From being a reporter with a Houston newspaper to this: "Such titles as best European, or even best foreign player – heretofore reserved for Hakeem Olajuwon – might be Nowitzki's already, or could be before long. But it will be the rings – or lack thereof – that will determine whether he can be ranked among the all-time great big men." The day that Dirk comes close to Hakeem is the day that will never come. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/021807dnspomavslede.1935c81.html
Man, you have GOT to be kidding me. He must have had a brain fart when he wrote that. We're talking about Hakeem. Hakeem, one of the best best player s EVER. There is simply no comparsion.
I just threw up in my mouth Dirk is a great player but he is ryan bowen when compared to hakeem olajuwon
In ES's defense (sic) it is modern normal to extol the latest as the greatest. A more intersting comparison might be the 80s exploding, jumping thru the roof, super aggressive Akeem with the 90s graceful, stunning, best player on the planet (yes, Michael, he was better than you in mid-90s!!!), back-to-back championship winning Hakeem (on a less than great pair of rosters).
the guy gets paid to feed bullsh!t to a bunch of idiots. you know dallas fans are willing to swallow that kind of tripe.
It's actually kind of funny that Sefko used championships as a measuring stick. 2 of the 3 best PF in history, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley, never won rings. As for the Hakeem comparison, I don't see the problem. Going by pure stats, all-star appearances, MVP balloting, etc. Dirk could very well reach Hakeem's level if keeps up his play for another 10 years or so. Certainly very unlikely, but hardly implausible.
I always hated Sefko when he worked here. But anyway, Dirk is a great offensive player who has made himself into a decent defender. Dream was a great defender who made himself into a great offensive player as well. Even setting the rings aside, I just don't see the comparison.
Until Dirk wins Defensive Player of the Year, MVP, and Finals MVP in one season then maybe....just maybe you can put him in the same sentence as Dream
Dirk isn't even a HOF yet, he isn't even the best player in the league and is clearly outclassed by a handful of superstars in today's NBA. Hakeem wasn't yet another all-star player, he is legendary. He's a unanimous top-ten all-timer on almost every one's list. Dirk isn't even top 50 yet. I can't believe it's even up for discussion. None of today's players even begin to approach what Dream did over his career, and if you feel hard-pressed to pick one or more players that can legitimately be called future HOFers then you start with guys like KG, Kobe, and AI...not Dirk. Dirk is a nice player, but he hasn't done this nearly long enough to even be compared with all-time greats at his position (K. Malone, Barkley, M. Malone, etc), let alone a legend like Hakeem Olajuwon.
So, according to some people, Dirk is equal to Larry Bird and now he may be better than Hakeem? Wouldn't that make Dirk at least a top 10 all-time NBA player? Amazing. Can we please get Sefko's email address posted here?
It may be sacrilidges for me to say, but I think Dirk is getting close to joining that all time best strotosphere....the guy is really an amazing player. THAT I HATE !! DD
Dirk is a great regular season NBA player. But when playoffs come, he prefers to pass the ball to his teammates.
