Hakeem is the only reason why I post on this site now. He's one of the most under appreciated players to ever play in the league. His love for life and basketball changed my entire life. Michael Jordan is a b****, btw.
Let me say first that I'm a UH alum, and have been a season ticket holder since the late 60's. So I've watched a lot of the great Cougar legends the minute they arrived on campus. From Big E, Don Chaney, Dwight Jones, Dwight Davis, Lou Dunbar, Sidney Edwards, Otis Birdsong, the arrival of Rob Williams & Micheaux (the first two key cogs of Phi Slama Jama) and then Young & Drexler. When Hakeem first arrived at UH you could see how athletic he was, however he was still very raw and didn't really understand the game of basketball that well. He could get up and down the floor extremely fast, and was a good rebounder just on heart, persistence, and athletic ability (was yet to grasp positioning his body and how to block out and would get countless fouls called against him for going over the back of people). He would block anything he could get his hands on, and with that came countless goal tending calls. However by doing so he certainly made opponents think twice about entering the paint. Offensively he wasn't good. Most of his points came off put backs, and he would travel quite a bit because he didn't have his footwork down (or he'd just slam into an opponent because he didn't know what he was doing because he couldn't control his body). The summer between his freshman and sophomore yr he spent SO much time up at Fonde (or as Billy Packer called it before the Finals against Georgetown "Fondu Gym") working on his game (as well at Hofheinz). More importantly going up against Big Mo. Early that summer Malone worked him over BIG time. As the summer wore on you could see Hakeem getting his footwork down, and from time to time he'd get the ball in the paint and put a spin move on Mo that would leave everyone (including Mo) saying "WOW....where the hell did that come from". Me and a few of my friends would go to Fonde every week that summer (as well as going over to Hofheinz to watch them play) and Hakeem just got better and better. One night at Fonde at the end of the summer, Big Mo put a move on Hakeem and was going up for what appeared to be an easy shot when suddenly Hakeem came out of nowhere and swatted it away. The whole gym was going crazy. However, Mo called a foul on Hakeem, and it got real quiet, and Hakeem yelled out, "OH NO.......BE A MAN......BE A MAN MO". Everyone at Fonde was cracking up, but it was VERY evident that Hakeem was NO longer a push over and was more then holding his own against one of THE GREATEST BIG MEN to ever play the game (it still cracks me up when people on this site don't have Big Mo as the 2nd greatest Rocket or even in their top 5.......you obviously NEVER saw him play because if you did you'd know how incredible he was). In closing let me say this, I've NEVER seen a player improve more in one year as the Dream did between his freshman and sophomore seasons. Watching the journey of The Dream from his Freshman yr at UH to a TWO TIME WORLD CHAMPION and one of THE GREATEST PLAYERS to EVER play the game was (AND ALWAYS WILL BE) one of the greatest things I've witnessed. Thank you Dream!!!!!
Whoever voted no should be exiled from this site. Whoever voted no is likely wavering on being a Rockets fan, or a Jazz fan.
Saying Hakeem is underrated or the GOAT is absolutely fine in my eyes...but we don't have to call other GOAT's "overrated" otherwise it makes us look like homers to the outsider/non Rockets fan browsing clutchfans and then our opinions won't be respected.
Kobe wasn't even the WS leader in regular season and playoffs those 2 titles...Gasol was. There are SO many things to discuss about Kobe that raise your eyebrows when comparing him to other top 10, hell, top 20 players. It's a very polarizing topic which pins advanced metrics fans vs emotional fans who love Kobe for the exciting highlight reel player he was that happened to play nearly his entire 20 year career with dominant overall teams/teammates for one of the GOAT sports franchises in media heaven. In reality, an unbiased view of Kobe puts him above Dominique Wilkins level with a better "career" due to better teammates and more memorable moments and a better sustained excellence from start to finish. He clearly had better all around skills than Nique as well even from the eye test. Due to hardware and longevity, i can't place Kobe outside of the top 20, but i can't put him in my top 10. Somewhere in between is a better place for him in my opinion. Without the rings, he'd be outside top 20 because there are more big men who were more efficient scorers and dominant on defense but lack hardware. The flashy guard will always be the fan favorite, but bigs are just much more valuable when discussing lists. It's true that the guard is the one who has to take over in clutch situations in almost any case which some times lasts longer in our memories while the dominant big who accumulated so many different stats through the first 3.5 quarters is forgotten. Almost any case except 1. Has there ever been a non perimeter player you could dump it down to in order to take over when the game was on the line and deliver especially without a dominant perimeter teammate drawing attention? Hakeem is the only one in the history of the NBA i can think of. Wilt had garbage teams most of his career, but he was still called a choker in crunch time. Same for the Admiral and Chuck always came up short as well. Karl Malone always blew it at the free throw line. KG didn't want it. Duncan and the Spurs relied on a system and taking care of the ball more so than taking over. Kareem was usually a 1st round exit without Oscar or Magic. Russell wasn't very good at all in the post. Shaq had Penny, Kobe and Wade but couldn't hit FT's. Dirk? For a single incredible post season run where he or his teammates couldn't miss, but was mostly considered a choker his entire career. Big E had Unseld next to him and i believe Pearl. Ewing always came up short and missed tons of big shots. Moses? Prime Walton?
Hakeem is hands down the GOAT. He was truly a Master of his craft. Any master craftsman would tell you that it takes time to hone your skills. That's what Hakeem Olajuwonone did. Every year he would add something dominant to his arsenal. The most poetically fluid-fierce player I've ever witnessed play. Raw and yet absolutely dominating. He could take over a basketball game at will. He was my rock in the paint!
There are no other GOAT's in basketball. "Greatest" only has room for one. There are tons of great basketball players out there, but there's only one GOAT. That GOAT is Hakeem in basketball. Did somebody dis Wayne Gretzky or Muhammed Ali? I would say those guys deserve respect, but if you're talking about Michael Jordan, no. Just no. He's not the greatest player, he's just the greatest shooting guard of all time. Big difference. Hakeem #1
