This writer/hack goes on to also say Kyrie Irving is arguably the most skilled player in NBA history. That right there should tell you how much he/she knows or not knows about basketball.
Ya know I was actually thinking if he made this article based on something like Kyrie is more skilled than say John Stockton I could get behind it for sure. There are a lot of players today who have better skills than players of the past even if those players of the past are remembered as “better players” But picking Jokic over Hakeem as his highlight example is one that just doesn’t fly. Hakeem was far ahead of his time.
I have read a lot of posts on this site, some really, really stupid ones, including: Mitch Trubisky is more athletic than Deshaun Watson Luca Doncic is better than Lebron James Eric Spoelstra is one of the greatest coaches of all time This take, by far, is the dumbest. Lets consider this: Hakeem went to the NBA finals three times. He was MVP, DOPY, Finals MVP all in the same year On multiple occasions, Dream was top 5 in the league in Scoring, Rebounds, Blocks, and Steals He won the 1993-1994 NBA title on his own without another all-star. Hakeem played in an era where he was doubled and tripled teamed regularly. Also he played during the days where big guys were just beaten to death in the paint. Also, lets remember that Dream did all of this during a period where there were 9 other guys who were HOF Centers: Kareem, Moses Malone, the Admiral, Ewing, Parrish, Shaq, Zo Mourning, Dikembe and Sikma. Not to mention guys like Brad Daugherty who was a heck of a player whose career was cut short by injuries. Jokic's is soft in the middle, a subpar defender, and his only competition are players with limited offensive skills. Only Embid, who in my opinion is the real heir to Dream, are offensively skilled. Difference between Jokic and Embid is that Embid plays defense. I would also add Giannis but he plays more 4 than 5. This author is more proof that you cannot take anything you read on the internet seriously.
Define skilled. Fancier passes? Like most of these arguments we need a good definition before any debate can be useful. But yeah, call me when Jokic carries a 6th seed to the finals.
I'm not even sure if Jokic is more skilled than the most obvious comparison from the 1980-present era - Arvydas Sabonis.
Skills are usually considered shooting paasing and dribbling, shot blocking could also be considered a skill because of timing and footwork is a skill. I love Hakeem like nobody else but Jokic is more skilled, but that does not mean he is a better player or more impactful and people should not be getting up in arms about it. Harden is more skilled than Jordan and definitely LeBron is more skilled, but that does not mean they are better than Jordan.
I disagree that Lebron is more skilled than Jordan, perhaps equal. Harden is skilled but his success is primarily gamesmanship and shot selection. I'd say CP3 is probably more skilled than Harden. It's possible that you are confusing Jordan and Hakeem with Shaq or Wilt. Hakeem is one of the most skilled big men of all time, you don't 'bamboozle' people by just being big. What MVP bigs has Jokic bamboozled? I can see why people might be up in arms.
Dream would look Jokic and laugh. Then proceed to kick his ass. This is a click bait article all the way!
Jokic ain’t going against no body… The only guy that probably makes him even work is embid who he sees twice a year? Teams don’t really even use big power forwards anymore. Jokic is a beast but he’s not Hakeem.
What do you consider skills? The NBA skills challenge is dribbling and shooting and passing, and LeBron is a better dribbler and passer than Jordan IMO. Gamesmanship and shot selection is not really a skill, and I disagree that CP3 is more skilled than Harden. I am not confusing anything it's what I actually think and yes Hakeem is one of the most skilled big men of all time and so is Jokic and Jokic is a better passer and shooter and a tic below on footwork than Hakeem. Anyway, you are free to your opinion, but I have watched both since college so I will keep my opinion. Wilt was a very skilled big man, Shaq was not very skilled, I have no idea why you think they are similar. Wilt offensively was a lot like Hakeem.
