I like Yao much much better, but I think Dirt may have the better career when its all said and done. Dirt has an MVP and hes been to the finals you can't say that about Yao. But its fair from over many things can happen from now to then. It just doesn't look good for Yao because he can't stay on the court for a whole season.
For those of you who are saying Yao impacts the game more. Can ya'll explain what that really means? How does Yao impact the game more? Name of catagory where Yao is in the top 5. Dirk is in the top 5 best offensive players in the league.
Remember in the Portland series how much attention they had to pay on Yao? Remember all the open shots that led to for our PFs? That's one tangible way in which Yao impacts the game, though it won't show up in a box score category. Also, remember how LaMarcus Aldridge was saying after game 1that he couldn't get comfortable scoring around the basket because of Yao's presence? That's another.
Dirk hands down. He has missed like only 10games his whole career. He scores incredibly well...he can put the ball on the floor and create for himself. Also for those who say that if they both are taken out of the game, at least Yao can still play Defense and Dirk becomes useless out there need to realize that even with Dirk's "bad" defense he can still guard the pick and roll a 100times better than Yao.
It's fairly simple. Yao does most of his damage in the low post...actually, he's the best low post offensive player in the NBA. Low post offense has pretty much always been the key to breaking down a defense in basketball. It is unguardable unless you dedicate multiple players are run some gimmick that exposes your defense in another way. Dirk operates more in the high post and gets his points on an array of spin moves, drives and jumpshots. While he is very effective at this it doesn't draw as much attention because he does not get in point blank range nearly as often. Basically, because of Dirk's style of play he sees much more 1on1 coverage. Yao is doubled on nearly every touch. If Yao has the ball in his normal scoring position, then someone else is open. This isn't always the case for Dirk. Also, in addition to being the best offensive low post option in the game, Yao is a very good low post defenders. He gets a couple blocks a game but he alters many more. If a decent finisher gets to the rim and Dirk is the last line of defense, i expect 2 points.
Dirk has done much better than Yao at this point. However, they both don't have a ring. The one who leads a team to a Champion will eventually have the better career. If neither of them has a ring when their NBA careers end, Dirk will be better because he won a MVP title and has led the team to the Finals.
damn, the poll is much closer than what I expected. Must be because most of the YOFs stopped visiting the site after Yao went down
Dirk is a better scorer but he's a jump shooter. There are millions of those. Yao is one of the best low post scorers. He is of a rare breed. If you had to build a team around one of them, it would be Yao. Dirk can be replaced by many others with talent like his.
I went with Dirk. Imagine the Rockets having a PF/C who can shoot the lights out? If we had Dirk (instead of Yao) on this team now we would be advancing to the West Conf Finals.
I'd go with Dirk. Yao's main advantage over everyone else (besides his height) is his nice range around the basket. And once the ball is in his hand, he is unstoppable. Main flaw is... you have to get him the ball. He is easily stopped from fronting because of his inability to seal his man off + not being quick enough. Dirk in the other hand... he may not post, but he will face you up. You don't have to worry about someone fronting him. He can score from anywhere. Both are finesse players. Both are soft. The disadvantage of Yao is too glaring.
I interpret the question as who will have the reputation of being a better player after they retire. It's probably Dirk at this point. His resume includes MVP and more success in the playoffs. If Yao wins a championship, he will automatically be far ahead of him. Otherwise, it will be close. Yao will need to have better seasons in the next few years to overtake him.
The people who say Dirk does not have a post up game haven't watched him lately. He's got a great fade away and can actually back down smaller players to the rim, actually has decent pivot moves when posting up.
Indeed, Yao has more of an impact on Dirk on both ends. Dirk is the more versatile scorer and that's it really. Not even necessarily a better scorer, because his percentages are lower than Yao's Would you agree at this point, Yao is currently better than Dirk?
"Currently better" means different things to different people. I'll put it this way. If I could start next season with either Yao or Dirk on my team, I'd take Dirk. He's more durable, and he's proven he can be part of a superior offensive team. Yao does a lot of good things, but you lose a lot of flexibility offensively with Yao on the floor.
Dirk > Yao > Howard? Hmmm seems fine with me, since Dirk has been in the league the longest, it goes from Dirk then Yao then Howard. I'd rather have an offense be ran a through a healthy Yao than a healthy Dirk anyways. You got your choice, but Yao is still the best center in the league.
have to say dirk, because yao will never be healthy.... dirk may be soft, but yao is at times too, and i think if dirk is surrounded by the right players he can lead them to a title.
