It's also logical, considering how many people thought Shawn Bradley would be better than Yao. Having said all that, I did say this was the dumbest poll ever and I DID NOT VOTE FOR YAO. My point is that I'll wait until the end of his career before comparing the two.
Dream, Yao is a rookie who put up 13 ppg and 8 rpg. Ask me again in 15 years. Yao has a lot to prove if he passes Dream.
o.k. since we are voting on who would be a better draft why don't we consider these choices. 1) who would you draft, michael jordan or harold miner? 2) whou would you draft, magic johnson or jay williams? 3) who would you draft, larry bird or mike dunleavy? 4) who would you draft, dominique wilkins or gerald wallace? 5) who would you draft, david robinson or eddie curry? wait, throw that one out, it might actually be a good argument. moron!!! neil in houston
OK, I admit that I voted for Yao. I just couldn't stand for him to finish the poll with no votes. I agree that this is a silly poll that should be taken in 15 years. I also think that Yao has the potential to be in a close race with Dream once this poll is taken again in 15 years. He has proven himself to be the best seven and a half footer the NBA has seen so far with outstanding passing ability to go with his great footwork, soft shot, and incredible court vision. He has also proven that, like Hakeem in his later years, he is the antithesis of the spoiled rotten brats coming into the league lately. He is a humble professional who wants to win and also wants to learn the game. Remember, the only basketball Yao played up until this year was against international and Chinese players. Wait until he has a few years to bulk up and learn how to play in the NBA.
As i said iam not talking about his career iam talking about Hakeems college days at u of h and Yao Ming from china noting about what both of them did in the nba. I would have picked hakeem because he would have been more proven then yao. Hakeem played against people like Ewing, and Yao played against migets.
Haha, OK, as much as we all hate the Spurs and some of their dumbass fans, that's just ice cold right there. Show DRob at least a little respect, he's shown nothing but that for his more-than-worthy opponents. He was a good player, too...
Im about to throw up. This is sickening. Hakeem's skill on the court was heads and shoulders above Yao's. Yao is going to be a great one, but Hakeem is in a different league. Anyone who disagrees was not around during the glory years.
Great post. This is how I took the question also: As a rookie, who would you pick, Yao or Hakeem?? Hakeem didn't have nearly the questions surrounding him that Yao had before playing in the NBA. Hakeem had proved he could play and dominate the American version of the game. Yao hadn't. Hardly anyone was comparing Hakeem to the likes of Daryl Dawkins like they were with Yao, comparing him to Smits. Hakeem was almost a consensus #1, while many felt Yao was a gamble at #1.
I just wasted minutes I will never get back reading this silly thread/poll. With a bad heart, a bad back, 2 bad knees and mangled fingers, Dream's last season with the Rockets was equal to or better than Yao's rookie season. Pleeeaseeeee!
if you want know who is better. you must shut up now and wait at least ten years then compare who is better. what a stupid idea to compare one year rookie with a retired top 10 NBA player. if all of you Roc's fans hat Yao's fan why don't you kick all of them out BBC and Roc. then they wouldn't bother you any more. as a matter of fact, no matter you compare Yao with who. Yao only fans still belive Yao is the best in the world. you cann't control others thinking. that's the real world.
Okay, then why were you trying to say that Yao is better than Hakeem? 3Rings made a great point. Hakeem, during his last year with the Rockets, at the age of 37, was just as effective as Yao last year.
To start off, I have to give this to Hakeem. <B>But, I sometimes believe people see what they want to see.</B> Hakeem played bigger than his height and stature. He played with heart and at times you were mesmorized by his footwork of spins and turns. And then People see Yao, who comparably is a slow lumbering center. And People say, It's got to be Hakeem, No comparison. <B>But, I think the comparisons are closer than one could imagine.</B> Yao will always have the height advantage. Hakeem will always have the speed and footwork advantage. But, everything else, Yao can improve on, it's just a matter of how much. If, Yao does improve (his strength, his speed, his footwork, his aggressiveness) who are we to say, Yao could not potentially be better than Hakeem? I don't think it's to far fetch to suggest he can improve on every one of these areas. Yao is not in the same class as Hakeem right now and it's the safe bet to say, I would take Hakeem but there is the <B>potential for Yao</B> to someday be the most dominating player in the NBA for a long time.
who know after ten years who is better. by the way Hakeem got the ring at his rookie year. never heard that.
When Hakeem at 6'9 was considered as a big man you know the players he played against were "midgets" too. Nowadays you see 7 footers everywhere.
Actually... not quite. DRob was 7-1, Ewing was 7-0 (I think), Shaq was 7-1, Mutombo was 7-2, and I'm sure I'm missing some, as there were MANY great centers in his career... not quite migits. He was considered a big man because a lot of people mis-reported his height as 7-0 for one thing, and also because he was such an incredible badass that he could play anywhere from the 3-5 (all "big man" positions) very effectively, despite his height.
Players were generally shorter when Hakeem was drafted. Well, as you can see from the picture of Hakeem, Moses and Yao, Hakeem looked like a "midget" before Yao. It would be a hard choice without hindsight if you put Yao and rookie Hakeem together because Yao is simply much taller, not mentioning rookie Hakeem's passing game was way underdeveloped. By the way, DRob and Shaq are much younger than Hakeem. Players have become taller and taller.
Lets see (these are names just off the top of my head (from his early years), I am sure there are more): These are only guys from the Western Conference. Mark Eaton was 7'5'' James Donaldson was a 7 footer Abdul Jabbar was 7 plus San Antonio had Artis Gilmore for a few years (7'1'' I believe) JBC 7'1'' Benoit Benjamin 6'11'' Larry Nance 6'11'' Alton Lister 7'1'' Kevin Duckworth 7'0'' Jamed Edwards 7'0'' Olden Polynice 7'0'' Danny Schayes 6'11'' This is not even considering players like Mutombo and Robinson who came into Hakeem's division during the early 90s. Players were not shorter when Hakeem played. Gimme a break. They were definitely stronger though. Robinson was only 2 years older than Hakeem. EDIT: A few others who had size: Roy Tarpley, Thurl "Big T" Bailey, Steve Johnson, LaSalle Thompson
heck, none of them was even at EC/TC's level. Except Jabbar, who was not in Dream's era. Named some 7 footers that skilled like TD, Dirk, AS, PG, KG, YM. I firmly believe as human being keeps evolving, the level of sport can only advance. Man, Why I waste my time to list all of these 7 footers, if you insisted to live in history with your dream.
