Mario Elie on Hakeem Olajuwon:" Hakeem was an amazing leader."

I can't say for sure if anyone will be able to be an amazing leader like Hakeem.

I think from early on he was a leader, but when re-dedicated himself to his religion he stepped it up and moved into a whole other level of leadership. He was always a leader, but he did take it to a new place.

I'm impressed by Harden. Maybe he'll make it to be an incredible leader. There's no way to tell for sure. The thing that impresses me now, is that he picks and chooses his moments. He does plenty of work to get his teammates involved, and works to get them their shots. But when the time comes and someone needs to step up, Harden will take that responsibility. I like that he has that natural sense about his game.

His defense has holes in it, but it's amazing how he can step that up and come up with a blocked shot, steal, or rebound at just the right time during crunch time of a game.

Those are the things that look good as far as Harden being able to take a leadership role in a meaningful way in the future.

But right now, no Rocket really stands close to Hakeem.

 

reading thisalone made me feel at ease with myself.. Hakeem is the man!

 

I love him too...

 

the junkyard dog is one of my favorite rockets of all time.

 

i dont care if its an old article. these new (LOF) rocket fans never experienced Dream like older fans did and its good to see this article.

Harden has some maturing and professionalism needed in order to be a championship caliber leader the way hakeem was the way kobe and lebron is. He's still young and i dont fault him for enjoying his life and i hope he does since we dont have all the pieces yet.

Harden still has a ways to go and some maturing to do. I think he has it in him.