Player Name YEAR G MPG FG % FT % RPG APG SPG BPG TO/G PPG Hakeem Olajuwon (1984) 82 35.5 53.8 61.3 11.9 1.4 1.2 2.7 2.9 20.6 Yao Ming (2002) 76 29.3 50.7 80.9 8.2 1.7 .33 1.8 2.1 13.8 So far, for not having any US basketball experience, Yao Ming = Hakeem II
Player Name______YEAR___G__MPG_FG %_FT %__RPG_APG_SPG_BPG_TO/G__PPG Hakeem Olajuwon (1984) 82 35.5 53.8 61.3 11.9 1.4 1.2 2.7 02.9 20.6 Yao Ming________(2002) 76 29.3 50.7 80.9 08.2 1.7 .33 1.8 02.1 13.8 That didn't work out right the first time...
theres no comparison. ming will never be in the same class as olajuwon. if you have espn classic or nba tv, re-watch some old olajuwon games. dream's legend has obviously faded the last couple of years of his career.
They are totally different players. Hakeem with his quickness and defensive oriented style of play. Yao with his size and offensive oriented style of play. Yao is also far from mature in his rookie year compared to Hakeem.
I'm not saying that they're equal if that's what you think. But, for not having any US basketball experience, no college ball, and coming from playing for like 2 years straight, I'm amazed at how good Yao has been.
IMHO at the same stage of career, Yao's better than Hakeem in passing and shooting but Hakeem's better in all other areas.
You understate Hakeem's offense. His offensive was far more dominating and a threat (sans the passing) than Yao at this stage. In his rookie year Hakeem was a beast in the paint. He was also playing in an age that had big centers that could defensively put a body on you. Something else to consider regarding experience. Hakeem came to the US in 1980 with no formal basketball experience at all. He was playing soccer and pickup games in Nigeria when he was discovered. He left UH after 3 years. So in about 3-4 years, he went from basically picking up a basketball to a dominating force in the NBA paint. I still don't like the way his career ended here, but let's not forget the man was simply awesome. Yao has a bit to go to get to that level, but there's nothing to say he won't be as great as Hakeem, but maybe in a different way.
Hakeem started playing basketball at age 17, i believe Yao started at age 9. What Hakeem did is a little short of Amazing. He not only competed but dominated guys who had been playing this game all their lives.
No doubt, Hakeem is a true "gift from God" with immense gifts that are hard to emulate but I think Yao would have greatly benefited from being in the US for even one year. We'll see next season when he (hopefully) will be able to start off with a year in the US under his belt and a few months of R & R.
If you realy want to know, ask me in 10 yrs.time. So far I would say that Yao Ming is nothing like Hakeem. On the otherhand Hakeem was nothing like Yao Ming. They are very different types of players, playing the same position. Hakeem had his USA College career prior to his Rookie Year. Yao Ming had Chinese Sharks Basketball prior to his. This puts Yao Ming about two years behind Hakkem at the start of their NBA Careers.
Please, please don't start anymore stupid threads comparing Yao to Hakeem... There is no comparison Hakeem was head and shoulders a better player than Yao and if the "Rookie" Hakeem went up against Yao he would embarass him... Yeah will be a good NBA player but please donot Insult Hakeem by comparing Yao to him. Hakeem was one of the best players of all time and it is debatable if Yao is even the best Rookie this year.
Jesus people...you sure like to get all riled up over petty little things. Excuse me for being a rockets fan. There hasn't been a thread about this in the time that I've been here (about 5-6 weeks), so I'm terribly sorry that I didn't dive into page 29 to check if there was already a Yao Ming/Hakeem comparison.
As much as I love Yao, Hakeem would make Yao fall on his butt probably 90% of the time on offense and could probably completely shut Yao down on defense too. He was such a freakish athlete I really only think Shaq is comparable at that size, making up in strength what Hakeem had in speed. Yao should strive, although this comparison is probably unfair too, to be more like a Duncan type player; play with good decisions and skills, because he's probably never going to dominate athletically (although Duncan might actually do that sometimes).
I beg to differ! Just wait and see, when Yao Ming learns the NBA Game he will not be the same as Hakeem but will be as good, in different ways. Yao Ming is his own person. He is the first of a new breed of centers! He cant be compared to the power Centers like Hakeem or Shaq.
We have to recognize that not only they are two different types of players, but also they are playing under different rules and systems. The current zone defence creates a lot of difficulty for centre. Even Shaque is not as dominated as he used to be. At the same time, we never know how dream would have played in such rules with his quickness.
Just wait and see, when Steve turns 28, he will not be the same as Jason Kidd but will be as good, in diffrent ways. Steve is his own person. His is the third of a new breed of point guard. He can't be compared to passing point guards like Stockton or Kidd. I think people way to over analyse Stevie and the pg/sg which is he debate. I agree, Yao will be a good Center in his own right. He might not be that dominate force in the paint we traditionally expected from centers, but he will be great never the less. The same I feel can be said about Steve.
Putting different rules and opponents aside, it's not fair to compare a Yao in transition stage to a Dream after years of American living and basketball training. Yao arrived with a set of skills, style and physique that's made for Chinese basketball. It takes time to adapt. Dream didn't. It's like a Japanese sumo wrestler(Yao) comes to America to wrestle with the Rock in WWF. Of course Yao's performance would suffer in the transition stage. Give Yao a couple of years to go before putting a ceiling on him.
