No more nonsense about who was better between Olajuwon and Duncan- how about Duncan vs. Moses Malone? I'd be interested to hear anyone's opinion who feels Moses was better, because I already know the Duncan crowd's arguments (but those are welcome, too). Malone played for 21 years. He has a 16-year record that is similar to Duncan in many categories, as well as being a 3-time league MVP and a champion in 1983.
Scoring- Moses is #7: Player G FG FT PPG PTS 1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,560 15,837 6,712 24.6 38,387 2. Karl Malone 1,476 13,528 9,787 25.0 36,928 3. Michael Jordan 1,072 12,192 7,327 30.1 32,292 4. Kobe Bryant 1,239 11,024 7,932 25.5 31,617 5. Wilt Chamberlain 1,045 12,681 6,057 30.1 31,419 6. Shaquille O'Neal 1,207 11,330 5,935 23.7 28,596 7. Moses Malone 1,329 9,435 8,531 20.6 27,409
Rebounds: Moses is #5: Player G OFF DEF RPG REB 1. Wilt Chamberlain 1,045 0 0 22.9 23,924 2. Bill Russell 963 0 0 22.5 21,620 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,560 2,975 9,394 11.2 17,440 4. Elvin Hayes 1,303 2,778 6,973 12.5 16,279 5. Moses Malone 1,329 6,731 9,481 12.2 16,212
Blocks: Clearly, Duncan is better here, but Moses is in the top 25: Player G AVG BLK 1. Hakeem Olajuwon 1,238 3.09 3,830 2. Dikembe Mutombo 1,196 2.75 3,289 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,560 2.57 3,189 4. Mark Eaton 875 3.50 3,064 5. David Robinson 987 2.99 2,954 6. Patrick Ewing 1,183 2.45 2,894 7. Shaquille O'Neal 1,207 2.26 2,732 8. Tim Duncan 1,180 2.25 2,652 9. Tree Rollins 1,156 2.20 2,542 10. Robert Parish 1,611 1.47 2,361 11. Alonzo Mourning 838 2.81 2,356 12. Marcus Camby 973 2.40 2,331 13. Ben Wallace 1,088 1.96 2,137 14. Shawn Bradley 832 2.55 2,119 15. Manute Bol 624 3.34 2,086 16. George T. Johnson 904 2.46 2,082 17. Larry Nance 920 2.20 2,027 18. Kevin Garnett 1,323 1.49 1,970 19. Theo Ratliff 810 2.43 1,968 20. Jermaine O'Neal 967 1.84 1,780 21. Elvin Hayes 1,303 1.98 1,771 22. Artis Gilmore 909 1.92 1,747 23. Moses Malone 1,329 1.30 1,733
Now in the Midwest Division, Houston finished tied with the Kansas City Kings for second place with a 40–42 record. The Rockets, energized by Malone's 26.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game during the playoffs, advanced all the way to the NBA Finals. They lost in six games to the Boston Celtics, who were led by second-year forward Larry Bird. Malone had another spectacular season, averaging 31.1 points and 14.7 rebounds and capturing his second of three NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. The perennial All-Star led the league in rebounding for a second straight season and finished runner-up to George Gervin (32.3 ppg) for the league's scoring title. With Houston rebuilding their roster, the Rockets allowed restricted free agent Malone to explore options in the free agency market. He signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia 76ers on September 2. Houston then exercised its right of first refusal and matched the offer, only to trade Malone to the 76ers on September 15 for Caldwell Jones and their 1983 first-round draft choice. Philadelphia added the Most Valuable Player of 1982 to a mix that already included Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones. The result was an NBA championship—and the second straight MVP Award for Malone (becoming the only NBA player ever to win the MVP award in consecutive seasons with two different teams, a feat only matched by Barry Bonds (1992–93) in the four major sports).
moses was a fantastic player. but duncan's edge on the defensive end is too much here imo. moses is a better pure scorer, but i feel u can better run ur offense with duncan as the hub because of his passing ability..i think that makes up some of the scoring gap. overall duncan/hakeem are top 10 clearly imo, while moses is more top 15.
Good comparison. Moses was more dominant individually, especially on offense, but Duncan is/was arguably a better team player. You can start a franchise with either player and be in great shape.
Just to add some irony to this thread. Moses Malone actually played his final season backing up robinson with the spurs who won the division. But that was the 94/95 season when the rockets won their first title. Duncan didn't join the spurs until 97 so their careers never intersected.
Rocketsfan4: Ralph Sampson at sf? If I were a rockets fan, I'd consider him the biggest bust ever considering his career at university of Virginia. No love for Robert horry or Otis Thorpe who helped get those banners up? How about Sam cassell and Mario elie?
Moses Malone is an example of a great player who was tainted by the fact that he played for so many teams. I guess the sixers are the team that he's most known for, but if he stayed on the rockets, I think his legacy would have been greater.
i suppose it depends what you view as a bust Sampson played great but was derailed by injuries. Which for example is nothing close to say Kwame Brown, who just plain sucked. As for them? I mean sure, they were roleplayers (really there would never be even the slightest real consideration to say, retiring their numbers), really our entire roster in 94 was (rare is the player who can win with no star help, rarer yet is a player who wins mvp, dpoy and finals mvp in 1 season), obviously 95 was a little different with the addition of Drexler, whilst at the end of his career still had enough in his tank for those playoffs.
Fair comment. I have actually been thinking about altering my sig to try to honor those guys you mentioned, including Horry, who was dramatically underrated for years until he got slightly overrated at the end of his career long after he left the Rockets. Huge Thorpe fan too. I was a huge fan of Sampson having watched him all 4 years at Virginia. Yes, I even remember guys like Othell Wilson, Stokes, Jeff Lamp, who played with him there. Then when Sampson was drafted by the Rockets, I was ecstatic. With the Rockets, he was rookie of the year and all-star game MVP before injuries got the best of him. He also had a big hand in getting the team to the finals (I remembering watching his shot against the Lakers on tv live) against the Celtics even though Olajuwon was the unstoppable megastar.
..................................what. No, no seriously, what? We're comparing Duncan to Moses Malone now? Who the heck's next, comparing Tim Duncan to Dirk or KG?
Moses was a better rebounder, than anyone really, and he was a much better scorer, he was also a pretty good defender, not as good as Duncan, but he was no slouch. I'd probably give it to Duncan, but not by much, 3xmvp's are pretty rare (with there having been only 7 of them)
Malone/Duncan ratings over their career (relative to other big men) Inside scoring A/A- Perimeter scoring B-/B+ Foul drawing A+/B- Free throw shooting A-/C+ Passing C/B Ballhandling C/B Offensive rebounding A+/B Defensive rebounding A-/A Blocked shots B/A Steals C/C Durability A+/A Team play/unselfishness: B/A
Don't forget foul drawing frequency and free throw shooting, both hugely in Malone's favor, and these are two critical factors underlying effectiveness in big men.
