Dream was on the radio today on ESPN. Here is some of what he said: Dream, what do you feel going into a game 7? Well, its game seven. You have alot of thoughts. But you mostly have alot of pressure. Its a game 7. The whole year comes down to one game. And its for all the marbles. What does Tim Duncan have to do tonight? He hasn't played very well. Well, as a big man, he has to make his presence felt. He has to get down low and dominate. He has all the moves. Drop step. Baby hook. Rebounding. But he has to take over. Its game seven and he is at home. Finally, Dream, who is the best center who ever played against you? Well, they all posed different problems. Shaq has power and strength. People don't know how that combined with quickness is difficult to defend. Patrick was physical and active. David was quick. And he was left handed. That posed problems also. After the interview, one of the hosts said: He is trying to be humble. But lets be honest. He was better than Ewing. He was a little better than Robinson.... The other host said What about Shaq? They both hesitated. One of said clearly that Shaq is better. The other one said he didn't know. God. When I hear sh*t like that, I want to set idiots like that on fire. So, I sent them this email. I am hope they read it on the air. You guys are nuts. How can you say that Shaq is better than Olajuwon? Can you tell me how many defensive player of the year Shaq has won? How many times was an NBA All Defensive player? How many big time centers has Shaq played against in his career and not only did well against them, but DOMINATED them? Who has more rebounding titles? Who has a quadruple double on his resume? Who won a title by himself and with no other superstar on the team? As usual, the media goes for the guy with the most sneaker sales and the most exposure. Olajuwon, like Duncan, is overlooked because of his humility. And remember this. I have been trying to get this out to the media to show how good Olajuwon is. From 1984-1998, which are the peaks of Jordans and Olajuwons career, Olajuwon had a winning record against Jordan. The only top 50 player in history to do that against his Airness. Oh, did I mention that during his fasting month of Ramadan, Olajuwon has averaged near 25pts and 10 rebs per game? Hello? Thats with no WATER during the game!!! How many ways can Shaq beat you? 4? 5? Olajuwon has about 100. Please. Wake up media people. The man is easily top 10 of all time. Look at the resume. Not at the list of awful movies.
Hakeem on Mike & Mike (ESPN) I hate for this to be a teaser thread but I'm at work--my wife just called with the update and put the phone next to the TV so I could catch the end of the interview. Hakeem said (paraphrased): Best center he faced: many were tough b/c he played with many of the 50 greatest ever: Moses, Patrick, Robinson, Shaq...hard to say one b/c they all had different strengths--Patrick was very physical and active, Shaq has strength and power, David was very active, defended well and is left-handed...his era wasn't about just offense, you had to play defense as well. Who is he rooting for tonight: In Texas, so he's gotta go with Spurs but he has a lot of respect for Detroit and they way they played, winning game 6 on the road. Which would he rather have, Spurs home-court advantage or Pistons momentum?: Home-court just to have the fans and everyone rooting for you/on your side. After that that thanked him and hailed him as a living legend and one of the greatest of all-time (and rightfully so!!!) Maybe they will replay the interview or he could be at the game tonight--keep an eye out for the Dream and if anyone catches the whole interview, please post!
They said Shaq is better because he's a movie star and he has a pool in his backyard that he named Shaqapulco. Shaq sucks.
Good email, but you forgot one thing - Hakeem was also a little undersized. The man was 6'10 1/2" and could have easily played power forward (more naturally then Duncan) yet he dominated guys that were 7'-7'4" and 280-300 pounds.
Screw Shaq. I know Shaq is a great center, but he will never be as good as Hakeem. Shaq can't do half the things Dream could do.
Shaq is the most physically dominating player in NBA history. Hakeem is simply one of the best basketball players ever. He could shoot, sort of dribble, play amazing defense, block anything that came near the paint, and just impose his will on the game all by himself. Shaq needs some one to get him the ball in just the right spot. You could always count on Hakeem making his FT's down the stretch. Shaq has to come out of close games at the end.
How is Dream just a little better than David Robinson? They need to compare David Robinson to Luc Longley or Rik Smits.
Clearly, Shaq is on pace to pass up Olajuwan on the all-time blocks and steals lists. I'm also quite certain that, today, Shaq can catch Rod Strickland from half-court on a dead run to block the shot. Just because Shaq allowed Charles Jones to guard him in the Finals doesn't mean he hasn't grown. Let's not forget how great a defender Jones was - not to mention the years of experience Jones had over Shaq at the time. Sure, Olajuwan won the championship in 1994 with no superstars to back him up, but on teams with 3 hall-of-famers, Olajuwan went nowhere. Olajuwan never had to deal with so many teams during his championship runs, like Toronto and Memphis. That's at least 24 players in the league that Olajuwan didn't have to fight through on his way to the Finals. ...and Shaq never lost an NCAA championship game.
Ok, now we're getting carried away here. Hakeem couldn't dribble worth a flip. If you ever see videos of him stealing the ball and running on the break, he would slap at or pat the ball when he dribbled. If the only dribbling required was to free himself from the defender and give about 2-4 feet of space, he could do it. But wow, anything else was painful to watch. But then he was a center, so who cares? All the other stuff more than made up for it.
Well, if anyone knows about taking over a game (not to mention a SEASON) it's Dream. God, I miss the old days. As far as the Hakeem vs. Shaq debate, even Shaq knows that Hakeem was better. I've heard him say in an interview once that all good centers have 3 or 4 post moves, but Hakeem had 3 or 4 variations of 3 or 4 post moves. He has said that Hakeem was the best player he's ever been on the same court with (including MJ). Shaq has never had anything but respect for Hakeem and his game, and he's not one for dishing out compliments on other player's games. I think it comes from (aside from getting his ass kicked in 95) Hakeem searching him out after Game 4 and giving him words of encouragement even after his team just won the championship. That really meant a lot to Shaq.
I agree that Olajuwon is better than Shaq, and that Shaq will never reach Olajuwon greatness. On the other hand, had Shaq not had so many nagging injuries over his career, I'm not sure you'd be able to say that. People underestimate how quick Shaq is, especially for his size. There are plenty of huge centers in the league, but none of them could dominate like Shaq because they were just slow and unwieldy. Remember, Shaq was a student of Hakeem, just like Hakeem was a student of Moses. He may not have had Hakeem's array of moves, but he does have an above average arsenal at his disposal. Combine that with his ridiculous quickness and size, and you can't contain him. I still believe that Hakeem was and will remain the better player, but when people make comments like "Shaq sucks" or "All Shaq can do is dunk" they just expose their ignorance.
I don't think Dream's "wicked crossover" could beat Yao's "killer behind the back dribble" on Portland last season!
