Sorry for starting another thread, but this was a question I was genuinely curious about. EXCLUDING HAKEEM, we all know he's the best. Who's the next in line? And where does Yao Ming fit in talent-wise, not legacy-wise, since his career was cut short. I've only had the opportunity to watch Yao Ming live, haven't watched any of the other Houston bigs live so my knowledge about them is shaky at best. Secondary question, where does Tracy McGrady and James Harden fit in relative to Houston's perimeter greats?
Rocket's best big man? That would be Billy Paultz or Moses. Harden has potential to be a HOF - but still too early. TMac is hard to tell. Too many bad feelings towards the end which skews our opinions.
The next best Rocket big man would be a toss-up between Moses and Yao. For those of you too young to remember Moses, he was a one-man wrecking crew, just a total bull in the paint with strength to rival Shaq. He used to eat Kareem alive. Next best big man ever would have to be a toss-up between Bill Russell and Kareem because of their impact on wining and longevity in the league sustaining a mercurial level of play. Wilt and Shaq were dominant physical forces but they didn't win on the level of Russell and Kareem.
Moses Malone> Ralph Sampson > Yao > Barkley > Rudy T > Thorpe > Scola > Cato(?) Can't really count Hayes because he only played a few seasons as a Rocket. As for wingmen that will have to be split into two categories: On Talent: T-Mac > Drexler > Murphy > Sleepy > Cassell > Francis > Maxwell On Impact: Drexler > Murphy > Sleepy > Maxwell > Cassell > Elie > Francis > T-Mac
Moses and its not really close. Moses is closer to Hakeem than any other big man is to him. After Dream and Moses in that order: Big E Yao & Ralph Otis Thorpe There were other great big men that played for the Rockets but none in the prime of their career. Barkely, Matumbo, Willis, Caldwell Jones, Camby, Larry Smith were all at the back end of their careers.
As a Rocket, he actually played more seasons than Sampson. As a Houston Rocket, I think Sampson has him by a season or two.
Really? You put over the hill Barkley over prime Thorpe who was a legit 20/10 defensive stud and gave his prime years to the Rockets? Tisk tisk. By the way, Big E played 7 seasons with the Rockets including his 1st 4 when he was averaging 28 PPG and 17 RPG. Charles Barkley, Ralph Sampson and Clyde only played 4 years.
Big E played 4 years in Houston and 3 in San Diego as a Rocket. I think Sampson has him by 1/2 a season in Houston
Wow, all over the place. I've always thought the top 3 and the order is fairly clear: Hakeem, Moses, Yao. Then I feel it's a little fuzzy with regards to the rest. But personally Moses #2 and Yao #3 seems obvious.
