Sure, numbers don't lie, but depends how you read them. Both averaged 3.1 blocks per game, but Deke played 2.2 minutes less per game. Deke played 1009 games so far, Dream 1238 games. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/statistics?statsId=425 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/statistics?statsId=250
Deke had 101 blocks last season so it's safe to say Hakeem's record is safe if he only plays for two more seasons
on a per game basis, hakeem is up 3.09 to 3.07, and that's with hakeem having played 4 extra years which gave him more time to lower that number (though mutombo only got started at 25 years old). if mutombo repeats his 80 game, 1.3 blks from last year he'll be down to 2.94. one thing i couldn't believe when i just looked at all time blocks was manute bol's blocks per minute. i knew he racked up the blocks (2nd all time with 3.34 per game), but dude did it in 18.74 minutes! 8.56 per 48 minutes. by far the best ever.
Let's be more careful when we say that Eaton gave him trouble - sure the very young (rookie) hakeem wasn't quite as dominant against him in his first few matchups - but as a rookie in the 85 playoffs (while his shooting did suffer a bit dipping to 47%), he did put up 21 ppg, slightly higher than his season average, against Utah & Eaton for 5 games His average would have been more, and the rockets would have won the series had he not lost his temper and been ejected in the deciding game - but that was Billy Paultz, not Eaton. I recall him pretty much eating Eaton's lunch subequently as H/Akeem ascended and Eaton declined. Eaton slowed him down a bit initially, but by no means did he come close to stopping him. Perkins (with the help of the Seattle zone) seemed to give him more trouble (though again, just slightly) even when he was at his peak, in my opinion.
I also remember Sabonis giving Olajuwon fits. I remember in 1984 when Sabonis played for USSR in the Olympics, the many comparisons between him and Hakeem as they were both the new dominant big men bursting on the basketball scene but it would take many, many years later before they matched up (well past Sabonis' prime when he played for Portland).
So with 710 more blocks at his 3.1 blocks per game for another 319 games or about four seasons (3,807 overall in theory), Deke is still behind the Dream's 3,830. The Dream is the best shot blocker.
I have to say that after Hakeem, Deke is the best shot blocker I ever saw. I'm only 35 though. And I think that they didn't keep the shot block stats until the 70s or something. Does anyone remember anyone better? How about Bill Russell?
That was more because Hakeem was on the rise and Eaton was on the decline. Both in their prime Eaton would give Hakeem fits because of size and defense. He wouldn't stop him, but give him fits.
i do remember how eaton was troublesome, and to give more reason to hate the jazz, ostertag gave the dream problems as well. randomly, and off topic, it also reminds of how larry nance used to dominate otis thorpe. that really worked my nerves.
It's hard to compare them. Hakeem actually played on offense and was obviously one of the best offensive centers of all-time so he expended a ton more engery on offense than Deke did. On sheer shot blocking terms, I do think Hakeem was better but they were definitely different types of shot blockers. Deke never had the quickness of Hakeem and I think he was a much better one on one shot blocker whereas Hakeem was a lot more like a goalie. He was the best help defender I've ever seen. I also think Hakeem was much more a weapon on defense than Deke, not only because of the shot blocking but also because of his quick hands and ability to make so many steals. It really bugs me that Hakeem didn't win more DPOY honors. Almost embarrassing that he didn't actually when you see Ben Wallace and Deke having won so many.
The only guys that might have been better blockers than Hakeem were Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, but we will never know how many those guys got since they didn't even keep that statistic until they had both retired.
yeah.. but you got to keep in mind that they played in a different era where players over 7" tall were a rarity. Personally I think Hakeem & Deke played with much better competition... except for a few gems during that era. Heck, both Wilt and Bill avged just over 22 rebounds per game for their carreer.. That would never happen nowadays. That means the league was much shorter back then.
Deke started his NBA career four years later (at 25) than Dream. Your comparison isn't really fair. It is more meaningful to compare on per minute basis, since both played a lot of minutes. On per minute basis, Deke leads Dream on both blocks and rebounds. Remember Deke is the only NBA player who won four DPOY awards.
Perkins gave Dream fits on the defensive end of the floor because Deram had to come out so far to guard him...but Sam never slowed Dream down on the offensive end any more than your average center, as I remember.
Are you being serious? Please read immediately!!! http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_all_time_leaders/AllTimeLeadersBLKQuery.html?topic=4&stat=15
Game by game basis, Dream would still be number one. If you don't like it, fine, but don't pretend it isn't true.
