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. No way Shaq passes Dream on steals or blocks. 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. No way Dream is stopped by anyone drawing on their 401k. 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. Shaq has never won without a 2nd superstar. 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. The league is much more "watered-down" today than in 1994. ...and Shaq never lost an NCAA championship game. Shaq didn't go to the final four. There is a reason why Shaq shows Dream so much respect when he refers to him. Dream rules.
HAHA! I was about to comment on your post exactly like you did, good thing I didn't, would of looked dumber.
IMO, Shaq is more physically dominating than Wilt. Wilt is a better player, by far. Shaq is bigger and faster than Wilt. The players from Wilt's era typically weren't as big as they are now. Just my opinion.
i don't have as much of a problem with someone picking shaq over hakeem as i used to but he's definitely not CLEARLY better. that's just stupid. i'd personally take dream ten times out of ten, in his prime. he's atleast equal offensively but defensively he's twice as dominant. when discussing the greatest players ever shouldn't you compare play on both sides of the ball? shaq fans are quick to dismiss defense. a little better than robinson? that's a joke.
Not quite correct. In Islam, you are not allowed to DRINK OR EAT between sun rise and sunset during Ramadan monthg. Since most NBA games are played just before sunset, Hakeem often played the 1st half of a game WITHOUT ANY FOOD OR WATER IN THE LAST 10~11 HOURS!!! Sometimes during games, Hakeem would wet his lips with some water, or drink some water and then spit it out if it is a particularly late game. That is why Barkeley, after coming to Houston and witnessing what Hakeem did during Ramadan, called it "the most amazing thing" he had seen in his life.
Its also getting carried away to say that he couldn't dribble worth a flip. Hakeem had a great face up game. He used to make driving passes and cross up his defender on the left baseline all the time. but when he was running at full speed down court after a steal he did look kinda awkward.
Hakeem's 'legacy problem' is due to The Dream not being a media pig, self-promoting, and leaving the country. Shaq is more mediacentric (than just about anyone). Shaq and Olajuwon are both great, great players/great careers, and better by a nod and a half over PEw or David. Which one has the better body of work? Debatable. I still give HO a half a nod over Shaq. BTW - Most Dominant Ever? Great self-promotion, Mr O'Neal, but how can Wilt be dismissed? Who ever dominated more? Ever? Wilt's health record far exceeds Shaq's, and his track/volleyball/boxing skills trump whatever athletic comparisons between those two. Soccer anyone?
ok. first of all as a Muslem in the month of Ramadan you CAN NOT drink water. Hell, you can't even rinse your mouth and spit it out, from Dawn to sunset. but everyone forgets this: in 1994 Hakeem was the MVP, MVP of the finalls, and Defensive player of the year. NO one has ever done that! Not even his [overrated] Airness.
Am I the only one who finds it amazing that we're debating whether an oversized football player and a soccer goalie who didn't pick up a basketball until age 15 is the better NBA center? As far as the all-time list of centers, ranked 1-25, here is my list: 1. Wilt Chamberlain 2. " " 3. " " . . . 17. Bill Russell 18. " " 19. " " . . . 24. Hakeem 25. Shaq
from DarkHorse: Dream had his share of health problems, but I think Shaq's deterioration is coming rapidly. And Dream's responsibilities after the '86 team collapsed are not comparable to anything Shaq has faced in his career. If Shaq handled the ball of 90% of possessions and led his team to a championship, then I'd at least say he was comparable to Dream in some way. Shaq couldn't have guarded Wilt. No one really could except Russell (who yielded Wilt 50 rbs in one game), but Dream could have. The all-time great center debate is really screwed up. Shaq is (maybe was) quicker than most people know, but he wasn't ever as quick as Dream and Wilt or Russell were in their youth - not even close. Maybe Wilt wasnt as strong as Shaq, but Shaq wouldn't have pushed him around either. ESPN isn't journalism, it's all about $$$. They need Shaq to be available to them now, and Dream was never as marketable.
I can't believe Kareem isn't SOMEWHERE on that list... Dream was a freak athlete. If he had been playing basketball for as long as Shaq had, Dream's prime would have been '86-'95, IMO, a decade of dominance (take THAT your airness!)
Nope, sorry, only one member of Islam per list. Better luck next time Lew Abdul-Jabbar! Okay so I completely forget about him...if it's any excuse, I hate the Lakers(?)
Overrated? Overrated? Finally i've been waiting for someone to say that! I thought i was alone! Brilliant as he is-he'd never have won a ring on his own, well maybe two-but not six. Hakeem is the greatest, he dominated the centre position at its peak, revolutionised the centre position and never had a weakness-they say mike never had a weakness-show me hakeems. Shaq never played anybody - who was his comp? Divac? Brad Miller? I'll give him 'Zo for just for cred - but centre has been dead in Shaqs time and he's been stuffing his face at undersized buffet.
Earlier in his career, you could take him out of his offense with a double team. He also tended to hold onto the ball too long, something that only Rudy T was able to get him out of. Seriously. In the early 1990s, when I saw him passing out of double teams, my jaw just about broke on the floor. It is unfortunate those two didn't connect as coach and pupil earlier. If Rudy had followed, say, Del Harris, then maybe we would have won a couple more rings in the 1990s. Still, all that being said, I've never seen anyone like Hakeem. He ran the floor like a deer, he played it end to end. I've never seen anyone at the center position play the way he did, and I expect it will be decades before anyone else comes close. Shaq... I never saw Wilt (except the broken down 1972 Wilt) or Bill Russell...but Shaq is just amazingly fast near the basket, given his power and size. I think the Diesel is more capable of doing 32 and 20 on people than Olajuwan was. I think Olajuwan was more capable of 40 and 12, 4 steals, and chasing that point guard down at the end of the game, blocking the shot from behind, getting the rebound of the blocked shot, tossing the outlet pass to a guard to scores to win the damn game. And sorry, Shaq does not -do- the last with the alarming regularity that Hakeem did the last throughout his career. And the young ' uns who never saw this guy when he was the defensive "IT" of centers have no clue. David.
Jordan sans Pippen = No rings. NOT ONE. Hakeem won two championships practically single handedly in the era chuck full of hall of fame centers (albeit we had KILLER role players.. just like the Bulls had).. Did Larry Bird do that? No. Did Kareem do that? No. Did Magic do that? No. Did Shaq do that? NO.
i agree Jordon was over-rated...the guy was great...but he could'nt do it himself....he could never take a team on his back and ride them to the glory land...no SG can...that's sort of the problem as well....Hakeem is the only player who i think carried his team like no other....he rocks
