[IDIOT] Whose NBA career is better? Shaquille O'Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon

Shaq was so big and powerful that he was by far the more efficient scorer because he could get so many dunks.

Hakeem was better in every other aspect of the game.

 

There’s a term that exists... hack a Shaq.

I think free throws were the biggest disparity. Hakeem was better on defense too, but free throws he was miles better. Both were generational talents, but in these days teams wouldn’t be too proud to foul shaq, and shaq was so bad at free throws he would lose you games.

Thanks for the heads up btw, I never clicked the link.

 

Better career.... obviously Shaq who had a better supporting cast.

Better player.... obviously The Dream.

 

Can somebody remind me what the IDIOT acronym stands for? I can't find it anywhere else but this board.

 

I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying. Nobody is arguing that you can replace Jordan with just anyone and get 6 rings. Jordan is arguably the greatest player of all time and of course he is the main reason they won anything. No question about it.

I used Jordan as an example because you brought him up. But only to exhibit that he didn’t do it alone. If you take Pippen off the Bulls they also don’t win either. Horace Grant, Rodman, Kerr.... etc. Every person was important. Jordan is superior to Dominique Wilkins, Drexler, etc, at every facet of the game. You don’t need championships to compare them.

It doesn’t cheapen anything. It’s a team award. Clutch shots come from everyone in the playoffs. Paxton and Kerr with the Bulls. Elie, Maxwell, Smith with the Rockets. Those are the most memorable moments.

What if Nick Anderson makes one of the 4 free throws he missed at the end of game 1 in ‘95? Do the Magic take that game and run with it? Probably not but not definitively. Tiny moments can have massive outcomes completely outside the control of one individual player. Of course nobody is more important to a team than the superstar and they aren’t interchangeable, but lots of things go into winning a ring.

The ring matters so much when comparing great players because that’s all the sports media world talks about. You’re not in the minority, you’re in the overwhelming majority.

You don’t need a championship to prove that Kawhi Leonard is better than Derozan. He just is. Even if he came up short in the finals, it’s wildly evident that he’s superior in every way. But what did it take to get the Raptors a ring? It took a great player(Kawhi), excellent team building, (the emergence of Pascal, etc) and overwhelmingly good luck.( the injuries of great players on Golden State).

When you’re comparing great players of nearly equal attribute it’s tough to put that much weight on something so team oriented. Lebron vs Jordan. Both in the convo for GOAT, both with multiple defining moments in the playoffs. Do we say Jordan is better just because he has more rings in completely different circumstances? Doesn’t make sense to me. We have tons of video and stats that can do a much better job of comparing them.

 

It Deserves It's Own Thread

 

Thanks.

 

I obviously think Hakeem is better. More skilled and better defender. I won’t fault anybody who gives the edge to Shaq, though. Certainly close.

 

Asking this kind of question on a Rockets forum always baffles me. Even if it's Jordan vs Hakeem, I'm betting the majority would say Hakeem was better.

But as far as "career" goes, the answer is clearly Shaq.

He got to lead his own team (Magic), got to play with one of the best players of all-time (Kobe) and won 3 rings in one of the most glam cities in the world, got to play with another all-timer (Wade) where he won another ring in Miami.

Not only that, but he became one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. His brand and presence is massive wherever he goes, and thus allows him to get away with his antics.

If I had to "be" Shaq or Hakeem, I'd pick Shaq any day of the week. Taking nothing away from Hakeem, Shaq has more fame, more fortune and more presence.

 

Which one was that? First one with the Lakers? Shaq definitely dominated in the Finals, but that was hardly an untalented team around him: https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2000.html Comparison of that team with the Rockets championship teams might be fair, though.

 

This is a hard question. It could be viewed from many angles as everyone else in here already pointed out. Hakeem had the moves, Shaq had the size and a prime Kobe Bean Bryant. Shaq had a nice security blanket with Kobe. The only time I become a homer is when Hakeem's career and the 90's Rockets are discussed as I lived through it as a youngster at the time. So give me Hakeem all day.

 

Tell the writer, Ben Rohrbach, that his Mom's @$$ had a better career than both Hakeem and Shaq! She was still able to perform on a nightly basis besides always being Double to Triple teamed. Think she took on a whole team too once.

 

Always go for the Dream house, not a Shaq.

 

What about defense?

 

Hakeem would've probably averaged 24 blocks in that era.

 

Lol the Horry MJ comparison is stupid.

People are judging players based on their position on their team
Ie MJ carried his team to championships, Horry got carried.
It was MJs team it wasn't Horrys team
MJ won 6 Finals MVP Horry has zero.

And while I'm not saying who's better I think even Hakeem would agree Shaq had the better career. Though who's better is a different question entirely.

 

Personality-wise I'd take Hakeem over Shaq. I feel Shaq had the better NBA career but he's also high maintenance and burned bridges with both Orlando and LA before bouncing around the league. Had Shaq been drafted by Houston, he wouldn't have been a Rocket for more than a couple of seasons.

 

Obviously I am biased but Shaq was a monster physically in his own right.

If you say, you won't get Hakeem but Shaq in the Fantasy draft, that is a pretty good consolation prize.

Shaq had the problem, getting a little too fat too, if he had kept that Orlando physique, would have been better.

Still a winner IMHO.

Shaq with Yao's shooting > Hakeem. I said it.

 

Honestly this trumps the whole article. Rather hear from a person that played with both in their primes then some guy who writes articles (no disrespect).

 

Shaq was bigger and stronger than everyone else while Olajuwon was simply better (actually light years better) than everyone else. ANYONE who actually watched the two of them play would say Dream was better and that not even counting the head to head finals match-up where the Dream led Rockets swept them. Horry, who played with both of them as well as Duncan, says Dream was the best and it is not close. Jordan says he would take Dream over any other player. TBH the whole premise of the article is really stupid for anyone old enough to have witnessed both of these guys in the prime.