I see some Hakeem moves that would be deemed offensive fouls in today's game. A guy like Laimbeer would foul out in 30 seconds or less in today's game LOL...
Real talk, Hakeem is the greatest player behind Jordan. We talk about Wit, Russell & kareem. But none of them had the same all around offensive moves & defensive dominance Hakeem did. Hakeem was truly special. Did you see that play where he drop stepped and spun between 2 guys and made the shot? That's crazy
That was amazing, the quickness and coordination! Another thing Hakeem never get enough credit for: his heart! He was, bar none, the most determined man on the court, night in night out. He never backed down from a challenge (you could only really say that about Dream and Jordan in that generation of players)
I think the biggest tell as to how great he is, is from the praise he receives from those who played in his era. Michael Jordan - the greatest player of all time. Vouched for Olajuwon as the greatest C of all time. Shaquille O'Neal - one of the great players of all time - and a player who is very selective in his praise. Not sure his exact words actually as they were on my wall on a magazine poster a decade ago! Robert Horry - played and won with the likes of Kobe, Shaq, Duncan. Did not hesitate saying Olajuwon was the greatest he's ever played with. Truly special. I envy those of us who were able to watch that era of basketball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB3iIviCIMg for those who haven't seen it, the story of Hakeem's college career "Basketball--It Changed Everything"
God I wish there was some way for me to watch entire seasons of classic games. I would pay the NBA to just watch Hakeem's entire career, which would take a few years at least to do. I was just old enough to bask in the glory of the championship years, but he was so good for so many years even before that. A few things I notice off the bat that would really improve our current team: 1) The greatest center of all time had a great midrange jumper. Not just the Dream Fade, but a proper jump shot from even a few feet inside the arc at times. BUT THAT'S NOT A STATISTICALLY OPTIMAL SHOT! It gives you another tool in your arsenal to keep your opponents off guard. Harden knows this. The legend knew it as well. 2) Those Rockets moved the ball furiously fast, and they were being guarded close. It opened up shots, though. 3) Hakeem did not burn 6-10 seconds off the clock to set up a post move. He got it, and immediately went for the play, whether it was the Fade or a cut to the basket or a hook. None of this "let's set up the perfect post situation, so we can also let all the defenders get in place for it" like we see now. The Rockets in that video were constantly keeping their opponent moving until they opened up holes. We should do the same. I'm amazed how fast the game played back then. Clearly, Hakeem was a genius, but he also knew how to play the game tactically (look at those assists). He didn't just rely on God-given talent alone; he also knew the game extremely well. Our Rockets should watch that clip every day until it's burned into their minds. There's so much to learn from it. We were so blessed to have The Dream on the Houston Rockets, and I wouldn't trade that for any other sports superstar in history.
Damn we were so spoiled growing up watching Dream play! Sad that that kind of post play is absent in today's game and that the younger generation is missing out on that kind of play.
99 percent of kids playing basketball today will probably never learn how to throw good post entry passes. We see it already in the NBA.
The BallStreams site needs to come up with a new service... DreamStreams! :grin: Growing up, I was only able to catch half of Dream's games on network TV (Channel 20!) because our family didn't have cable. The other half, I had to listen on radio (740AM I think it was?). For all those home games, including the playoffs, I had to picture Dream's greatness through the words of Gene & Jim. Sadly, the only highlights I was ever able to catch were on the late local news. Like you and other fellow ClutchFans, I would definitely pay a premium to re-live those games.
