Both guys are/were around the same playing height and considered great two-way players (offense/defense). Are there any basketball skills that Dwight is better than Akeem at? What aspect of the game sets Howard apart, if any?
If there is one thing Dwight excels at relative to Hakeem, I would say ability to play above the rim/athleticism.
Of all the NBA players (with a full career) ever, Dwight is 5th in percentage of available defensive rebounds grabbed. Call it a product of the softer era if you want, it's probably true (Boozer is 9th) but it's still damn impressive - Hakeem is 40th. But Hakeem wins in 9 out of 10 categories, whatever categories you happen to define.
Dream may not have the highest ups, but I have NEVER seen anyone who could land and jump again as quickly as him. Guy was basically a living pogo stick.
Also Hakeem played against many of the greatest centers of all time. He can bamboozle Howard like he did Robinson.
i rarely post but had to on this thread to say thus....Hakeem would put Dwight in a blender, Dreams agility is far superior to D12. Dwight is a great athlete with some skill sets but double teams scare him because of he lacks the coordination to maneuver effectively. Hakeem's body control puts him in my top 5 all time hands down and Dream back in his younger days was freakishly athletic as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GCyU0sKxqI That's why they call him The Dream. Howard is just Dwight... He lost "superman" a long time ago.
Dwight sucks against taller players, I thought we all knew this. That being said somehow he dominates Hibbert and Lopez. Maybe they just suck, because Yao was able to contain him easily. Honestly I think a Dwight Hakeem matchup would be closer than you think. Dwight at least won't struggle due to Hakeem's height, that's for sure.
I rolled my eyes before clicking on the thread. I would say every aspect Dream was better, but that would be calling Dwight a scrub. Maybe athleticism but Hakeem was as athletic as any center I've ever seen. Hops, footwork, quickness. Dream had wicked hops. Wicked. Perhaps Dwight got up higher but Dream got up faster. But Dream wasn't a Tim Duncan/Serge Ibaka "meet you at the highest point" type of shot blocker. He was a Barkley snatch your shot out of the air type. Aas far as superior rebounder, the career stats bear that out. But hakeem's first 10 years are on par with Dwight's first ten years. 12.4rpg vs 12.9 rpg. So perhaps, Dwight is slightly a better rebounder. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uBrEsNS9zKg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I'd say Dwight is physically stronger, that's about it. Those saying he'd beat dream in a dunk contest, I'm not sure you saw dream dunking at his best.
I really wish Dwight would embrace the Dwightmare name. When Dream becomes a Dwightmare: Clutch City Strikes Again!
I mean nothing bad about DH in saying this, he is a good player, but he is in no shape or form anywhere close to Hakeem the Dream in any categories. If you put DH in the center rich era Dream played in, he would be way down the list. In this era though he happens to be the best. I can just imagine how mindblowing awesome Dream would look in this era.
It's hard comparing rebound statistics. Even if you control for opportunities, there's still noise created by having other guys on the floor with you (Dream played next to Thorpe and Barkley), and the coaching philosophy of how to cover rebounding. You can get a statistical answer on who did more, but I don't know that means the person who did more did it because he was better at it. If there's a critical rebound with Dream and Howard fighting for it, I want Dream to be the one on my team. Same for a critical bucket, a critical defensive set, or anything else. I can't think of any situation in which I wouldn't rather have Dream. (No offense to Howard, who is no slouch himself.)
