"MVP?" Really? During the 89-92 era? You do know there were a bunch of *other* players in the NBA at that time that had accomplished quite a bit more than Akeem had. Sure, he was All-Star Caliber, but not "MVP." No way. Also, as Yodels stated, "he never really orchestrated the offense (he was THE offense)" during that time frame. Akeem really started to struggle during that era because he has lost his core group of players from the 86-90 era. He was getting the rap of being selfish and really was playing AGAINST his teammates, rather than with them. This was the main reason that the Rockets management wanted to trade him: He WAS selfish, period. It's true that Akeem needed talent around him. But, no one wanted to play with him. It was a bad time for Akeem and Houston basketball fans. It wasn't until Charlie Thomas sold the team, Les took over, Rudy was hired and Akeem rediscovered his religion did he turn things around. He was not the same player in 93-95 compared to 86-92. He actually started doing something that he never did before: Make his teammates better by passing. Before that he was physically dominant, but really didn't make teammates "better." He wasn't a "Kareem type passer (who is?). But he did improve in that area a lot. He started to trust his teammates. The new Hakeem added a lot of moves to his offensive weaponry. During the 86-88 era he was mainly raw power and athletic ability. He added a lot of "skill" to his offense later in his career once his leaping ability started to lessen. This is also why he was able to win championships. Save experience, it's amazing how much BBall intelligence can help you once ones athletic ability starts to wane. He overcame that with teamwork, chemistry, and improved skill. I think it's quite shortsighted and arrogant of Francis to compare himself to Hakeem (even metaphorically). I mean, come on...we're talking about apples and oranges in more than one way... 1) Hakeem was coming to the end of his great career. Already had played past his prime. 2) Hakeem was NOT traded during the prime of his career. I don't care about "almost." That issue was circumstantial; as explained above. 3) Franics has zero rings. Yet he expects us to understand when he uses the Hakeem "trade analogy (who already achieved a Finals MVP, NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player, and was a two time champ)?" 4) Most great players do not spend their whole career w/one team. Especially those last two "washed up years." Even Jordan had to move on. What do you think would've happened to Kareem or Wilt if they hadn't retired when they did? Bench warmers? So, anyways...Hakeem and Francis were each traded for completely ***different*** reasons.
I think he knows that, that's why he said if they could trade him, the greatest Rocket, they could trade me.
Just my take but I don't think Francis was comparing himself to Dream at the skills level. IMO, he's aluding to Dream being the "spirit" or embodiment of being a Rocket and still was traded.
Yao has yet to put up one season that is comparable to Akeem's rookie year. If he's going to eclipse him he better start soon.
I don't care if he ends up better or worse than Hakeem, I want him to bring a championship even a consistant 20-10 would be great (as long as the team keeps winning)
You said it. As long as he gets the job done(2+ championships), I could care less about Statistics. An example is Duncan, smart but far from flashy. At 28 he has already achieved as much as Dream. I think when it's all said and done, he would be ranked among top 10 players of all time. I would be more than happy that Yao could develop into a Duncan-type players.
Are you arguing that Duncan's stats aren't great. Stockton wasn't flashy, but he's the number 1 all-time assists leader. Flash and stats aren't the same thing so yes Yao has to improve his stats.
I hope Yao could reach Duncan's level in 2 or 3 years. What I like most about Duncan is he plays smart. He's a different animal from Hakeem but equally or more effective.
Dream is an atheletic beast. He could do it all but had problem to trust teammates in his early days. He was also extremely aggressive and always wanted to take over. Duncan is not even close to Dream in terms of atheletism. But he has played the game the right way from the very beginning. He encourages teammates to play to their best. Thus games become so easy for him while Dream sometimes might try to do too much.
In the "Akeem" years - he was also very aggressive interms of attitude and starting conflicts on the court. I remember back in the late 80s when Hakeem was constantly in fights or shoving matches with opposing players. Given experience and maturing - Hakeem definitely settled down into a calm giant in the early - mid 90s. The day Yao gets into a fight will be "Must See T.V."
Uh, no. Not equally effective. Hakeem was unstoppable offensively- Duncan isn't. The Lakers guarded him w/Robert Horry in single coverage during one of their title years. Hakeem was the best ever defensively- Duncan not even close to that.
The game is not played 1-on-1. Plus, the zone is killing the 1-on-1 offense. As a Rox fan, you know better about that. Hakeem began to win rings when he relied more on teammates than his own offensive ability. One great thing about the 93-95 championship team was that there were always some role players stepped up to seal the game for us. For example, Kenny Smith's 6 long bombs in the 1st game of 95 finals. You can argue that Hakeem would kill Duncan 1-on-1. But The team wins the game, not the individual. when it's all said and done, Duncan might win more rings and be ranked higher than Hakeem by fans outside of Houston.
Hakeem got to the Finals his second year in the league and played one of the greatest teams ever, with four hall of famers. If he played the team Duncan got to play his second year in the league, an eigth seed New York Knicks, whose hall of famer, Ewing was well past his prime, he would have gotten a ring that year.
1) Akeem didn't' do that alone; we had a core players in place. Unlike the 88-90 Rox teams. 2) The TWIN-TOWERS had the Lakers number; it distrupted the Laker offense; but we were confused by the Celtics passing, defenses and offenses. 3) We had a 51 win season. We were the cinderella team. After that year, we crumbled in the first round(s) for many years to come. 4) Just like Akeem couldn't lead this team to win in the 88-92 era (by doing it alone, like you are suggesting), what makes you think that he could have gotten out of the 1999 first round, much less beat the Knciks? The Spurs got there because they earned it; lead by Duncan. Anyways, I hate what-ifs....it's pure speculation.
