If they were playing one on one Hakeem would destroy Jokic. That's not a question. But you can make an argument Joker is a better 5 on 5 player. The way he can initiate the offense is incredible. Denver has one the best offense ever running through him. Gotta give him some credit. It's not as big of a mismatch as we all want it to be being Rockets fans.
Hakeem would have closed the gap on shooting and dribbling if Hakeem was drafted in this era and worked on his 3 pointers and handles. Pretty certain of that. The real advantage is that Jokic is a facilitator.
Just don’t compare players different eras, doesn’t make sense. Offenses have improved a lot and jokic is part of a much better offensive system and faces much better offenses. Hakeem would adjust to today’s offenses, shoot 3s, pass better etc. and jokic would probably be a good defender 30 years ago facing more stagnant offenses. They are two of the greatest players.
I'm not prepared to pass judgment on this important question till I hear "fockass" in a Serbian accent.
Different eras, but Jokic doesn't have the same competition at center Hakeem had and dominated. Embiid has a winning record against him and you could argue outplays Jokic when you consider defense. Defensive skill wise it's not close with Jokic in comparison to Olajuwon. https://stathead.com/basketball/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id1=jokicni01&player_id2=embiijo01 Transport him to Hakeem's era or Hakeem to Jokic and very likely Jokic gets outplayed by Olajuwon in a playoff matchup. Hakeem likely would develop a three-point shot due to having touch and would be just as good or better than Embiid IMO, who is a lesser athlete and defender. Joel outplays Jokic head to head now, Hakeem would more so imo.
No he is not. These comparisons are silly. The greats were unique. The present stars will be the same.
Sabonis in his prime was bigger and more athletic than Jokic with all the same skills. You can say Jokic is baby Sabonis. Prime Sabonis was scary good.
Recency bias is a MFer!!! --- well at least we can look forward to Alperen Sengun surpassing both of these guys right? Riiiight?
Hakeem would abuse him offensively, and shut him down defensively period. Hakeem played in big men league, while joker playing in a guard league that suites him best. Not taking anything from the joker but I don’t think he can stop Hakeem, Robinson, Barkley and shaq….
I agree that it's a different era and it's not really comparable, but I'd imagine either of them would be able to adapt if you put them into a time machine into the other's era and still would be stars. Incredibly intelligent, incredibly skilled players will find a way.
Nobody that has ever played would “shut him down defensively”, that’s completely asinine. He has no weakness as an offensive player
