http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070905261.html I mean, this fool disses Hakeem not once, but twice! Barkley didn't move to hook up with a player at least seen as his equal? Hakeem was more than his equal....far more. What a fool. Pisses me off when these guys have no clue.
This ain't new man. clutch city gets no respect, but i told you the only thing we can do is make sure that 'Rocket' fans love Clutch City and know the truth.
I agree that it's a pretty stupid oversight to forget about Hakeem Olajuwon. I'm not sure why Hakeem gets no respect. One reason I can think of is that he played at the same time as MJ, but so did Barkley. Maybe Hakeem was just too humble and quiet. It also doesn't help that he's disappeared from the NBA map since retiring.
In my opinion nobody INCLUDING JORDAN has reached the dominance and impact that Olajuwon had on the court between the years of 93-95.
I think hakeem might not be so popular outside houston I think that's the biggest factor .. But why do we seek the recognotion of others if we believe he's one of the greats we dont need anyone to confirm it ..
if you watched basketball in the 90s (no NBA league pass), you had to watch NBC. Whatever they fed you is whatever you watched. So if they show a Bulls game every week, that's what you see.
there's no disrespect here...everyone else won 3, 4, and more rings...dream won two, which is great, but i cans ee why they'd focus on players who won more. the article isnt talking about who's the best, it's about great players who won a lot in one place...
The players today (Dwight , Kobe) respect and idolize Dream as well as the players he played against. He is one of the 50 greatest of all time and Michael Jordan put Hakeem on his own All Time Starting 5.
Come on, Dream won't get mentioned in everything....and the author was talking about free agents leaving to go to a situation with equal players. Pippen would be a more apt comparison, Barkley was traded here. DD
I agree with poster above, players understand how great Dream truly was hence Kobe going to train with Dream last summer and Dwight this one. Media may not mentioned him constantly but actually I've noticed he gets mentioned A LOT more now then he did during his playing days, maybe just me.
That's the thing. He was right. Barkley didn't move on and hook up with a player who was his equal. He joined forces with not one, but two players who were his SUPERIOR. Barkley was third banana to Hakeem and Clyde. That would be like Malone and Payton calling Kobe and Shaq their equals when they went to the Lakers in the twilight of their careers. There's nothing to get upset about here.
It's not only Hakeem that gets no respect, but the whole rockets team that won back to back championships. Everyones excuse is that Mj was not in the league, but he did return halfway through the 2nd championship and MJ and company lost to the Magic which the Rockets swept. And Hakeem no doubt is the best center of all time, not only is he the block leader of all time, to prove his defensive skills, but the guy had an all around offensive game, post and face up, with speed and passing ability.. all time best no doubt without being bias.
Realistically we know Chamberlin or Russell would be at the top of that list if stats were taken from the inception of the NBA. No denying Olajuwon is top 3 center and in the top 8 all-time.
As some other posters pointed out, who cares what some wannabe writer thinks. Players who have played the game know and realize how great the Dream was. Anytime you ask players about the greatest big man, Dream always gets mentioned. All the players die to train with Dream in the summer. Houston was a small market team before winning the championships. Winning and I guess Yao brought a lot more attention to the Rockets worldwide now. Hakeem did quitely on the court. He wasn't flamboyant off the court like Charles, Rodman, etc. so he doesn't particularly stick out in peoples minds.
I also felt disrespected when Dwayne Wade made the comment of how no superstar in the past has won a championship by himself. He mentions how Jordan, Magic and Bird all had other superstars on their team. He seemed to have purposely left out how Hakeem won his first championship with no other star on his team. The closest guy was Otis Thorpe who was able to make one all star team in his career.
