Live right now: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarankCs/ranking-greatest-centers-nba-history Teams Houston Rockets (1984-2001), Toronto Raptors (2001-2002) Honors MVP (1993-94), two-time Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, 12-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame Championships 2 (1994, 1995) Career stats 21.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 3.1 BPG, .512 FG% The player A groundbreaker in terms of bringing footwork and agility to post play. The first of Houston's two back-to-back championships was particularly memorable, because Hakeem was essentially the Rockets' lone star, surrounded by a clutch of quality role players. There haven't been many NBA champions over the years featuring this sort of one-star construction. -- Stein Created and mastered moves that have never been seen by a big man before or since. On top of that, he was the greatest defensive center ever not named Bill Russell. -- Broussard Olajuwon's path is truly amazing. He arrived in Houston for college with one developed skill: The ability to play volleyball with opponents' shots. Three decades later, All-Star-caliber players go to Hakeem to learn the fundamentals of post play. -- Doolittle It's a testament to his athletic abilities that Olajuwon himself declared that "The Dream Shake" was actually something he came up with while playing soccer, not basketball. -- Adams
Let me guess the other 4... Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Shaq Russell is overrated in my opinion. Yeah, he has 11 rings... but he played at a time when there were only 8 teams in the entire league. And considering he was on stacked teams, it's no wonder he won so much. Yeah, he was great on defense, but his offense sucked. I like Bill Russell... but he is way overrated in my opinion.
Man honestly it's between Kareem, Shaq, and Hakeem. You can make an argument for either. Wilt and Russell played in such different eras that it really isn't fair to compare them as bmd just pointed out.
Difficult to say, cases can be made for everybody but Shaq though. It's very close, but to me Olajuwon is the most complete player in NBA history.
You can't rank players like this because they were all the best in their era That's what they should be known for
Well Michael Jordan picked Hakeem as the center he would choose for his team above all others....good enough for me. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Beq7jjtrsV0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You could argue just about any order for these guys, but I'd argue Hakeem #1 for his 2 way ability and the insane runs he had in 94 and 95
Houstonians, when you rise up from your struggle and finally take your rightful seats of power within the demographics of a new America, just remember: ESPN and all those carpetbaggers from the Northeast believe Hakeem to be the 5th best center of all time. Never forget. Fight the Northeast bias. No mercy.
I can agree with this sentiment. Playoffs are what make players great and Hakeem played great during the playoffs. The stats back it up. Hakeem is number 1.
Forgot to mention, 2 Rebounding Titles, 3x Block Shot leader Shaq and Duncan combined for ZERO rebounding titles, DPOYs, and Blocked Shot leader Hakeem accomplished those feats a combined 7 times!! Dream would've had 3 consecutive rebounding titles if he'd qualified the games played minimum the 3rd season.
5 isn't bad. I'd rather Hakeem over Shaq, but Shaq was dominant over a longer stretch (against weaker competition) and has more rings, so I see why people would rate him higher.
If I recall correctly.. This list and ESPN ranked Steph Curry as the #3 PG in their all-time ranking. I stopped reading all of the other lists after that.
I think the list fair. You can argue between Shaq and Dream but Shaq had more team success. Kareem did it for a long time and won lots of rings. Wilt was just sickly dominant, so you can't argue against him. Russell won more rings than anyone as the team's best player.
Center is a hard one. Reminds me of Running Back. So many categories to consider. I think Hakeem is #1 in the categories for all-around-game, creativity and I do believe at his peak he was the best. Hakeem's prime is superior to any other center's prime IMO. Other areas - Durability, longevity, statistical dominance, physical dominance, passing, etc... lower on the totem poll.
