Duncan is a great player and has 4 rings but could he take Mad Max, Kenny Smith and Bullard to the finals... ? I don't think so.. Hakeem was amazing and had better skills in every area compared to Duncan.. Duncan might have a higher BB I.Q. but that is the only thing I can think of.. The era Hakeem played in was so much tougher compared to now as well... The amount of players Hakeem had to play against on that list compared to Duncan right now should back that up. SI has a poll ranking the best all time and Timmy is number 5... Hakeem number 6... http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/listranker?id=718
if duncan played when hakeem played, he'd be just another big man that got dreamshook on the way to another title. is duncan great? yep, but the spurs teams he's had are top to bottom better than probably any rocket teams we had. he has had much better supporting casts. I said this to someone else earlier today...hakeem was an anomaly, the things he could do didn't make sense. he was basically a glitch in the matrix.
No... Hakeem is better... cmon. First of all, in Hakeems time there were better players playing. Mainly Jordan, also Stockton and Malone. Robinson on the Spurs. Shaq on the Magic. Right now you have guys like Dirk, Kobe, Nash, Wade, Lebron, while they are good. I don't think you can put them on the same level as some of the guys that played in the 90s. Secondly, has TD ever won DPOY? Hakeem has won it twice. Has Tim Duncan won the MCP? Hakeem has one. In fact, Hakeem is the only player to win the DPOY, MVP and Finals MVP all in one year. All-time blocks leader. One of the few to record a quadruple double. One of the few to average 25 pts, 10 rebs, 3 assists and 4 blocks per game. Short answer, no.
skill-wise, it's not close. again, the era of the big men today are VERY weak. but this is the point u should know. duncan played at a higher level for "more' years. BUT, at both of their peaks, hakeem played at the higher level when both played at their best. i would choose dream at his best b/c well at his best, he is my best 2-way player for a big man. both are great players. but if i had to win one game, i'll choose the dream.
Well you have to take a step back and say it's not really a fair comparison, as they play different positions. It doesn't really do justice to lump them into a 'big man' category. Hakeem was GOAT level C, Duncan is a GOAT level PF.
being honest...duncan is a center masquerading as a power forward. so I'd say the comparisons are fair. the players were practically the same height. I'll let duncan say he's the greatest power forward ever, only so I can laugh at karl malone.
Look, what's the point? Although Duncan has, for all practical purposes, been a center for most of his career, he's still regarded as a PF. It's for the same reason why there's never a Shaq-Duncan debate in regards to who's the best center in the past decade. One can argue about how Hakeem faced better competition. But Duncan had to face zone defense. Hakeem had a higher peak, most certainly, but Duncan arguably had a more consistent career. And he certainly had more team success in terms of championships and playoff success in general. Really, it's pretty close. You can argue either way.
Here's some stats for you to chew on Carreer stats for: PPG RPG BPG FG% Hakeem 21.8 11.1 3.09 .512 Tim Duncan 21.8 11.9 2.4 .509 These actually look pretty even, but you also have to consider that Hakeem's carreer is already over and Tim Duncans isn't thus Duncan hasn't gone through the end of career dip in his stats because he gets older. So in terms of carreer stats, Hakeem wins. In terms of peaks, Hakeem wins. Awards and achievements, Hakeem wins. Duncan wins the post season battle.
this has already been discussed but not with the espn poll junk. this isn't an opinion situation. hakeem is a superior player in every single aspect of the game of basketball. these are plain and simple facts. better offensive player and better defensive player. there is ZERO, ZILCH argument that duncan is better. none. i'd find it hilarious if a sp*rs fan tried. on top of that, not that it matters at all, dream was un-measurably more exciting.
i have to hear an explanation. why? because sportcenter told you to? why would you choose the player that is inferior in every measurable way?
no you really can't. duncan did not have a more consistent career. hakeem was dominant from season one onward. where does this misconception occur that he was only excellent for a few years? he freaking tore up the lakers as a baby. duncan has been surrounded with better talent and has played against far inferior competition. zone rules don't even remotely compare to that, plus duncan won his first two rings without the new rules. two rings don't make him a better player. if that were the case bill russell would be the greatest center of all time and it wouldn't even be close. obviously not true.
I think Duncan has just a great temmates. I mean Parker, Ginobili, Finley, etc. That makes him better but of course he's great as a player. It's hard to compare that players. The Dream was Great and Duncan is great.
Come on, please take a look at Dream destroying the league MVP David Robinson and that will answer any questions anyone should have about who is the best. Duncan's closest rival was Malone (aging), Stoudemire (who destroyed Duncan before his knee collapsed), Garnett (who gives him and us fits). The east is watered down and if Dallas had balls they would have won last year in a cake walk. Dallas owns SA now and would have beat them in the WCF except for the choke job against GS. There wouldn't been any talk about Duncan's greatness. Plus wasn't Parker the MVP. Imagine the numbers dream would have put up against Illgauskas. Someone please ask Horry who's better or has that been done and what did he say.
