If you could redraft, would you take Michael Jordan over Hakeem?

You need to drop the ESPN hype-glasses. Do you honestly agree that Jordan was the greatest COLLEGE bball player ever? Seriously?

...And through all this, you've still failed to answer the simple question of why the Bulls got smashed in 1995, even though Jordan was playing.

 

Jordan didn't play from the start of the season. Why is it so hard for you to admit that hakeem isn't as great as you think he is? He's still great and one of the best of all time, just not in the same class as jordan.

 

I wouldn't change the journey we Rocket fans went through with Olajuwon for anything in the world. The struggles, the disappointments, and the pure ecstasy of finally realizing the dream. Hopefully the ride with McGrady and Yao will also be as fruitful.

 

give hakeem his original 80's team without drugs and injuries and you have a dynasty.

 

Jordan is great, but Hakeem is extremely underrated. Hakeem on the Bulls, I still six championships. Jordan on some of the teams Rockets had around Hakeem, bleh.

 

Uhhhh... and what does that have to do with anything?

And why is it so hard for YOU to admit that Jordan was nothing without Pippen AND a top power forward?

Jordan = no playoffs or 1st-round-and-out,
Jordan + Pippen = 2nd round,
Jordan + Pippen + Grant/Rodman = championship.

The man never carried a team to greatness by himself, period.

 

yup...and it really it sick to think about what could have been with hakeem and sampson.

 

Jordan wouldn't have gotten the Rockets past any of those 80's Lakers team so it doesn't really matter. This is not even mentioning the early 90s Suns and Sonics teams. Jordan without Pippen and his supporting cast would have been a rich man's Dominique Wilkins (i.e. zero rings)

 

I never heard such rubbish!!!!!!!! Shaq, a great power player, who was a great go to the basket player. The big shaq is an incomplete player at the center position! Hakeem was the complete player, with a game that Shaq even in his hey-day never came close.

 

Could also argue those two years off also allowed his body to recover well enough to go on at full strength for an additional 3 championships before retirement. Whereas other players in his generation like Hakeem had two extra years wear and tear on their body and thus didn't have the sustained health to finish as strong in their respected careers as Jordan did. As others have pointed out, the Bulls even minus Jordan were no slouches. They were 1 game away from going to the Finals without him there, and were eliminated by the Magic in his first half season back. The Bulls were well coached, cohesive, and were chock full of depth that suited their style of play. Yes they didn't have a legit big man scorer like Hakeem, but they had a guy who could give ya 20 on any given night by nailing 18 foot jumpers at the top of the key in Horace Grant. And when Grant was gone, they had arguably the greatest rebounder of all time in Dennis Rodman who also was an unparalleled defensive specialist and master of head games.

Point being is, could I enivision Jordan leading the Rockets to championship instead of Hakeem? Absolutely. Could I see six championships without the same team make up that the Bulls had in the 90s? Probably not. The Bulls had all the right pieces, and all the right chemistry to sustain such a run. It was much more than just one great player, the same way it was more than just one great player in the Rockets championship days. I honestly couldn't fathom the Rockets winning their rings without the heroics of guys like Horry, Cassell, Elie, Maxwell, even Kenny Smith, and Clyde Drexler. It's the same way I couldn't envision Jordan's Bulls winning it all without the help of Pippen, Rodman, Grant, the game winning heroics of Steve Kerr, John Paxson, B.J. Armstrong, or the defensive tenacity and poignant point guard play of Ron Harper. Or the sometimes stellar offensive display from Toni Kukoc off the bench.

All that said, if the roles were reversed and those championship Bulls had Hakeem as their center tagged along with Pippen, they would be a fearsome combination, and I definitely could see multiple championships. If Jordan was on the Rockets in their championship run, I could see them winning it all too. Possibly more since the illegal zone defense the Sonics deployed on the Rockets to stop Hakeem would be rendered null since we'd have no big man worth focusing attention on. It's a win-win situation, but still I take Hakeem.

 

you'd pass on picking the Greatest player of ALL time? that's good to know.

 

Hakeem ... I like the dream too much

 

Actually, looking back, I wish we drafted Jordan, so that he would experience the choke city and wouldn't have won 6 titles and be called "the greatest of all time."

 

yes~~,of course!
come on, dudes!you know, Michael, he is the best basketball player in the world.

 

None of these four guys think he's the Greatest player of all time. It's not his fault, he was the best Shooting Guard ever. It's just that Shooting Guard isn't the most important position (or second most for that matter).

Edit: Of course, Phil Knight agrees with you.

 

Who cares if it's not the most important position. the fact is that MJ was the GREATEST player of all time. what part of GREATEST of ALL TIME do you not understand?

 

I'm guessing he doesn't understand the concept of greatest all time.

 

That's funny you have a picture of magic there, cause he thinks jordan is the greatest of all time.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2003-02-06-dupree-team_x.htm

Magic Johnson says there is no debate.

"Michael is the greatest player ever, and Bill Russell is the greatest winner ever and always will be," says Johnson, who joins Jordan in the backcourt on the first team.

 

For any team that is rebuilding, you got to pick the center.

 

The fact that you state an opinion, that, while widely held, is not well supported by the available evidence, as fact.

Magic is an humble man.