Do you think Dream would have been a center if he had played basketball all his life?

I don't know, DoD... Ralph was College Player of the Year three times, equaled only by Bill Walton, as a center. Sure, Dream pushed him out of the 5 spot and made it his own, with Sampson doing a terrific job at the 4, until he was injured, but I would argue that Ralph moved from his natural position as a center to accommodate Dream. Yes, Sampson wasn't your typical center, but neither was Akeem!


PS - are people really crazy enough to attempt a comparison of the Dream and James? Two different players, two different eras, two different positions. I don't see the point.

 

Dream is the single most athletic player I have ever seen. Period. You can include KG, Kobe, TMac, Shaq, Kobe or even MJ but Dream was more athletic than all IMO.

Dream became the best center in the game strictly because of his athletecism when Kareem, Moses, Ewing etc...were still at the top of their games.

Hakeem was easily as fast as Lebron but not even close as far as skill. Hakeem developed his skill during his years in the NBA but did not bring offensive skills with him from college. Dream scored most of his points 5 feet from the basket during his early years.

Dream would always have been a center because he has always said that is the dominate position on the court.

BTW Dream was listed at 7' but most in the day said he was closer to 6'11".

 

You're funny.

 

he'll still be a center, but he probably revolutionized the big man position moreso than any other player in the L (moreso than he already did)

 

Dream is a center, and he still be one even if he played since young.
You do not put a 6"10-6"11 post player as a forward or a guard.

And if he do played basketball since young, he might get the wrong coaching and not being able to fine tune his footwork and reflex from the other sports he played. Meaning Dream could be a nightmare...

 

All I know is if he played in today's nba, he'd be hanging some points on someone's a$$, packing the hell out of these kids, racking up some boards, and swiping their lunch money.

 

Actually, I think Sampson was a better back-to-the-basket center than Hakeem early on. But Sampson also had better handle and had more of a "guard" mentality. I think that's why he was the 4.

And you are right, Dream didn't have a good face up jump shot at first.

 

That doesn't mean he couldn't have played PF as well as anyone in the history of the game too.

The way they saw the game in the 80s was very different from how it is now. They didn't have guys like KG, Duncan, Nowitzki, and Amare back then.

 

I think guys like Larry Nance, Tom Chambers, and Karl Malone would do just fine in today's league.

 

Ralph Sampson. He had handles, could run a break, shoot outside jumpers and pass.

 

We couldn't guard Carlos Boozer now,
Karl Malone vs the Rockets front line now, we'd get swept.

 

lol you probably believe that tortoises are faster than rabbits in real life

 

Olajuwon is the greatest CENTER of all time. Leave it at that. Back in the day the game was much different and you had guys that played their specific position and played it well. Tweeners/Hybrid players were very rare back then.

As for the Lebron being faster than Hakeem comment I think Lebron is faster but Hakeem was quick as hell. I still remember my jaw dropping when I first saw this. This is a bad angle... if anybody has seen the block from the vertical angle it's truly special watching Hakeem sprint like a mad man with his arms flailing running 3/4 lengths of court.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aS25dibHOR0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aS25dibHOR0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

One more thing about that video I posted. We used to have "suits" jumping up and down like a Red Rowdy on crack. Now they're too cool for school. Times really have changed.

 

Sampson certainly had a much much bigger offensive arsonal to choose from back then and he was athletic as hell...but Dream was more athletic and much much more aggresive around the basket than Sampson.

While Sampson may have been more skilled with his back to the basket early on Dream was still better just based on his aggressiveness. Dream never tried to dribble the ball back then (mainly because he could not), he would just get the ball and go over, under, around or through you on his way to the basket.

Sampson love handling the ball and would look to pass as much as he would look to score. And I certainly have memories of Ralph being to passive in the post and people in the media questioning his heart and toughness. Ralph really did play a lot like KG plays but with better handles than KG. The Dream played more like Shaq but with less size and about 10 times the athleticism.

So from day one I would have to say Hakeem was the better post player.

 

Great post. Sampson was ahead of his time. He was a 7'4 KG before KG ever existed. That's why I said it was ironic. Sampson was more PF than Dream even though Dream would fit today's PF mold.

If Dream played in today's legal zone, people would double team him without the ball down low. And his game would naturally expand to farther away from the basket. He would still be a beast down low. But coaches would definitely use him some farther out.

 

Speaking on Hakeems athletecisim...

The one play that stands out in my mind was from his first couple of years in the league. Dream scored all of his points back then on athletic ability, determination and aggresiveness. The drop step, Dream Shake and most of his offensive arsonal that he is known for today were still years away.

Maybe someone else remembers this but I don't even recall the team it was against.

The Rockets get the ball and one of the players shoots the ball and it comes off of the rim. The Dream was well out of the paint but took off from the free throw line and leaped much higher than anyone else slamming the ball into the net. I'm telling you he took off at the free throw line and if someone did that today I am convinced that they would show it a couple of times a day, every day on ESPN.

Of course everyone remembers MJ taking off from the free throw line to win the slam dunk contest but Dream did it in a game. To this day I have never seen that kind of athleticisim from anyone...period.

 

The thing about Hakeem is that early in the career Bill Fitch was not designing his offense to go through him at all. He just was not skilled enough. Sampson was the main focus of the offense but Hakeem with his aggressiveness just grabbed the focus. Hakeem could really seal his man off and had the athleticisim to get position any where on the floor. Combine that with the fact that he had such strong hands and I don't really think getting him the ball would be much of an issue.

The Rockets find ways to get Yao the ball with in 10 feet of the basket and in the paint on a regular basis. Hakeem would be much easier to get the ball to than Yao because it would be so much harder to front him and if you throw the ball to him with a group of people you knew he would come away with it.

 

I can firmly say that Hakeem Olajuwon was the greatest center in the modern era of the NBA (80s to present).

I don't think any other center or big man possess the same skill set, athleticism, and will to win like he did.

Kareem was a great center, but I don't think he was nearly as skilled Olajuwon was in his prime.

I can't say Dream is the greatest ever, because of Wilt Chamberlain who was pretty much a superhuman.

 

And today we don't have people like Dream, Magic, Bird, and Robinson (yes, I know, but he was a mismatch for every other team). Here's how bad the game has become... Dwight Howard would have been a 4 in the 1980's competing against guys like Malone, OT, Willis, McHale, Cage, and the like.

Dream would have owned KG and Duncan. KG lacks the strength to play Dream in the post and Duncan would just flat out be embarassed. There's a reason these guys don't defend the other team's best post player.

As for Amare, he's a poor man's Kemp without the D. Nowitzki does not belong in this conversation... he couldn't even beat Bird at HORSE.