I started watching bball during the first championship. I wasn't born yet when those other guys were playing, so gotta go with Hakeem. Hakeem is the reason why I got so hooked [along with the rest of the championship crew]. For those of you who think Shaq is good, He doesn't do jack! He uses his fatness and squash ppl. I don't like Shaq
I wanted to vote for Yao Ming, since that's the whole purpose of this experiment. Otherwise, if no one votes for him, it would make this board look like it's filled with knowledgeable people. And that just can't happen now, can it.
1. Hakeem 2. Russell 2a. Wilt 3. Kareem 4. Yao 4a. Shaq Another season, and I'm guessing I'll have Yao at 4 alone, and Shaq at 5 alone. Shaq's brute force doesn't impress me without some skill. I suppose I could just be unfairly biased against Shaq and in favor of Wilt. Wilt and Russell really go together for me.. Wilt because he changed the game, and Russell because he could stop Wilt. I put Russell before Wilt because he was more cerebral, and you can't ignore his list of titles. Kareem was really good, but maybe his greatest attribute was longevity. Not that that's a bad thing. Hakeem had the total package- what else can you say? Yao may occupy #4 all alone by next season, but he's got a ways to go before he moves up from there.
This is going to be an "age" demographic. I am guessing that most posters have never seen Wilt, Russel, or Kareem. Walton was awesome and Shaq is a monster. Hakeem was grace in motion. I actually think Hakeem took it to another level in the playoffs; he was unbelieveable. Ming has shown flashes of brillance. I don't know where he will rank, but if he plays at least ten years, I think he will be a Hall of Famer. He still doesn't know what he can do. When he really gets it, no one will be able to stop him. Please get at least one sharp-shooting, SMART guard to play with him!!!!! The Rockets could win several championships.
why is yao 2nd in the poll over kareem, the dream, and russell. Wilt avg 50 points, kareem avg like 35 one season, and well Russell has all those rings, and lets not forget shaq and dream. I mean Yao is good but i dont know how some people can project him above those guys.
Bill Russell without a doubt is the greatest center of all time. Simple reason: Russell is a winner. Unless Yao can do something better to surpass him, and Yao does have the potential. The dream is the greatest center in the last decade, he's way ahead of Shaq. Watching the dream shake and then see Shaq's ugly moves makes me puke.
Yeah, that's right. I think that Yao is more skilled than Shaq. I never really thought Shaq was all that great of a basketball player, skill-wise. He's clearly dominant, there's no debating that. But a better player? I happen to disagree. Brute force doesn't impress me as much as skill does. And there's no doubt my Rockets fanhood and Lakers anti-fanhood color my opinion. But you're probably right. I think maybe I was thinking about a current head to head comparison in regards to those two, as opposed to an all-encompassing career comparison. And Shaq seems to be on the decline, so I figured Yao would be better than him at that particular time (i.e. next season). Now that I've totally lost the original question, and you see what I was thinking, do you disagree?
1. Wilt - quite simply the greatrest basketball player of all time. No one could stop him (not even Russ, though he could slow him down a bit). When people said he was selfinh and a ball hog, he decided he was going to lead the league in assist, and proceeded to do just that. His only weakness was FT shooting. 2. KAJ - a close second to Wilt. Everyone knows the skyhook, but he was an incredible athlete in his early years. I think his teams lost like 1 high school game and 3 college games. Were you to switch the eras they played in, Kareem and Wilt might very will have flip flopped on this list. Oh, by the way 6 MVP awards. 3. Dream - a great mix of offense and defense. He had all the post moves, and a good mid range shot on the offensive end. Probably the best at stealing the ball of all big men on the defensive end. Not the shotblocker that Wilt and Russ were, but would still probably be fourth in all time blocked shot if records were kept back that far (Kareem would also be higher on the list). 4. Shaq - especially in this weak era of centers, and with the refs not calling him for offensive fouls, he cannot be guarded one-on-one. He is a better shot blocker than he gets credit for, because few teams really like to challenge him. Like Wilt, he can't shoot the freebies. Unlike Wilt, he is not a spectacular athlete, relying more on his bulk than speed (though he can move that bulk around pretty quick). 5. Mo Malone - usually gets left off of these lists, but he was a dominant rebounder and a great all-around center. Part of one of the greatest teams of all time with the Sixers. 6. Russell - quite possibly the best defensive player to ever play the game. His offense is underrated because he didn't average 20+ points, but he was a dominant offensive player in college. The Celts were too deep for him to average a lot of points. The Celts having sooo many HoFers is also why he is down this far. I doubt Russ would have 11 rings if he didn't have basically an all-star team playing with him. Bob Horry has 5 rings, but that doesn't make him an all-time greatest power forward. Yao doesn't even register, YET. In time he may break into these guys, but he doesn't even average 20 and 10. If the rest of his career was played at this level, he would be well behind Ewing, Walton, Lanier, Cowens, Robinson, etc.
Best is all a matter of how you define it.... I saw it's Hakeem because for a guy who was six ten he did everything and did it better then the other. Defensively - he's up there with Bill Russell. Hakeem is the all-time shot blocker (not his fault people didn't count them back then), and he also blocked Kareems sky-hook which was supposedly unblockable. He's sixth on the all-time steals list...for all players! Think about all the great defensive guards who are BEHIND him in steals. He's one of the best rebounders and how many all-defensive teams did Olajuwon get elected to? Offensively - He could dunk, power it in, jump hook, and even patented the turn-around FADE-away jumper which very few even today have been able to follow. He had range and quickness to get around opponents. He could score with double teams - and did it with grace. His dreamshake was voted the best in basketball - above Jordan's tongue hanging flights. Olajuwon combined quickness, footwork, and a shooting touch unheard of for someone his size. When he was finally made the center of the offense late in his career, he devasted the league. Fact is he outplayed Kareem, Shaq, Ewing, Robinson -no one could guard him. I don't think Chamberlain can be compared to Olajuwon, and Russell? Russel was too one-dimensional. So in my eyes, you can only say Chamberlain was better then Hakeem, but the case could be made for Hakeem being the best. I'll tell you this...if Hakeem played for the Lakers, everyone would have said he was the best.
Don't you know that this is the fan site of the team which Yao is playing for and that we are just a bunch of homers?
It's tough to say. A good argument can be made for any of those. I say it is Shaq. There is no way he is the most talented but I think hes the best. He has the rings, stats, and has been a force since his first game in this league. Nobody has ever really been able to stop him. His basketball skills are under-rated hes not just dunk dunk dunk... It's hard to compare Wilt and Russel to the rest of the bunch. Wilt probaly has incredible stats because he played in a weak era. Russsel has the rings because there were so few teams. There's no doubt that they were the best of their era but when you compare them to modern players it gets difficult. The rest of the posistions are rather easy to say whos the best but at Center its just so difficult. I just say it's Shaq because he was the best I've seen. As for Yao I can see him one day enjoying this elite company. but not for a long time.
Kareem (in comparison to Hakeem) has: 3 more NCAA championships the same number of all-defense first teams 6 more all-defense second teams 7 more all-star appearances 5 more MVPs 4 more championships 4 more all-NBA first teams 2 more all-NBA second teams 1 more finals MVP a higher scoring average a higher rebounding average a higher FT percentage a higher FG percentage Hakeem has 1 more DPY award, more steals, and a higher 3pt percentage (though not high enough to really be considered a 3pt threat.) Hakeem was a great player, but you have to be a Houston homer to think he is really better than Kareem.
1. I don't understand the point of this post 2. There's no way for Yao to realistically win as a 2nd year center 3. If memory serves me correctly, this it the 12th "who's the greatest center" post in the last year All of which makes this a stupid thread.
Depends on how you look at it. I voted for Hakeem because at the top of his game he was the most dominant offensive player and defensive player in the league. Kareem played longer, and accumulated more awards over the years. Do you also think Karl Malone is the greatest power forward ever?
First, define "greatest." What? Points? Longevity? Rebounds? Blocks? Assist? Champsionsihps? Or ALL OF THEM? One note...era comparisons are pointless.
