I've been reading/lurking on various threads and have read the will Amare be the next Hakeem? Will McGrady be the greatest Rocket? Will Yao be greater than Hakeem? If anyone watch any of the Hakeem videos that are floating on this site, they would never raise these questions. WE Rockets' fan always whine about disrespect, however we don't respect our own. Hakeem was a freak of nature. Many fans don't know or only remember the Hakeem that played with Steve Francis. The man was an absolute beast. I look around the NBA today and if you combine Duncan, Oneal, Garnett and Amare, you get a composite of Hakeem. So now that the Rockets playoff run is over, watch the Hakeem highlights. enjoy them and stop disrespecting the greatest Rocket. When it comes to Houston sports, its Hakeem, Earl and you can place Nolan and any others on a level below.
I think you are forgetting that today's players are even MORE of a freaks of nature and more athletic than ever before. Just look around the league and you will know what I am talking about... As for the perceived disrespect for Olajuwon, that is really a misunderstanding on your part. No one is saying that these guys are "better" than Hakeem, people are merely making predictions or comparing the level of talent/style of play/attitude of certain players to the all-time greats. After all, these guys are the standard to which everyone else is judged, so whom else are we going to compare them to? I think it is oversensitivity on your part. Any Rockets fan that has witnessed Hakeem play during his prime wouldn't make a disrespectful remark towards him.
I remember Hakeem when he spelled it Akeem. I'm not 50, just 37. I was watching Hakeem when he was a raw talent at U of H (also when he wore both 34 and 35 - one for home, one on the road). He was so quick and would come out of nowhere to block a shot - often sending it flying down the floor. Not at exactly what you want, but you couldn't help but shout "Get that s--- outtahere!" The dynasty that almost was - the Twin Towers. Tanking and a couple of lucky CoinTosses. Hakeem and Sampson, Rodney McCray (who was the 3rd pick in the draft in the same year we got Sampson), Lewis Lloyd, John Lucas, Robert Reid, Mitchell Wiggins, Jim Peterson and some others. That team in Hakeem's third season shocked the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, 4-1 and lost 4-2 to Boston in the finals. (What if Bill Walton does not hit that three pointer late in game 4 - do we win and tie the series at 2-2 with game 5 to play in Houston? Arrgg). Also, could we have won if Lucas had not been suspended for cocaine? The next year Lloyd and Wiggins were gone as well and we were rebuilding. Hakeem was getting better every year, the Dreamshake was as deadly as Kareem's skyhook and he could hit from further and further out. After a period of average to good teams, with Akeem as one of the best players in the league and some good and not so good role players (kinda like some of the KG teams of a few years ago), the Rockets finally put together the championship seasons. Who can forget Hakeem in the playoffs? He was awesome. That game against SA in 1995 when Robinson received the MVP trophy prior to the game and then to watch Hakeem run circles around him. Hakeem completely dominated Robinson in that series. Too bad that was no MVP recount. Then seeing him school a young Shaq when they swept Orlando 4-0. The series in NY in 1994 when Hakeem goes out to the three point line to block a John Starks potential game winner to send it to game seven. Hakeem, one of the greatest to play the game, and as of now, is still the greatest Rocket of all time. You know that listed him as 7-0, but he was really no more than 6-10. This makes it even more impressive. Yao is good and maybe great someday and Tracy is great and someday might be the greatest Rocket of all time. But with no disrespect to Tracy, I think he needs to win a couple of championships in Houston to be the greatest of all time and an MVP trophy would not hurt either.
Hakeem was a beast. Period. Seriously, just watch any playoff series. The sick stats alone don't even tell how much of an impact he had on each game. I hated how he took the dream shake (even though he was so good at it) b/c I always thought it was too hard of a shot. But it never mattered b/c he was that good. When Amare or whoever becomes dangerous on both ends of the floor, then we can talk about it. Amare reminds me of a young Kemp. Could Amare become that good? Maybe...but he has to work as hard as Hakeem each off season and play a hard 48 each game..
You look at what "akeem" did in college - the spin moves, the turnaround...his game was so far more advanced then Amare's todays... People think a guy who can dunk and jump is going to be a start...that's just not the case. Look at Kemp and Baker... Hakeem could last because his game was dependent on being able to dunk... Amare will fade because his game is. In a strange sense, it's the one thing Yao has going for him...he can't get any slower.
Amare's offensive game consists of nothing more than Nash or whoever feeding him in the post then dribbling to his right and trying to dunk while either finishing or drawing the foul call. He's so quick and explosive, definately one of the hardest to guard players in the league. But is this guy even remotely considerable to be mentioned in the same breath as Hakeem in ANY respect.....helllllllll no.
I agree with anyone who believes his legacy will only extend if he we to come back and train Yao, that is the goal, how we coax him into it is another story. Too bad Kelvin Cato doesn't know anything about basketball, I have about 5,000 twinkies and that seems like enough to coax him over here to train Yao. oh well..
Absolutely! Defensively, he was awesome. Guys like O'Neal and Duncan block like 2.5-3.0 shots per game. Hakeem had several years where he block over 4 shots per game! Plus, when he blocked a shot he kept it inbounds, so it was also like a steal. He is Top 10 in steals ALL TIME as well.
I agree for the most part except for one thing, Amare does match Hakeem in athleticism and if he ever develops the tenacity for rebounding and defense, he could play like Hakeem.
Hell, i'm 22 (23 next month) and remember Hakeem like it was yesterday. Anybody can tell you that Hakeem is truly one of a kind to those who remembered watching him a decade ago. Hakeem is the reason I am a basketball fan, it wasnt Jordan, it wasnt Bird, it wasnt Magic, but the Dream. Sure having him as a hometown hero helped also, but Hakeem was different. He was a freak of nature in his size. He was like a Small Forward in a Center's body. Kinda like Shawn Marion but almost 7 foot and a post up game. He was quick for his size, blocked shots like there was no tommorrow, and when you needed a shot, you got it. Hakeem didnt get the exposure needed because he was quiet, reserved player. Hell, he barely showed emotion during the championship years. He didnt have the endorsments, the commercials, the respect from the media. His 2-3 best years as a player is over shadowed by someone's short retirement . Whats sad is that what if Kemp/Payton, Malone/Stockton, Barkley, or Ewing won the title instead, not as much of the media would say because "Jordan was retired" because they were media darlings and Hakeem wasnt. The stuff he did, puts most players to shame. One haded fade away, a banked jumpshot off the top of the glass from the side baseline, catching both Strickland and KJ in their younger years to block an uncontested layup, dunking over Robinson, Shaq, Ewing, averaging 37pts in a Conference series, being the only MVP to have his team carry HIS OWN trophy with him, and on and on.... As stated above, if you are too young to remember this stuff, or just an Asian following the Rockets cause of Yao, do us a favor, borrow some games from SOMEONE, or rent the Hakeem DVD when it comes out this month and watch what this Nigerian can do. btw, thanks IROC it for my new SIg
Are you forgetting that Hakeem was a great passer out of the post as well? That Hakeem could make steals on opposing PG's and then run 3/4 court to layup or dunk before they even caught up? Does Amare get double and sometimes triple teamed EVERY time he has the ball? Oh wait, you can't double team someone who only scores by cutting to the basket. Amare is very good, but Hakeem was mind-boggling and had no true weaknesses. He even hit 3's now and then.
Hakeem is a center. Amare is a PF. Different games. Centers are more likely to draw double-team because they stay in the post. Amare's offense is mindboggling too after he added a jumpshot last offseason. As a 3rd year player, he averaged 28.3/11.7 so far in the playoff, and got to the line a million of times. Looks like Shaq-lite. He still needs a LOT of work on defense though.
Dream's legacy drives me crazy. The greatest centers (excluding Mikkan) have said he was able to do things noone else can do. It's the press that short-shrifted him then and now. The '94 season may have been his peak (until the '95 playoffs ), but it's probably his second year (I loved that team!) in the league that was the "shock and awe" factor for me. I really felt like I knew his game more than any athlete I'd ever seen, but he'd already grown by then in ways I've never seen anyone else do. I've said it before, but there were so many games he'd get five or six blocks in the first quarter and then teams just stayed out of the lane for the rest of the game. And even his blocks weren't really indicative of how many shots he altered or how he affected games. I don't think Yao can really appreciate the center legacy we have in Houston that was barely interrupted in the last 36 years. E, Moses and Dream were not only HOF's but incredibly unique. That might add more pressure which he doesn't need, but it's ironic that Moses and Dream were pretty foreign too when they arrived here (Moses still is, but E was from Louisiana, no biggie). It is a shame that Dream is so disinterested in the Rox now, Yao and he would seem to have a lot in common. Culturally, Dream's devotion to Islam mirrors much more of Eastern culture and certainly is far different than current NBA culture. Dream would seem most likely to be able to get through to Yao that unless you abuse players, you will be abused. I know Yao's not going to sucker punch anybody , but he does need to be more pissed off than frustrated. Yao's too young to elevate his game the way Dream did with his spirituality, but he could benefit from a mean streak that Moses taught Akeem.
Amare has time to develop into Hakeem's caliber. Hakeem wasn't a great passer until after his first five year's in the league. As far as the other points, that's why I wrote if Amare develops Hakeem's tenacity. And Hakeem didn't get triple teamed his first few years because he had another pretty good big man by his side. You have to remember, Amare's only 22, the age Hakeem was when he was a rook.
Yao is not very atheletic and his stamina is poor. He does have the advantages of height and soft touch. The new rules (Zone, officiating) hurt him the most because opponents can easily deny him the ball or get him into foul trouble. Otherwise he might put up 25/9 at 55% FG easily and become a true heir to those great centers of Rockets.
Nolan Ryan is probably #1. He's remembered with guys like Cy Young, babe ruth, and Jackie Robinson. He's pretty much reached legend status. Cambell is highly regarded. Not quite legendary. But is considered one of a kind. Olajuwon is considered a hall of famer. Remembered, but not nearly as much as the other two. Barkley and Pippen Drexler Moses Malone Bagwell is a notch below. More national exposure. But not considered a lock for hall of fame Joe Morgan - Well known, but mostly forgotten. Moon - Should be a legend, but never won the big one Biggio - Respected among his peers. Considered a hall of famer
PhiSlammaJamma I enjoyed that post, but the irony is with Ryan, Morgan, and Pippen they won titles on other teams. Earl was dominant but couldn't get it done and is probably more beloved than Ryan who's seemingly is much more affectionately thought of in Houston than Dream. I'll never get it.
