(ESPN) Vote: Hakeem = greatest center in NBA history!

I am so f'ing tired of Shaq being placed ahead of hakeem.

 

No great player has been dominated more then Kareem. Mosses Malone destroyed him in the Finals...he should get some props for longevity, but its not even close when it comes to comparing him with Russell or Wilt.

 

Voted Dream #1 for most categories but I was willing to give Blowhard Walton the top spot for passing and Wilt for some others.

Agreed that Dream is at least #2 in all round game, all time. I still think Wilt would have been too tough to stop in any era, and of all my disappointments not getting to see some of the greats play each other, I wish Shaq had come along 20 years sooner so we could have seen two honest to God giants play head-to-head!!

 

Bill Simmons had a good point.

Bill Simmons from ESPN wrote:

 

Exactly the point i made in the other thread, watch the game people!

Here's another interesting tidbit from Simmons:

link

 

I know ALOT of Kobe fans who do it to spite Shaq

 

Why its definately Debatable.

 

Russel? Hes not half of what Kareem was.

 

Wilt was the best center ever, ever. But no doubt, Hakeem is right up there with the best of all time.

 

By the Yao is done with his career, he will be the greatest center of all time!

 

I meant by the time Yao......

 

In what possible way is it debatable?

Man, ESPN is the freakin' MTV of sports, feeding the BS to the nation.

 

Yea blame it on ESPN

 

Pound for Pound, inch for inch, Hakeem is the best center - hands down.

There's few who can argue that.

 

No, i was just stating a point.

Hakeem has shaq beaten in every facet of the game, that's why it's debatable.

But Shaq is more powerful, he must be better.

 

Dammit just pulled a George W. Meant to say non-deabtable.

 

Your acting like this is Kobe vs MJ

Shaq has the edge in stats and titles something that hold more weight than oh well Hakeem killed Shaq in the finals therefore must be better.

 

I never made the argument that the Rockets beating the Magic in '95 makes Hakeem the better player. I've never used that argument because Shaq was nowhere near his prime.

Your first comment simply proves my point that ESPN is a major negative influence because they treat stats as gospel.

Let me break something down;

Basketball is a team sport. Therefore any argument using championships is pretty pointless since no one man can win a championship on his own. It takes a million things to go perfectly for a team to win the ring.

Shaq has had the fortune of having three premier wing players by his side for each of his finals appearances, excellent GM's and coaches, and ofcourse for his victories, never once having to play a center worthy of competing with him.

Not to mention the fact that he was a complete liability in the crunch- a terrible flaw to have as a superstar player.

It's simple...look past the stats...watch the game.

 

I never said YOU used that argument but its been commonly used against Shaq

As for Championships, your a fool if you believe they hold no weight in a players career. Yes it takes a team but this isnt football or baseball we're talking about, basketball is a sport where 1 man can change the outcome of a game. And typically bigmen are the stars have the greatest influence on the game, thus are judged on how they win and lose.

LOL @ the he had the advantage of premier wing players. So Kareem isnt in Hakeems league either because he played with the 2 greatest PG of all time and the year he was without them he missed the playoffs? Shaq had great gaurd play but he was still the biggest factor they won (sans miami) and without him those gaurds havent faired well without him.

As for looking past the stats remark, do yourself a favor watch Shaq win his titles and stop looking at the percentages (stats) he made them in the clutch. If the only argument you have favoring Hakeem is that Shaq played with a young Kobe, and that he had a bad ft% then Ill stick to my stats alongside WATCHING THE GAME.

Again its debatable this isnt MJ VS Kobe we're talking about this is Shaq, I know this is a Rockets forum but the respect you show for Shaq is degrading.

 

What amazes me is the amount of respect he gets as a player.

He never worked to improve his game, if he had then maybe his free throw shooting wouldn't be an issue.

He never worked on his conditioning in the off-season, which lead to injuries, which he would save for late in the off-season to get surgery for...great respect for the game he has there, not to mention the fans who pay a sh*tload of money to see him.

But if you watch the game - refreshing boxscores doesn't count - Maybe you could tell me why the dominant one has never been a defensive stand-out despite his size and ability. The guy was super quick, and he had a good head on his shoulders-but he simply did not care enough on the defensive end, he could not even crack an all defensive first team once in his career, couldn't lead the league in rebounds or blocks (since you're so stat crazy, i thought i'd put that in there).

He got by, tried only when he wanted to. But it was never often enough and nobody was man enough to call him on it except Kobe, and we know how that turned out.

Shaq was a powerful player, and he was quite smart on and off the court (moving to Miami to play with Wade was a masterstroke). But he doesn't care, he got by on his size and whatever skill that he had, but he never worked to improve his game. A game that falls many levels short of Hakeem's.

He is the most dominant offensive player ever, but that is the only thing that is non-debatable.