Uhh... Barkley WAS an athletic freak of nature. He'd absolutely terrorize the NBA and score 30+ ppg routinely with the no-contact rules. In his prime, he'd wipe the floor with every single one of those PF's with the exception of Duncan (who's a center). Kevin Mchale would dominate those guys as well.
Dirk, because he's the missing piece Rockets is looking for. Imagine inserting Dirk in the current lineup. Imagine him taking all those free threes from Harden's pass. Imagine him in the high post. Just imagine him with Dwight down low... He's not so bad as a defender (just a little bit slower) but with Dwight to cover him, it will be perfect.
Very good poll question. I wish you had thrown Tim Duncan into this to make it an easy choice. Another good question to ask is....if the 50 Best Players in NBA history vote, were redone today, would Dirk be on the list? I think he would be easily. Pains me to say cuz i hate the Mavs. Barkley was a beast, he was an athletic freak early on. Barkley at only 6'6 was able to control and dominate the paint. Too hard to vote on, at least when i think about it right now. Dirk: 22.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG NBA champion (2011) NBA Finals MVP (2011) NBA Most Valuable Player (2007) 10th NBA all time scoring list (26,733) 12× NBA All-Star (2002–2012, 2014) 4× All-NBA First Team (2005–2007, 2009) 5× All-NBA Second Team (2002–2003, 2008, 2010–2011) 3× All-NBA Third Team (2001, 2004, 2012) 50–40–90 club (2007) Dallas Mavericks all-time leading scorer Barkley: 22.1 PPG, 11.70 RPG NBA Most Valuable Player (1993) 2x Olympic Gold Medalist (1992, 1996) 23rd NBA all time scoring list (23,757) 10× NBA All-Star (1987–1997) NBA All-Star Game MVP (1991) 5× All-NBA First Team (1988–1991, 1993) 5× All-NBA Second Team (1986–1987, 1992, 1994–1995) All-NBA Third Team (1996) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985) NBA rebounding leader (1986–87) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
Honest question... how old are you? I'm assuming you're a 90's baby because your post is the most appalling thing I've read on here in a while and I've read some stupid ass **** lately. The most athletic/skilled guys in the NBA of all time hailed from the 80's - mid 90's. There's a reason why this era is considered the GOLDEN ERA of the NBA and Barkley played and dominated in this time period. This was an era that also included some of the most athletic AND skilled big men aside from Olajuwon. Guys such as Shaq, Ewing, Robinson, Mourning, Mutombo etc. The true freakish athletes are all from this era. from Dr. J, MJ, Drexler, Nique, Pippen, Kemp, Dawkins, Nance, Thompson etc. A prime Barkley would absolutely dominate everyone in todays NBA. Griffin and Love are good but they're not even as good as say Chris Webber for example. Webber was a great PF and he can't even get a mention in the same sentence as Barkley, Malone and McHale.
Barkley. He scored AND controlled the boards. He was also a better facilitator on offense. Injuries slowed the man down. Before his injuries, he was a beast. Absolute freak of nature. Especially when you consider that he was as tall as the shooting guards and small forwards.
Shawn Kemp pisses on Blake Griffin's athleticism. Who else from this era is in the ballpark of Karl Malone? Or Rodman? Or Larry Johnson? Hell, Barkley played against centers who were more athletic than todays. Dwight looks silly trying to keep up with Dream, and he's 50! What other center from today matches up with David Robinson? Or Patrick Ewing? Or young Shaq? Tim Duncan is still the best PF in the game and he's almost 38. Z-Bo beasted the @#!% out of Blake Griffin last season, and he can barely jump over a curb. Karl Malone put up 20 a night til he was 40.
Seriously... in the golden age of NBA big men, midget power forward Charles Barkley was a beast in the paint, MVP and carried a team to the Finals. I hate comparisons between different generations, but claiming Barkley was lucky to play in the era he played in is just silly...
Another one of "these" viewpoints You're acting like Barkley stopped playing ball in 1986. Barkley old and broken down in his final years was still an ELITE rebounder against all the younger taller athletic players. In fact Barkley actually got BETTER at rebounding as he got older. That can mean 2 things - that Barkley was just simply good. Or that the big men quality actually got a little WORSE around him as years passed. I tend to think he was just simply good. If athleticism was all it takes to get boards, how come Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka and Kenneth Faried arent leading the league in rebounding? And Zach Randolph and Kevin Love are way up there?
In their prime? I'd probably go with Dirk. Dirk wasn't as active, usually let the game come to him, whereas Barkley would takeover and dictate the pace. But ultimately, Dirk was bad at defense during his prime and Barkley was worse than bad.
I'm more interested in the bigger question...where Dirk fits all time at PF. My son has been talking to me about that and asking me questions the last 2 nights.... thoughts?? Give me your top 5.
Your son should be looking up to Tina Thompson, not some Dallas loser. Duncan, Dirk, Hayes, Malone, Barkley probably. Maybe KG was better than Dirk.
