I chose Nique over VC, but I think he's actually one of the most overrated players ever. Nique was mentally tough, couldn't be intimidated and never backed down from a challenge like Mr. Softie Vince Carter. But he was far from a complete player and had a lot of flaws in his game. He was a poor passer, didn't have very good floor vision and was awful on defense. Also, during many games I watched, Nique made a lot of very poor decisions when the game was on the line. I think Nique's highlights have embellished his memory far beyond reality. In 15-20 years, a similar thing will happen with VC.
Dominique might not have the offensive package like Carter but he plays hard every night. VC... well... those last few days in TO... enough said..
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And you are NOT taking into consideration the vast differencein the level of competition when youre talking about Carters "Playoff Success." Dont misunderstand me. You are entitled to your opinion and if you believe that VC is/was a better player, thats ok. But dont say you are backing things up with "Hard Facts." A better poll question would be who thinks VC will get into the hall of fame? I Dont.
I remember thinking shortly after Carter's infamous dunk contest win that he would probably be this generation's Dominique. The only thing about Carter is that it just seems like the guy has totally fallen off the map for whatever reason. It seems like Carter is one of those guys who needs someone that light his fire, it just doesn't burn from within. If you asked me who I'd pick right now, I'd go with Nique. Nique was mentally a little stronger IMO, but otherwise I think it's a complete toss-up.
Yea those players in the 80s were just soo much better than these rock n' roll kids today. T.McGrady, you are also conveniently forgetting that Nique had to walk 5 miles in the snow without shoes before he played every game I wasn't sure who is a better player, but T.Mcgrady sure has made a lot better points/posts than the opposition in this thread.
Not sure what to think of Carter. There was the infamous moment he went to his college graduation before game 7 in the semifinals (which was way overblown but still...) Then the time he didnt want to give up his starting spot in the All-Star game to Michael Jordan in Jordan's last season (Great, nothing soft about that!) I think of Dominique as a more athletic Carmelo Anthony. Someone that puts up stats comparable to the greats of the game but is both underrated/overrated depending how you judge them.
This is confusing to me, particularly the statement about peaks. Looking at the stats, I see Nique going for at least 25.9 ppg or more for 10 years in a row. I see Vince doing it only twice in his career. I see Vince with a higher 3P%, but Wilkins is clearly ahead in the FG% department. Vince topped .460 4 times with his highest being .467. Wilkins beat Carter's best 6 times and had a 11 years at over .460. Nique draw more fouls and scores more from the line. Nique owns the boards. Carter's high for a season was 6.0, which he did twice. Nique's high is 9.0 and he tops Carter's best year 14 times. Their career PERs are almost identical with Vince yet to enter his truly declining years. Nique had 12 straight years with a PER over 20. Carter has 9 (7 consecutive) and is unlikely to get anymore. Looks to me like Nique had the more dominant peak and that it lasted about twice as long as Carter's peak.
Nique and VC are very similar players -- to call one of them much better or worse than the other shows a bias (usually towards VC). I give Nique the nod right now, but lets see how the end of VC's career pans out. Don't forget VC was the best player on our last gold medal Olympic team -- not an easy task to pull off in a 21st century global game.
Rudy T doesn't get enough credit for having the guts to draw up and run this play when he did -- turning point of the Olympics for our boys.
If we're going to talk about the competition in 'Nique's era, one must also consider the pace at which teams played back then. I'm not sure if he'd be a 25ppg scorer in today's NBA. Not to say he wouldn't get his share of points, but he was at his best in a wide open game, where he could do a ton of damage in a broken field.
