yao was good rebounder, but Howard was one of the best ever(he's having worst rebounding season since his rookie year and is still averaging 12.4 RPG - Yao had just two season with RPG over 10). Yao was good on defense, but Howard carried terrible defensive teams to top 5 in Drtg effiency. Howard was much more dominant player.
Amazing offense + good defense > Great Defense + ****ty offense. That's not even considering chemistry, personality, etc, Howard is a cancer. Case closed.
I was a fan of Yao, but I feel like a Yao hater next to others on this board who equate him to Hakeem or suggest he was on pace to be the greatest big man to ever play the game. Holy crap.
I'll take the guy who's the dominant rebounder/defensive player/finisher, and can play 40 minutes a night for me in an up-tempo game.
Depends on the rest of the team for me. But.. in a vacuum, Dwight, because he would fit in a greater variety of teams.
I like the fluid 2005 Yao that was really 296 - 310 not the nearly 400 pounder close to the injuries.
For those saying Yao because of his offensive capabilities, remember that the Rockets really struggled to build a good offense around him. Historically, its rare to find elite team offenses built around a strong post player.
Yao wasn't the defensive player that Dwight is/was, but he was a defensive force. His mere size made him a huge defensive presence. However, on the offensive side of the ball Yao was miles ahead of Dwight. In my opinion, the end of the discussion is this; Yao can play in crunch time because he was a damn near 90% free throw shooter. Yao all day.
