NBA Center Mt. Rushmore

No Yao Ming?

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Yao Ming belongs to Xīyuè mountain.

 

In any list ranking the greatness of big men, I'm still going to have to put Shaq and Kareem before Olajuwon. I'd rather start my team with both of the others before I'm picking Hakeem and I'm saying this as a die-hard Rockets fan.

 

1995; remember that year?

 

Superstar QB and NBA analyst? That guy can do it all.

Anyway, my top 4 would be the same as yours, but I wouldn't be upset if someone replaced one of those guys with Shaq.

 

Russell/Kareem are obvious the best, closest to them is Shaq then 4th it's Hakeem. Wilt is 5th, but there is clear difference between him and top 4.

 

How old are you? Serious question.

 

Trying to copy tinman are we

 

Sadly, most people's mountain outside of Houston would be Dreamless.

 

Shaq-Dream matchup pretty much a wash. Hakeem's teammates whopped Shaq's. The experience from the previous year's Finals was of great help.

 

take out Wilt for Shaq

 

You sound like a student of the game. This thread is one of my favorites that I've ever been a part of on clutchfans:


Hakeem or Wilt:
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=234582&highlight=hakeem+wilt

I've looked at the history of head to head battles between centers and there are very compelling arguments for Hakeem being the greatest to ever play the game. Its's not a short list, either. And there are plenty of head to head stats that say Hakeem was the best. The one center where my argument is weak is against Moses Malone. Malone played very well against every center he face during his prime. He was a playoff performer and played his best against the best.

I personally think the position has never been played at a higher level than when Russell did it though. Coach Bill was the anchor in more championships than anyone in history. This is including baseball. (DiMaggio is the only person who comes close)

 

This was brilliantly done until he got to white mamba. that gave it away that it was a troll take. It was mj because "everyone says so & he doesn't want ppl to get mad", then yao & lin because that's when he started, stopped, and started again watching, but then he needed a white guy. MJ, bird, lin, and yao would have been beautiful. Still ridiculous, but it would have held up internally.

 

Lolwut. Forgot about Penny Hardaway? On paper, the Magic had a much better roster(1st seed compared to 6th seed); clearly, you are underestimating the heart of a champion.

A 6'9 center who shot 44% from the field and had a very pedestrian 56% from the ft line?

With those percentages, you would probably miss with the hammer while carving Mount Rushmore and watch the whole attraction crumble.

 

11 rings and 2 NCAA titles would disagree with your stats.

Russell
Wilt
Dream
Kareem

In that order. While I think dream would have been the better player if he got to play in their era, you can only compare a player to their peers. Unlike Shaq and Kareem, dream didn't have the good fortune of playing most of career with an all-nba level guard.

 

He's basically saying that statistically Hakeem and Shaq had similar numbers, which is on point. And the Rockets swept the Magic... so defacto... of course the rest of the Rockets played better.

It's not an incredibly healthy thing to focus the debate on anyway. They are VERY close players in terms of rankings, but were at completely different points in their careers. I'd argue that Hakeem was fundamental to his otherwise inferior teammates outperforming Shaq's otherwise superior teammates, in terms of leadership alone.

But Shaq has plenty of rings.

To me, Shaq and Hakeem are equal. Shaq was clearly the more dominant, if less "skilled" player, offensively. Hakeem was clearly the more dominant player defensively.

To me 3 of the 4 on Mt. Rushmore are obvious - Kareem (who should be on the every player in history Mt. Rushmore), Shaq and Hakeem. I don't really care who the 4th is. I can't accurately gauge Wilt/Russell given the era.

As an aside, in my mind, Tim Duncan is a center. EVERYTHING about his game reads center.... even when compared to more old-school PFs.... he'd still fit in more as a center, to me. He's been THE anchor in the middle, defensively, his whole career. His offensive game, despite the neat mid range jumper he has, starts with a back to the basket, close to the basket post up game. His fluidity and size speak center.

And as a center, I'd also place him in that group just behind the 3 I mention.

 

Not saying Hakeem's teammates were better on paper, just saying they performed much better than Shaq's. The center matchup was a wash.

 

Agreed. Hate Duncan's position historically. "Greatest PF ever!!!"... smh Guess 6th best center doesn't have the same ring.

I also believe Shaq was prime by his 3rd season ('94-'95). He posted some of his best career numbers by this time.

 

*2nd season ('93-'94)