No.1 at 21 century You cant compare Yao with anyone's prime at last century, they are under different set of rules.
Yeah, seriously guys. He can't be compared to the other centers, because he REALLY can't be compared to them. Different sets of rules, different eras, with non-dominant centers. It's all about Kobe and Lebron and Dwyane. It's not Yao and Shaq and Dwight anymore.
None of these guys have won an NBA championship without a great big man. Dwade had Shaq, Kobe had Shaq. Lebron faced a team with a superior big man, Duncan. the Celtics won with KG (technical a big man).
Right there with you DD... Plus how in the heck do you have Jermain O'Neal and Deke above Wes Unseld and the GREAT Willis Reed.... Some of you are too young to know about half the guys on that list. Yao would be in Ranked in the bottom half - with these guys.. Yao Ming (HOU) Brad Daugherty (CLE) Jermaine O'Neal (IND) Rik Smits (IND) Kevin Duckworth (POR)
I don't understand why some people have this mindset. You're telling me that its impossible to determine whether or not Yao is superior to Bryant Reeves just because they played in different eras? Look at the individual player's skill sets, speed, strength, work ethic, stamina, agility, basketball IQ, etc... And then compare it to another player and then decide which player you'd rather build a team around.
Durvasa, as fans of the Rockets it's hard for us to place Yao in a list like this because then we'd have to accept that he needs more help than we have around him. To answer question, I'd put him somewhere around Zo. In his prime, Zo was great on defense and good on offense but not quite dominant enough to ever be able to win a championship without significant help.
Like I said, it was meant to be a rough ordering. I had all the names down, basically in chronological order, and I spent about 15 seconds reordering them. I can't say I have much to go on with some of the older players beyond the numbers, what I've read about them, and the few Hardwood Classic games I've seen. I probably underrated Willis Reed a bit. Eliot Kalb had him 39th all time, just after Patrick Ewing, in his "Who's Better, Who's Best?" book. I don't think I'd put him that high, but amongst centers he could probably move up more than where I put him. Again, the thread isn't about comparing the careers of players. Reed and Unseld are more accomplished than JO or Deke in terms of championships. It's more about looking at their impact on the floor or ability to lead their team to victory in their peak years. Reed and Unseld were champions, but neither was ever far and away the best player on their team. I think most people at the time, and even since, would say that Walt Frazier was the best player on those Knick teams. Unseld might have been considered the "heart and soul" on his Bullet teams, but he certainly wasn't a dominating offensive player. He made the all-star team 5 times, and he was selected to the All-NBA team once -- his rookie season. Yao doesn't have the career accomplishments or "legend" status those guys might have earned over time, but if I could choose between Yao or either of those two to be the core of my team I don't think Yao would be a bad choice. He's definitely the best post scorer of the three.
i wouldn't say zo is better. yao is easily a better offensive player and more talented. but zo was the better defensive player, rebounder, and shotblocker. i still give the edge to yao, but not by far.
i agree with you completely on this part. if dwight howard can average 22 pts on limited offensive skills, hakeem just might put up 40 a game. hell a prime shaq in today's game might put up 40 a game. he's putting up 18 on 32 minutes a game.
Yao's a good scorer no doubt but he has way too many weaknesses that teams can exploit. His stamina is bad, he got cement hands, he can be fronted, physical play takes him out of the game etc. He's like a double edge sword. I think Deke would have a field day blocking Yao.
For the reasons you listed, it would be easier to build a team around Zo than Yao. I'd give the edge to Zo.
some of you guys seriously overrate yao. yao is solid but he's not among the greats. like someone said before, he's a notch below alonzo
I see a lot of names but no one did mention Sabonis or Vlade Divac. Whyt in the hell is J. O'neal even named in this list? With that said, I think Yao can easily jump above a lot of names in that list: what he need is a couple of decent years into the playoffs.
Please read the first post: "The way I chose this list is I picked any all-star caliber centers (or forward/center hybrids like Duncan) that were on teams that won a championship or teams that won at least 70% of their regular season games since the 59-60 season. Roughly, this is a list of very good centers on very good teams since that time. I might have missed a few, in which case you can include that name." The Pacers won 61 games some years ago, and they reached the Finals. Jermaine O'Neal led the team in points, rebounds, and blocks that year, and he was voted All-NBA second team, and he was third in MVP voting. That's enough to meet the qualifications of the list.
Yao has a better offensive game than Deke, but Deke's superior defense trumps Yao's overall skills so far. Let's not forget Deke helped the Sixers get to the Finals, it wasn't all Iverson. Let's also not forget that Deke shocked the world by beating the Sonics in Denver. Also Deke's longevity in the league is amazing. You think Yao will play in the league when he's Deke's age? That's what makes Kareem and even Shaq quite amazing. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BUyqp3kSYIs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BUyqp3kSYIs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I like this thread durvasa. I know you will get low ratings for showing some sort of reality to the fans here. I like Yao and he's the best center in the game now, but it shows the reality of things when you paint the big picture. most players have weaknesses and Yao's lack of speed and dexterity are his. That's why you can't place him ahead of people like Kareem, Robinson, and Hakeem. His advantage is his strength and height and skill. Its good enough for me.
how many years are still ahead in the 21st century? can you make sure there won't be another guy playing better than today's yao after yao gets old and dies?
even during the first decade of 21st century, it's still very hard to consider yao as the best center. Shaq gains 4 rings in this decade, Ben Wallace one... how many rings has yao got?
I totally agree. Deke wasn't as multifaceted on defense as Olajuwon but he was a true weapon on defense and could shut down the paint for opponents. I can't think of many bigs that could do that, very few. He's led the league in blocks and in rebounding. Despite Yao's advantage in offensive skill level, I'd take a prime Deke.
