OK, not exactly, but in SI they have an article about duncan and they have a quote from JVG about duncan saying "In my 20 years in the NBA, Duncan is the best big to play the game." he then goes on to say he's better than shaq b/c shaq always had a penny, kobe, or wade instead of just ginobili. now since 20 years goes back to 1987 and includes our championships, i can only assume jvg is putting duncan ahead of Hakeem, which is ridiculous. maybe you can make a duncan/shaq comparison (though i think shaq is better) b/c they've both had great supporting casts their whole careers and duncan is about to have a 4th title as the leader of a team to shaq's 3 (wade was the leader last year). but hakeem was just as good as duncan offensively and even better defensively. duncan got pushed around by the shaq/kobe lakers, hakeem beat the showtime lakers in just his second year in the league. now i think i'm glad that someone with such blasphemous thoughts was fired. so do any other true rockets fans find it wrong to say duncan is better than hakeem?
I don't see anything wrong with that statement. It's certainly up for debate. Both HOF players. Obviously I like the Dream better but if I took off my rose colored glasses, its up for grabs.
No Big did what Hakeem did in the playoffs. He always stepped it up in the Clutch! So anyone who tries to argue against that is an idiot. But if you are talking about Championships Duncan is building a name for himself and if he continues you will certainly have to give him some props for his Era as being the best.
For 4-5 years Hakeem played at a level that Duncan has never sniffed but if you compare the entire career of each player then it is a close call.
I have more of a problem with people saying Shaq was absolutely better than Hakeem. I think Hakeem overall was a better player than Shaq, but with Duncan it's a close call. The fact that Duncan will end up with more rings won't help matters much either.
You can argue that Duncan is the greatest PF ever, and even though Hakeem played at a higher level in playoffs, you can't deny that Duncan had more overall team success than HAkeem.
No question Gundy is grumpy and ungracious. The disgraced former Rockets head coach is still bitter about his old Knicks' loss at the powerful hands and nimble feet of Olajuwon in '94.
At this point, I don't see how anyone can complain when someone puts Duncan over Hakeem. I'd still take Hakeem but can see the other side also.
Nor will the fact that Shaq is up 4-2 in that category. Look I hate to say it, but Shaq's brutal efficiency at its peak was more effective, for longer, than Hakeem's unmatched skill, and basicallly more than any player in NBA history. Sad, painful to admit, but true. Anyway, Duncan's supreme performance should be used to bludgeon Karla Malone, not Hakeem. Karla's second best ness is very sweet indeed.
Do you guys think that we win those 2 championships if we have Duncan instead of Hakeem? Do you think Hakeem only wins 2 championships if he had the supporting cast that Duncan has enjoyed throughout his career?
Duncan's supreme performance should be used to bludgeon Karla Malone, not Hakeem. Karla's second best ness is very sweet indeed.[/QUOTE] An excellent post SamFisher.
I love Dream, and was so proud of him, and in those 2 years, he was the best, better than Duncan is now, IMHO. But, it took him 10 years to get that good to that level of mental discipline. Duncan has been better than Dream was at the same point in their careers, and mentally disciplined the whole way. Duncan has been the consumate pro and consistently good, whereas Dream was inconsistent, or we'd have had more championships. The fact that Duncan has been so consistently great, like Jordan, is what JVG is referring to, I think.
Difficult to say. Duncan had all the pieces around him from day 1. Hakeem's 'supporting cast' only arrived in the 90s, at at near end of his career.
Hey, he never coached Duncan, either. It was a thoughtless statement on Van Gundy's part, IMO. Perhaps a brain fart. As has been said, Duncan is a 4. Dream is, in my opinion, the best center to have played the game, taking into account everything he could do and how he developed over the years. I would pick Duncan in a New York minute to play at the 4 spot next to Hakeem on a "Dream Team," but if there was an intent to place Hakeem under Duncan as a big man, Van Gundy can take his opinion and spend more than a few minutes in New York, eating an apple.
Hakeem would have never won anything had MJ not retired. Duncan made an immediate impact as soon as he was drafted in SA. It took Hakeem, what, 10 years to win it all or at least get MVP? This isn't even close. I love Hakeem, don't get me wrong, but Duncan has 3 rings, let's make it 4, countless awards, great defender, great leader and teammate, and he's won on virtually 3 different teams: once with guys like Jaren Jackson and Mario Elie, once with David Robinson and Stephen Jackson, and once with the guys they pretty much have now. To win 3 different championships in 3 different era with 3 different teams: wow. MJ did it twice. Duncan's already done it 3 times.
Dream came into the league as a 4 next to Sampson. I don't want to hear all these "you can't compare the 2, they play different position" debates. Duncan is essentially a center. He's even taller than Hakeem, weighs just as much as him. Hakeem spent as much time on the outside as Duncan does.
With all due respect, and I mean that sincerely, you are an idiot. No, that wasn't fair. Mentally challenged. Doesn't sound right, either. A body with an empty vessel on it's shoulders. Much better. With all due respect.
This is pretty much BS. Jordan is the GOAT but he wasn't going to 8-peat had he stayed in the league after the first 3 championships. Hakeem might not have 2 rings but he would have won at least one.
