I laughed at WorldClass Hater's response: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120713142404AAFSxRN Best Answer - Chosen by Asker Sure Hard one but I would say Hakeem. Both Hakeem and Duncan are probably the 2 most unappreciated "superstars" that have ever played the game. Hakeem was overshadowed by players like Jordan, Barkley, and Bird during his playing days but boy, he was one hell of a player. Could do it on both ends of the court. Whether it was making a defensive stop or scoring the ball, Hakeem was NOT afraid of the pressure at all. Duncan also does the same thing. People do NOT usually talk about him but he still is putting up good numbers each year. Now, how about leadership? Both players were well-respected by their teammates with their play. Hakeem carried the Rockets in 1994 and 1995. which they won the championship each year. But 1995 was one hell of a year because no one counted the Rockets to repeat but Hakeem responded big and helped the Rockets stunned the world that year. And the funny thing was that his best teammate was Clyde Drexler, who was no longer in his prime. Duncan's carried the Spurs to greatness plenty of times also, 4 championships and 3 NBA Finals MVP. Although his task was a little easier than Hakeem since Duncan had a better supporting cast than Hakeem did. But if I had to choose, I would take Hakeem. His 1995 NBA Playoff Performance is a big reason why I pick him over Duncan. I believe that Hakeem was a better offensive player and a better defensive player(duh!) than Duncan. DUDE ? DUDE ? Hakeem Olajwwon, it's not even close . Hakeem is a far better defender, average like 3 blocks per a game for his entire career , And Offensively just think of the dream shake, Hakeem has the Best post game ever . broke back king indecision broke back king indecision Hakeem, by A LOT. W★RLD CLA$$ HAT3R W★RLD CLA$$ HAT3R Duncan because everyone else is saying Hakeem Jerry Jerry Hakeem TT2196 TT2196 prolly hakeem Patrick Ewing MaryJo MaryJo hakeem the dream by a mile 10 months ago
Pop if a product of Duncan. No Duncan no championships and he would just be another good coach. Maybe in Karl and Rick rank.
Hakeem had a better prime, but overall, I think Duncan is better . He's the most consistent player I've ever seen. As a matter of fact, until I see him bleed, I'm convinced he's an alien, or a government experiment gone horribly right.
People forget really easily how great the all time greats where because they haven't been around for so long. Here is a interview of shaq talking about how he ranks the all time centers and why. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_By2-Z3tOms
Hakeem's best years are as good as anyone who has ever played the game. Unfortunately it leaves people for some reason understating how good his early years were. As has been mentioned he's been a beast from the beginning. Duncan is an amazing player. He's also been blessed by playing with a constantly over turning roster of all styar and future hall of fame players. His era with the spurs is one of the best managed teams in the sports history. It took Hakeem a long time to be surrounded with anything close to a similar supporting cast after arguably his most talented team was destroyed by drugs and injury. If you want one player to build a franchise around I think Hakeem is hands down better.
Why the heck are you even asking this on a Rockets board???!! Objectivity will not be found. Heck I could start a thread asking if Michael Jordan was better than Olajuwon and half this board would say no.
If Charlie pallilo really takes Duncan first that's interesting, but he's certainly entitled be wrong. He could be one of those guys that goes by the number of rings and that's it, but that is an awfully simplistic way of looking at things. There are people who think bill Russell is the greatest player of all time. Doesn't that seem ridiculous? But he's got 11 rings.
Actually, nothing wrong with that. As you can see, we had some who objectively felt Duncan was better in some respects. Matter of fact, if you asked the MJ vs. Hakeem question on this board, I'm sure you'd have quite a few that would choose MJ. Just can't stand a**holes like the Beard poster who purposefully say things just to piss people off.
Youre a clown man. You must be like 15. Hakeem won the 94 championship as the only Superstar/All Star on his roster. Look at Duncabs roster for every Championship. Put Duncan on that 94 team and I guarantee we wouldntve beaten that Knicks team. Ginobili, with help from Horry in Game 5, is the reason the Spurs beat the Pistons in 05. Hakeem was THE man all the time,. Duncans teams were great his entire career, cant say the same for the Dream. As individual talent and skills, lets just say that once Duncan retires, future players wont be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn his game, lol. Stop trollin.
Ehh, that's because Duncan doesn't rely on athleticism to play his game. Everyone wants to be Blake Griffin, or Amar'e Stoudemire. And some part of that is due to the media. But no one wants to be Duncan, or LMA, or Love. But those guys are regarded as the best PFs in the game. TD's style may be boring, but it generates results.
Actually, for most of the 90s The Dream was the very best on the planet. GOAT? Perhaps not, but the single most underappreciated superduper talent to grace the hardwoods who was also very much appreciated. Who did MJ put on his All-Time Opponent Team? Hakeem at the 5. Two side points - - Pop or Dream's coaches? PJax or Dream's coaches? And I will always revere Rudy T. Anyone ever hear of players wanting to chase a ring with TD, who is an all-time great? But players wanted to ride MJ's and Dream's coattails.
People would say David Robinson was better than Hakeem (and the stats would not disprove their opinion) but we all saw the head-to-head murder of the Admiral at the hands of Dream. Duncan would have faired worse. Duncan is a great player but longevity, being part of the best managed/coached team in the league and being a nice guy has skewed the perception of his effectiveness as an individual player. Dream was better.
Well said. Hard to imagine someone going up to Duncan and goes, "can you teach me the bank shot?" Duncan is amazing. He just significantly improved his jumper at age 37. He just lost weight and has played better than 3 years ago. He is a great teammate. Doesn't rely on athleticism so he could last. Very steady and disciplined. Great team defender. Best PF of all time, that's for sure. And no, he's not really a center. He's much better playing with a center next to him, having Splitter is doing wonders for him. Hakeem was definitely the better individual player during prime, both ways, no contest. And the competition was better back then. It was a special time for bball, the Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls and the great but no ring Barkley, Ewing, Stock/Malone, Reggie, DRob (b4 TD). The Spurs did beat Shaq/Kobe/PJ and that was pretty impressive. It'd be interesting what would happen if the championship Hakeem team goes against the four-down Duncan team (when Duncan was THE man). I think Hakeem would have the upper hand. It'd be interesting to see Hakeem going up against MJ instead of the choke artist Malone. Luc/Bill would have been badly abused. What might have been!??! It'd be interesting to hear what Elie and Horry have to say. Right now, I'd rank Hakeem higher in terms of winning, but I won't be so sure if the Spurs beat the not 4, not 5, not 6 Bron/Wade/Bosh this year.
Decimation (Latin: decimatio; decem = "ten") was a form of military discipline used by senior commanders in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth".[1] I think his argument was reduced by more than 1/10th.
Good point. A hall of famer who had stats much closer to Duncan's, Charles Barkley, teamed up with an established team carrier, Hakeem, to make a run at a championship late in his career.
i love duncan...absolutely love his game. he's just a magnificent player on both ends of the floor. i do believe hakeem peaked higher though because he was a bit more adept at taking over a game from a scoring standpoint (while more agile defensively)... i'd say hakeem peaked higher, but duncan had a better career in terms of resume/accomplishments. both are very close and arguable either way though.
Guys like Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, and Pau Gasol (yikes), and an over the hill Karl Malone have made life miserable for Duncan in the post. Hakeem averaged about 30ppg against Shaq in the finals and absolutely demolished a prime Karl Malone the few times Malone took the liberty of guarding him. And if you think the Wallace brothers and especially Pay Gasol (LOL x2) would stand a chance against Hakeem, you have not watched Hakeem play. Quiet frankly, if Hakeem was stopped one on one by any of these guys then Rockets would not have won any championships. Such was Rockets offense as designed by Rudy. Duncan is an excellent player and an all time great. His greatness comes from his longevity and his team accomplishments. He has been lucky to be surrounded by a great organization for his entire career (players, coach, management). Hakeem was a dominant player. An athletic freak with a rare combination of power and finesse in the post and also the best defender I have seen play in the last 20+ years I have been watching basketball. He is also one of the very few players whose stats went up in playoffs. Most other player's stats would go down in playoffs. Tim Duncan at his best would not have been able to carry those two Rockets team to the championship. He had to be absolutely dominant on both ends of the court the way Hakeem and he is not capable of doing that. If he was capable, he would not have let guys like Gasol limit him in the post. Also, keep in mind that Duncan's numbers came against inferior competition, and even then Hakeem's number were better. Hakeem played in an era of big men (Ewing, Shaq, Robinson, Karl Malone, Barkley) and won the battles against them. Lastly, players that have played with Hakeem and Duncan agree that he was on a different level. But you dont need to hear what they have to say. All you needed was to have watched both of them play through out their career (I like post play and have followed Hakeem, Shaq's, and Duncan's career) like I have and you will come to the same conclusion as I did.
