WWF is wrastling, no wrestling. The sumo dude will sit on the Rock and we won't be smelling anything any more
There is no comparison Hakeem was head and shoulders a better player than Yao and if the "Rookie" Hakeem went up against Yao he would embarass him... Hakeem was one of the best players of all time and it is debatable if Yao is even the best Rookie this year. i agree
i love yao. he's great, may even develop into the best ever. but at this time, it is tasteless to even compare him to dream. i would be very surprised if he (or anyone) ever comes close to being in the same ballpark as dream.
As much as i like YM, i won't even dream of comparing him to Hakeem.Certainly it's not fair for YM...he's good ,but he still has a long way to go.He will be a legend of his own barring any injuries during his nba carreer.But now, i won't even mention him in the same breath as Hakeem. yao needs more shooling from other players ...learn, learn, learn Yao
Exactly. Amare almost reminds me more of Hakeem's early years than Yao at this point. The reason Hakeem became so good was because he learned to belnd Yao's style and Amare's style AND he was by far better at each individually.
What.... did you ever see Hakeem play? He had both power and finesse, Yoa will be good but never the force Olajuwan had.
Hakeem a power center? You never followed Hakeem's career if that's what you think Hakeem's game was. Hakeem was a combination of finesse, grace and power. Hakeem was a freak of nature. I am sorry but Yao will never come close to Hakeem. Yao will be good and maybe one of the best in league soon but Hakeem is a legend. What do you mean by new breed of center? Exactly what can Yao do that other NBA centers have not done before? Jumpshots? Ewing had his fadeaways. Post moves? Hakeem had any of yao's moves and much more of his own. Passing? That Sabonis dude in Portland is still the best passing center from what I have seen. Vlade is not bad either. Rebound? yao is pretty pathetic at rebounding so I am not even gonna go there. Block shots and intimidation? Yao is so-so at it. He should be averaging 4 blocks a game given his size. So once again, what do you mean by new breed of centers? I am a Yao fan but let's be realistic here. Yao is a good player right now, and if he keeps developing, he has a chance to be really good, and perhaps great, given the shortage of quality big men in the league. But quiet honestly, he lacks the athleticsm and quickness to be dominating and MDE as Shaq qould say. Athleticsm is not something you can teach or learn. That's something you are gifted with.
I am a HUGE Hakeem Olajuwon fan, he is my favorite athelete of all time, and I think underrated when people talk about the best NBA players. But I think Yao definitely has a chance to be as good as Hakeem. He doesn't have the quickness, explosiveness, strength, or timing, but he has more size, a softer touch, and better passing ability. He also has the killer instinct much like Hakeem had, he is not afraid of getting the ball in the last second. They are both clutch and lead by example. Yao is not putting up the numbers Hakeem did in his first year, but it's way to early to say he won't be as good.
The comparison is tasteless at this stage of Yao's career. You can argue Hakeem has this and has that. But Yao also has his own advantage. Tall, good understanding of the game(or high basketball IQ), soft touch, blah, blah, blah. Right now you can not put a ceiling but not a floor on him. Barring injury, he should be better than Rick Smits.
Yetti your busted! Hakeem a power center? The Dream was strong not considerably more so than many of the center he faced in the day. Hakeem was just the most gracefull big man EVER. He had the quickness, footwork, and speed that Yao Ming has wet dreams about. Ming might (MIGHT) be a better passer, but Dream at UH would kill Ming now.
