Duncan matched up against the likes of Maurice Taylor and Kenny Thomas during his glory years. Tells you all you need to know.
Olajuwon's fluidity alone puts him over the top for me if you isolate the kind of individual player they were and not the end results (championships) as a part of a collective. Man played basketball like a Baryshnikov. Duncan is more plodding with his efficiency. Nothing too fancy to the eyes, but I'd still call him the best 4 man ever.
I am taking a wild guess that you wont come and re-troll this thread after Duncan's last two bricks in game 7 of the NBA finals? PS. Hakeem would have taken Battier inside the basket along with the ball.
Hakeem (2/2)100% M.Jordan (6/6)100% Duncan (4/5) 80% When Hakeem, or Jordan are in Championship Finals, they never lose and never will.
If ya count rings it's Duncan if you count changing the way a postion was played its dream. Lets be honest the late 90s was the true end of the big men in basketball. If Duncan had to play against mchale Barkley Oakley Malone buck Williams Ot just to name some I'd think we would have a differ convo
Last night really showed the difference between Dream and Duncan. Duncan great player but not the type of player to who when needed can carry his team to victory like Dream did in 1994.
Duncan is 37 years old. Dream was 31 in 1994. 37 years old Hakeem was just about to be finished and Duncan is still competing in NBA finals and still dominates on occation. He probably still has gas in the tank and can be effective for a few years. In their prime, Hakeem might be a better player. But when all is said and done, Duncan has a better overall career.
Lol yeah people are glossing over the fact that Duncan is 37 and is still playing quite good. Dream was practically done at that age. But Dream and Duncan are my fav players. So it's hard to call.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nB3iIviCIMg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> This tells you all you need to know. and this
That is a good point. But I will say that we have seen a remarkable revolution in training and rehab since 1994 so I think age is less of a factor. Further while Duncan has been finals MVP I don't think he ever quite dominated or carried his team on his back like Dream did with Rockets. Duncan has had help from outstanding play by Parker and Ginobli who during the finals runs at times eclipsed Duncan in regards to their contribution to the team.
Though I agree that Duncan could not have carried the team like Hakeem did in 1994 and or even dominated his contemporaries (the big men) like Hakeem did (As much as Duncan fans would have you believe, going up against Jason Collins is not the same as going up against David Robinson, Ewing, and Shaq in head to head), I wouldnt say last night showed it because Duncan is past his prime, so its not fair to compare that to what Hakeem did in 1994. I do find it amusing though that Duncan fans come trolling in this thread when he was scoring in the first half of game 6 but then disappear when doesnt get it done at the end of game 6 and 7. So he is good enough to do it in the first half of a game but cant do it in late game situations? Does he grow old in the second half only? Did he grow 38 years old right before he missed that layup over Battier?? This I agree with. Spurs have relied heavily on Manu and Parker to create offense. Manu has been injured last couple of years and Spurs have missed him on offense in the playoffs. Popovich has been shifting the Spurs offense towards Parker after especially after Duncan couldnt dominate his opposition on offense. I have even seen a prime Duncan struggle a number of times against good quality defense. On the other hand, Hakeem dominated his opposition. He went up against Knicks frontline, shut down Ewing (36% FG) and put up MVP numbers against them. He dominated David Robinson, who was the MVP, and who people considered Hakeem's equal before the series. He went up head to head with Shaq and got his numbers against him. And Hakeem did all this while being pretty much the only offensive creator on the team. He didnt have the luxury of a Manu or a Parker breaking down defenses and creating for him or other teammates. Everyone knew the ball would go to Hakeem. The question was can you stop him. I just dont see Duncan being able to carry the offense like that. He didnt have Hakeem's offensive repertoire, wasnt as clutch in end game situations, and wasnt as dominating as him. I would take Hakeem's defense over Duncan's defense as well. I consider Duncan an all-time great but I do not consider him a better player than Hakeem. Hakeem was Duncan on steroids. A more athletic and a more dominating presence on both ends of the court.
Duncan is playing now in an era where the big man talent is much lower. I'm sure Dream could score on Chris Bosh now. Duncan in his late years didn't have to carry his team. Dream had too many injuries toward the end of his career. Too many spectacular moves and explosive plays . I respect Duncan and how humble is . But Dream was a different beast. interestingly, I met both of them
