Great discussions or reminiscing about the old times! Haha Barkley talking about changing the name. Thing is, he changed it so americans would pronounce it right! He did it for y'all lol. Everybody knows americans are known for their way of spelling the way you pronounce it when you compare it to real English. It's amazing how good Hakeem was, because after watching many games I was starting to not be so impressed anymore but hearing Smith (not Kenny) and Webber talk about his footwork and not able to figure it out or replicate is makes me realise how great he really was. Thanks for making me realise this nba fans. Boy I wish we could see Hakeem at his peak play in today's NBA, he would destroy everyone! Love how Reggie shows Pat love, kudos! Also love how Barkley talks about Georgetown boys being mean haha Dikembe with the elbows!
Very cool discussion, but would have been more interesting to hear one where there was a chance for dissent. We all knew where that question had to end, no matter who you asked. Hakeem vs. Shaq is the one I'd like to hear analysts in general hit more, as I think the average fan leans towards Shaq on that (wrongly, but not without a few solid arguments for it).
Watching Hakeem throughout his career, and especially during his peak years, was amazing. It's the same feeling as watching MJ at his prime, watching Kobe at his prime. You just knew something good was bound to happen, and it was going to be awe-inspiring. Never really got that feeling from Shaq. Sure, you expected dominance, but there's a difference between pure dominance, and dominance with grace. Jordan, Hakeem, Kobe... they feel like they've elevated the game of basketball to me. Shaq feels like he was HUGE. They didn't spend much time on Steve Kerr, but his comment on the end with regards to Ewing offensively was spot on. Great player, but similar to Robinson, much more mechanical offensively. Hakeem of course wins Of the big three centers from the late 80's to late 90's, I rank them as follows: 1. Hakeem 2. Robinson 3. Ewing Hakeem is in the top 5 center of all time discussion, along with Shaq, Wilt, Kareem and Russell. Arguing about the order of those seems pointless, there are good arguments for any order.
Steve Kerr in that video just explained why his Bulls teams wouldn't be able to beat the Rockets in the finals.
Miss me? I sure did. You know, the surest sign of a player's enduring legacy can be determined within assessment by his peers. The people who play with and against a player on a regular basis can generally tell you what it is about any player that defines not what he can simply do, but what he can affect, on both ends of the court, during a game. It would, of course, be a foregone conclusion to posit that, given a choice between Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon (with history as reference), Olajuwon was the better player, whether that difference was marginal or substantial. But there was equal amounts of respect, in my view, from the entire panel in regard to both Hakeem and Patrick as players. Having watched Hakeem Olajuwon for most of his collegiate and professional basketball career, I am, unashamedly, partial to The Dream, for many reasons. But I hold Patrick Ewing (and always have, honestly) in the same regard as Hakeem. Reggie Miller summed up Patrick Ewing's career for me, when he said that he was unfairly criticized for not winning a championship...and that failure had something to do with Ewing's effort or desire not being up to par. As is often the nature of competitive sports, there can only be one winner. And the winner is the won who is fondly remembered. That is what elevates Ewing to the level Hakeem has reached, at least in terms of quantitative analysis, to me. Had Hakeem not been able to win a title (let alone two consecutive titles), he might have been seen as someone, for all of the spiritual maturity that he underwent over time, as someone who couldn't win. And it illuminates all the more brightly the reason why Hakeem gave as much public and private praise to his teammates as he could doing the championship years. Hakeem was a champion because of who he played with. He needed them as much as they needed him. They won and lost together. And that's what great teams do. At the end of the day, history would be hard to set aside, as well as personal bias, when deciding which one (between Olajuwon and Ewing) you would decide to build a team around. But that same history tells us that you couldn't really lose with either one of them.
Such an easy topic. Shaq vs. Hakeem would've been more of a debate. Brute force vs pure finess and skills.
Errr... except it's nothing like that because those two never played in the same league together. One is 26, and the other retired years ago. Hell, they don't even play the same positions.
Really wish I was old enough to appreciate Hakeem.. We'll never see another center that'll move like him.
The look on her dad's face is freaking priceless. I don't think that guy could have possibly been any happier.
City isn't cursed. Cursed, if anything, is Cleveland. Philadelphia (Pre-Lidge, Utley, Howard and J-Roll).
