How do you define natural talent. Jump the highest? Nope Drexler, Dream, Chuck, Francis jumped higher Fastest? Drexler, Calvin, Francis and Dream were faster Shoot the best? Drexler, Dream, Calvin, Rudy all shot better Best FT shooter? Calvin, Dream, Drexler, Rudy, Chuck were better from the line Rebounding? Dream, Chuck, Moses, Drexler was better. Best 3 point shooter? Calvin and Rudy were better Better in the post? Drexler, Dream, Chuck were better Better in a one on one situation? Drexler and Dream were better Passer? Drexler was a better passer Defender? Drexler and Dream were much better defenders The only thing Tmac did better than everyone else was dribble the ball. He was also near the top at passing. However, anyone can walk the ball up the court, pretend to drive, and chuck up a contested 3 point shot that has a 35 percent chance of going in. Look at Antoine Walker.
I know Drexler, Chuck, and Francis had higher ups than T-Mac, but even Dream? That is news to me. I thought he was just taller so could get higher. T-Mac's strength is that he was a great all-around player when he chooses to be. He showed us he was great on defense when he was in Toronto and later when he locked down Dirk in the playoffs that one game. He was always a great passer and before injuries took their toll, he was a great scorer and above average shooter. I would put him behind Dream, Malone, Murphy, Drexler, and Sampson for most naturally talented. As far as best player, T-Mac takes further backseat to Rudy T, Sleepy Floyd, and Elgin.
Tim Thomas and Lamar Odom are also considered great natural talents. you can argue that Lamar Odom would be the best basketball player in the league if he maximized his talents. I guess in today's game, Kevin Durant is a 'natural' talent. But when you talk about the Dream, this guy was off the charts, speed, strength, and agility was certainly off the charts.
Dream was around 6'10" and Tmac is around 6'9". Watch the videos again and see how Dream head would be above the the rim in some cases. Dream had some crazy ups and they were those quick ups. He didn't have to gather himself.
Yea, around here, you better have your ducks in a row, or you will get hammered every time. Now if you had said "Is T-Mac the most naturally talented Rocket in the 2000's", you probably could have gotten out of this. One misplaced or omitted word can be you undoing.
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talent wise? yeah t-mac probably was, hakeem though was probably as much learned as it was talent whereas tracy seems to have always been heavily slanted towards leaning on his natural ability.
If that were true he would have never gone from a 7 ppg player to a 32 ppg player. It's beyond idiotic to compare a swing to a center. Two completely different skill sets.
common man lay off the crack ... Hakeem Was the first player in NBA history to accumulate both 2,000 blocked shots and 2,000 steals in a career. He finished his career shattering the blocks record and his foot work on the court has never been replicated by anyone on a basketball court. He also had over a 40 inch vertical when he entered the league . Him and Clyde would dunk on a 12 foot rim while being called Phi Slama Jama in college days. Hakeem's Athletic ability, combined with his endurance, agility, size and quickness were unheard of and still have no match till this day . If anything you can talk about Lebron being a better athlete at his size but to be honest still no match in footwork and overall balance . Everything else Lebron does better, but **** not even Jordan was a match when it comes to sheer athleticism to that monster and Jordan was and still is the best basketball player EVER.
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BYFV06e2blE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BYFV06e2blE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> This!!! FTW!!!!! :grin:
