Just needs 21 more. And guess who he'll be bumping OUT of the top 25? This guy: Spoiler Of course, Wilt and Russell would be atop the list if they'd kept that stat back in the day. Here's the full list.
I'm not so sure about Russell. He only played 13 seasons and his production trailed off quite a bit over the last 2-3 seasons. Plus, there were fewer games played in his early years. Giving him an average of 250 blocks per season, which is about what Kareem averaged during his prime years, would give him about 3,250. He needed to average 300 blocks over his 13 year career to pass Dream. 300 blocks a year is something Dream only did 4 times and Kareem only did twice, though his first four years of blocks were not recorded. I'm fairly certain Wilt would hold the record. He played at a high level until he retired and he played longer than Russell. Kareem would probably be higher than Dream too as he has 3189 blocks but is missing info for his first four years. All he had to do was average 200 blocks each of thos four years and he is ahead. Considering he was over 260 blocks five of the next seven years after the stat started being kept, I think it is reasonable to assume he gets at least 225-250 each of his first four years.
It's crazy to think of how dominant Duncan and KG have been defensively over the course of their careers and they aren't even close to Olajuwon's mark.
Good, yes. Dominant… not really. They both were dominant rebounders from time to time, but dominant defenders… never remember that happening over the course of an entire game. Tim Duncan and Garnett have never even led the league in blocks for a season. Tim is over-rated. He's always had all-stars around him when he won. Without Robinson, Ginobli and Parker he's not a player we talk about that much, IMHO.
Say what you want about Shawn Bradley, but for his size he was pretty mobile and had good shot blocking instincts. It was his offensive game that never really took off. Plus, when he got "postered" it tended to get a little more press because of who he was and cause guys would go after him. The same thing happened to Yao for a while if you recall. Actually, it's not unlike the way Blake Griffin is often hammered going for dunks, but in reverse.
Agreed on all counts Olajuwon always seemed to struggle against him. Mark blocked shots without jumping and didn't go for Hakeem's fakes. Eaton had seasons where he averaged 5+ blocks.. that high a number is rare. Agreed. I almost vomited when Timmy passed Dream in all-time playoff blocks. Took him an extra 50 games. Hakeem having teammates as good as Duncan is like a wet dream for me.
These lists are funny: the higher you get, the more the list starts resisting forward progress. Dwight is fine, with plenty of room above him. But looking at points, with Nowitzki, for example, he could go from #10 to #6 or 5 this season. I think when you're getting that high, the list starts resisting. In other words, I'm expecting something to slow Dirk's scoring down real soon. He's not going to just sail through this season like any other and end up above Shaq in total points. It's just like win streaks. It seems like a streak shouldn't affect the outcome of a given game, but when we are trying to set a record by going 7-0 to start the season, the list is pushing against us; or when we had the 22-game win streak.
Tim Duncan has been a dominant defensive player, really need to look at more than just blocks. Judging a players defensive value strictly by blocks shows a gross lack of basketball knowledge
Lot of good players on that list. Glad he's doing it as a rocket. I bet he can get in the low 20's maybe 19..
on a more serious note, Jermain O'Neal is top 20??? I'm surprised. Seems like he was always injured and wasn't a top tier shot blocker
kind of gets swept under the rug because nobody wants to think about the artest pacers but he was mostly healthy then and posted 2+ blocks a game
