You have selective memory. As aelliot has stated, Hakeem did have problems with big guys early in his career. But that is what caused him to expand his game. Later in his career there was no way in hell Mark Eaton could've covered him. To put it in perspective. Shaq was over 7 feet and 300+ lbs when he played Hakeem. Shaq in his prime was FAR more athletic, powerful, and quick than Yao. Shaq in his prime could not stop Hakeem. And yes, Hakeem is too fast/quick for Yao. If nothing else, Yao would go to the bench at the 4 point mark.
Eaton was basically it from what I recall. The 2 other guys that frustrated Hakeem that I recall were Bill Hanzlik and Danny Schayes. But they did so by using border-line illegal tactics and trying to anger him. Athletically and skill-wise, in his prime, Hakeem had no equal.
Actually, Hanzlik was the Ralph stopper, not Hakeem. He and Tom Chambers were the two guys that Ralph had the most trouble with.
I can't believe anyone would argue Yao would stand a chance. I can't think of 1 shot Yao could get off without eating it right back. Maybe if he surprised dream with his hook shot he could shoot it a few times without getting blocked but otherwise, we're talking about yao hitting 20 footers to keep the match close.
I love that shot that Hakeem made on Portland where Dudley guarded him in the post and Rod Strickland reaches in and puts his hand on the ball for a strip and Hakeem just spins and shoots a fall-away jumper.
Before we get into specifics, let me reiterate my position so you know where I'm coming from (You might have missed it in the pages of Drob vs Dream). I think in a true game of 1 on 1 where you take the ball out up top, it would be a bloodbath in Hakeem's favor. Yao having to create from that far out would be almost embarrassing. But if this was strictly in terms of letting them battle in the post and having someone else make the entry pass, then it would be very close, with Yao coming out very slightly ahead. Well after reading all the posts since mine, I think too many guys are trying to compare Hakeem in his prime to current day Yao. I don't know how people can be so sure to say stuff like "Hakeem would steal the ball from Yao every time" or "Hakeem would block everything Yao throws up"(paraphrasing). The whole argument is Yao in his prime vs Hakeem in his prime. In this case I firmly believe that Yao in his prime will: Use his weight better when getting position, and backing someone down. Shield the ball much better from the defender to prevent the ball getting poked out as much. Have at least two unstopable goto moves (Jump Hook and Turnaround jumper) Be quicker at decision making with his offensive moves just due to repitition and practice Have more general experience and saavy on the court and confidence in his game Have better defensive positioning Have better timing in terms of blocking shots Also since this is a 1 on 1 affair, Yao wouldn't have to worry about double teams and can concentrate on just the defender in front of him. (this would help out both of them tremendously). With all that in mind I don't think domination by Hakeem is a foregone conclusion. But I guess I can understand after all, why some people are so adamant. Because in this theoretical matchup, Hakeem is the constant. We know what Dream can do because he has already done it. Yao's potential is just that. It's the bird in the hand business and all that. So Hakeem gets the benefit of the doubt because his skills and abilities and achievments are tangible (having the aura of nostalgia doesn't hurt any either). So I guess there isn't any way for Yao to win this argument at this moment. Of course this whole future potential vs past achievments argument is a two way street. Yao could very well surpass all projections and become one of the most dominant players of all time. Yao could win more championships, defeat better competition, and win more MVP trophies. But until such time when Yao can put all that in the pudding, my "shoulds", "wills", and "mights" are overwhelmingly trumped by Hakeem's "coulds", "was", and "dids".
I've been attempting, in my inept way, to compare the 2nd year Hakeem to the 2nd year Yao. Having seen Olajuwon play during his second year, I think he would beat him rather badly, one on one. It's really hard to describe what a force of nature he was and how quickly he improved during his first two seasons. But as for the rest of your post, the part I quoted, you are correct... we really don't know how Yao will ultimately turn out, just like we didn't realize just how great Olajuwon would become by the end of his second year, although it was clear that he was a unique talent that hadn't been seen in the league before. And I think that's a description that also fits Yao.
Good post. Anyway, a few points: Yes, the prime Hakeem is an unfair comparison. However, the 2nd year Hakeem was a dominant NBA player as well. He took his team to the finals, dominated Jabbar, etc etc etc. And mind you, when we say he had "trouble" vs. bigger players, we mean that he would only score 19-20 points on 48% shooting or so (and still get 13 boards and 3 blocks and 2 steals)rather than 24 on 60% shooting. The biggest problem is that Hakeems greatest strengths are Yao's biggest weakness 1. Hakeem had superb balance and a low center of gravity. Yao has trouble with smaller quicker players (Najera). Imagine a 6-11, quicker, stronger, heavier Najera on yao---- ouch. 2. Hakeem was a "quick leaper" with a huge vert. He could get up in the air, fast, and swat the ball away, and then get up in the air again. Yao is a slow leaper with a lowish vert -- he doesn't even jump center most of the time. This is seemingly genetic - while Yao might learn to anticipate shots better, he just can't recover quickly enough and get his big frame to move enough to get up again. Shotblocking is just an area where Yao will never touch Olajuwon, who was arguably the greatest ever. 3. Hakeem had great footwork owing to his soccer goalie background. Yao's footwork, well, its iimproving and is good for his size, but is just not in the same universe as Hakeem's, which is one of the reasons why he hits the deck so much. 4. Hakeem had quick, quick hands. He routinely finished in the top 10 in steals in the league. Yao, well, Yao gets stripped alot by smaller players 5. The young Hakeem was aggressive, very aggressive, and played with a fury. Yao, well he's getting better, but aggression isn't his strong suit. I'm not saying Yao can't improve and doesn't have his own strenghts, but Olajuwon is a bad matchup for everybody, and is not a particularly good one for Yao.
-Hakeem did it the entire 95 WCF. To say that he only beat DRob for one play is simply a statement of utter ignorance. Hakeem owned D-Rob his whole career. He consistently would fake Robinson out of his jockstrap and take advantage of Robinson's inability to stay on the ground. He did it about 500 plays in the 95 WCF when he simply murdered Robinson. It was far from one play. If after that series anyone would think that Robinson could hold Hakeem one on one, they are simply an idiot. That was disproven play after play, game after game in the biggest series of DRob's life (at the time). Hakeem had a sick number and variation of moves. DRob's whole game was to beat you to the hoop with quickness. Fine against slow centers, but that didn't work against Hakeem, who was quicker than Robinson.
Many good points as well as bad ones in the thread. But I guess the question that we as fans really care is: Who would make his team better? IMO, Hakeem didn't make the team better until about his 6th or 7th year in the league. Yao isn't making the team better either. So, again, let's come back to this question when Yao is ready to retire.
As far as I love Yao and wish him to succeed, there is no way he can beat Hakeem one on one. For those of you who are discussing about Hakeem vs Robinson, see this link for reference: http://espn.go.com/nba/s/2003/0116/1493700.html Reg. season (head-to-head) Robinson: 19.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG Olajuwon: 21.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG Postseason (head-to-head) Robinson: 23.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG Olajuwon: 35.3 PPG, 12.5 RPG
My argument that possibly Yao has a chance right now against Hakeem at his prime 1 on 1 went nowhere fast and understandably so. But people who still believe Robinson don't have much of a shot against Hakeem if they play 1 on 1 is just plain foolish.
ChenZhen, Am I to assume that you're not going to answer the question of "Who were that taller guys that Hakeem had trouble against?" ? If I haven't lost count, this is the fourth or so time that you've been asked to clarify your statement, but still no response.
Sorry I didn't answer it earlier. I was overwhelmed by the homer responses in here and mostly due to my work that I really didn't get a chance to look at all of the legitimate arguments thoroughly. Eaton and Bradley are the only ones that come to mind. I admit Hakeem did adjust to their length very well and they couldn't really stop him the more Hakeem played them. But Yao is different. He's more agile than both of them. What if his combination of size/strength/agility (for his size) poses problems for Hakeem? Hakeem's never really faced anyone as tall as Yao who's as strong and agile (let me re-emphasis relatively for his size before people go crazy here). Initially I would say, obviously Yao would get smoked defensively because Hakeem is just too quick. But the more I think about it, the more I say, "maybe not?". Hakeem's face up dribble drive game isn't as great as people think here. Hakeem can only crossover to his left but normally won't go right when he dribbles so maybe Yao can adjust? What makes you so sure that Hakeem can blow by Yao easily with his right to left crossovers if they play 1 on 1?
hakeem doesn't need to do any fancy move or even crossover dribble to beat yao because yao is that slow. just be in a triple-threat position. when they are close to the basket, the dream can either hook or shoot over yao.
I dont think hakeem would have had trouble with bradley. according to some of the earlier posts he was having trouble with eaton in the mid 80s and then ajusted to him. Bradley first year was in 93-94, during the two year span that hakeem was his most unstopable. Yao may be more agile than eaton was, but he isnt nearly as long. Yao wasnt even agile enough to contain an older shaq. what makes you think he could contain a prime hakeem who was the most agile center ever. How do you know this is the only thing he can do? are you saying this because thats what he did in the video that SamFisher posted?
Hakeem's not nearly effective when posting up against tall guys. Agree? That's why he learned how to dribble pass Eaton and Bradley from the outside to be effective against them. I just can't visualize him passing Yao easily with his dribble drive consistently. How can he pass him up from the outside without crossing over to the left? What he can do is confuse Yao is with his spin moves. But he's always had difficulties posting up against really tall guys so how can you know?
Hakeem did had some issues posting up bradley. He had to face up outside to get past him to be effective. Shaq plays with nothing but power, not finnesse like Hakeem so you can't compare. Nope to the last comment. Of all the drives from Hakeem, I don't remember him effectively going to his right. (Somebody please send me a link to shut me up)
