http://orlandosentinel.com/sports/b...16061602jun16.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines 1. BILL RUSSELL THE BUZZ: The game is about more than massive numbers; it's about winning. There was no bigger winner in the history of the game. 2. WILT CHAMBERLAIN THE BUZZ: His career averages of 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds will never again be duplicated, but losing so much to Russell hurt his legacy some. 3. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR THE BUZZ: He was so much more than the sky hook. He's the most graceful center ever and probably the most complete. 4. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL THE BUZZ: If he plays for five more years and/or wins three more titles, he will top this list. 5. HAKEEM OLAJUWON THE BUZZ: When it comes to footwork and polished post moves, there was none better. 6. GEORGE MIKAN THE BUZZ: The first true big man in the NBA. He changed the game. 7. MOSES MALONE THE BUZZ: We never have truly appreciated his greatness. Malone might have been the toughest, meanest and most determined center. 8. WILLIS REED THE BUZZ: Like Russell, he probably could have posted better numbers, but he was blessed with teammates Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe and Jerry Lucas. 9. ELVIN HAYES THE BUZZ: You can argue whether he or teammate Wes Unseld was the center on those Washington Bullets teams, but there's no denying his greatness in the post. 10. PATRICK EWING THE BUZZ: The only man on this list without a title, and that will always be the asterisk beside Ewing's career. Still, he belongs on this list. MISSING THE CUT Bill Walton THE BUZZ: If not for all the injuries . . . David Robinson THE BUZZ: His numbers amaze, but he never lost the soft label. Dave Cowens THE BUZZ: Celtics great did one of the hardest things: He followed Russell. Nate Thurmond THE BUZZ: A great player sandwiched between the monstrous talents of Russell and Chamberlain. Wes Unseld THE BUZZ: OK, so he and Hayes both played center. Unseld was the undersized bull (6-7, 245 pounds).
Seems like this line would have described Hakeem perfectly. Olajuwan did everything on both ends of the court. Great shot blocker, unstoppable scorer, great rebounder, pretty good passer, clutch. What else is there? And I don't think I've ever seen prettier more graceful moves than those in the Rockets-Spurs series. Plus the dream shake, I mean come on!
I think maybe they oversold Ewing too much and undersold Robinson. In Robinson's prime he was a ton better than Ewing take a look at these numbers... Ewing: 21.0 ppg , 2.45 bpg, .96 spg, 9.80 rpg Robinson: 21.9 ppg, 3.08 bppg, 1.45 spg, 10.80 rpg Now who looks better?
Hrm...Orlando Sentinel huh? Perhaps they're biased against Shaq? You know leaving the Magic to THREE-PEAT with the Lakers? Just a thought.
Yeah, that was a joke. I have no problem with someone calling Kareem a better center, but more graceful or more complete than Hakeem? That kind of takes away from this guy's credibility.
The author of the article has only been writing for the Sentinel for about 2-3 years, so he has never seen the days of Shaq in Orlando - and definately not the days when Hakeem and the Rockets swept the Magic. His claim of Kareem as the most graceful center was probably due to his sky hook alone.
No way in hell Shaq is ahead of Dream. Only there because of championships and physical dominance (over WEAK competition at the 5 in the NBA).
My top ten list: 1. Wilt 2. Bill Russell 3. Kareem 4. Shaq (will be ahead of Kareem in a couple of years) 5. Dream 6. Moses Malone 7. Mikan 8. Elvin Hayes 9. David Robinson 10. Willis Reed
