Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
Well I was speaking big men as far as Centers go.
Well I was speaking big men as far as Centers go.
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
Then we agree!
Still giving my vote to Shaq because of his domination, rings mean nothing in these types of comparisons.
Although Hakeem is a much better defender than Shaq ever was."To the last minute, to the last second, to the last man, we fight"Comment
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"best" post moves I think would have to go to Hakeem...he just pulled off some pretty stuff...as far as effectiveness though, I'd have to go with McHale, his footwork was amazing, how he got defenders to bite on that post fake it seems every single time is beyond me...and even when he didn't bite he still scored lol...Comment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I think this is a tuff one. O'neal was so domine that you had to double team him when he was in his prim. O'neal even though he was 7 one 350 was pretty athectic and fast and did have some post moves its a big reason why a guy like Dwight howard while good is not even close to a prim Oneal. Hakeem I think is the most underated center of all time because when people talke about the top centers of all time people usly talk about Oneal, willt, karrem, russuel and they usly don't talk about him and I think Hakeem is right there with those guys and better then russuel. Harkeem have unbelievable good foot work it was like a thing of art the movies he made it is why a guy like kobe went and worked on his post game with him a few years ago. Also Hakeem is the only center to out play Oneal in the playoffs most centers had no changes agest oneal. Oneal is the most dominating center and player I can ever rember watching. Hakeem had the better footwork though and better defender and rebounder I think they are just about a tose up but because Hakeem out play Oneal in the finalys that one year I am going to give a slite head to him over oneal.Comment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
Biased, but went with Shaq because i've never seen a more dominant force in sports then Shaq in his prime.Saints, LSU, Seminoles, Pelicans, Marlins, LightningComment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I'd pick The Dream, mainly because he had a good FT% over Shaq. That means with his offensive threat, I could also have no worries with having him in when FTs were most important.Comment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
With today's rules I'm definitely taking Hakeem. Remember Shaq is part of the reason why we have some of the rules we do. They were designed to stop him. Shaq's a good passer, but Hakeem's better. He'd be better at making teams pay for doubling. Hakeem's a better shooter, and was more effective from further away from the basket with his back to the basket. From ~8 Shaq was unstoppable. Further away then that he'd have more troubles or he'd have to repost. Hakeem didn't need to be that close.
Also let's not forget that Hakeem was a better help defender. He moved on D better than Shaq did. He had a few seasons where he averaged over 2 SPG as a center. He's also a better shot blocker and rebounder.Comment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I had a serious hate for Shaq when he was playing bc of that. There is no question in my mind that if Shaq had the work ethic of a HOFer he'd be considered the best player in history and Lebron wouldn't be able to do anything about it. If we consider how good Shaq was over his career, just imagine if he were motivated and tried to improve every year like the young stars of today. Shaq was dropping 38 and 22 a year out of college... where he left early. It's a real shame how short the "elite" part of his career was.
And with that said I'd take Hakeem. It's basically a toss up (Hakeem is crazy underrated) and the type of team I would build would work better with Hakeem than Shaq. Plus he gets brownie points for winning a championship as the man on a team that beat prime Shaq (maybe slightly before his mental prime) head to head.Comment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I'm a big Shaq fan, but I voted for The Dream. The man won two titles with Vernon Maxwell and then an old, washed up Clyde Drexler as the 2nd best player on the team. His post moves were top notch, he was a great leader, amazing all around defender (people forget about how quick and instinctive his hands were for a big man), a good soft touch, and knack for rebounds. His performance against David Robinson in the '95 NBA Playoffs is legendary.
Shaq was a beast that could not be moved from the block. He was all about going through you and dunking the ball with emphasis! No man was ever stronger in the game of basketball than him. He had above average post moves, but didn't really need them. He played bully ball. His defense is overrated, but he got things done. If we're talking about rings, yeah he won more than Hakeem, but Scalabrine won more than Malone and Barkley so is he better than them? Of course not! haha Basketball is a game of skill and no center had more than Hakeem.
"If I had to pick a center [for an all-time best team], I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. It leaves out a lot of people. And the reason I would take Olajuwon is very simple: he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It's not just his scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots. People don't realize he was in the top seven in steals. He always made great decisions on the court. For all facets of the game, I have to give it to him." - Michael Jordan- Kentucky Wildcats
- Cincinnati Reds
- New England Patriots
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I voted for shaq even though as I've grown older I've come to see that Olajuwon was the more skilled player in ALL aspects of the game and should seriously be considered as one of the 3 best centers of all time IMO... The thing about Shaqs game that stands out beyond the obvious strength agility an coordination of a guy his size was that he made every player on his team better during his prime, penny & nick & 3D became all-stars, wade flourished once shaq got to Miami, and that raging prick named Bryant was allowed have far less attention paid to him cause of Shaqs presence (I named the good players obviously but why do think that after he left each of those teams they would tail off in one aspect or another and in at least two cases miss the playoffs entirely the next season) He wasn't selfish either, he was a great passer out of double teams which is a non-existent skill with most big men... Plus I will never ever forget the sight of him pulling down the ENTIRE DAMN BASKET STRUCTURE ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS!!!!!pComment
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I absolutely hate when people say that. Of course Kwame was a bust, but he had all kinds of potential and just didn't develop. MJ played against both players in their primes and as a player would rather have Hakeem. Not every GM/Owner is perfect, and MJ has been terrible, but give me a damn break! The man knows talent. Picking a high school player based on what scouts tell you is way different than playing against both and realizing that Hakeem is better than Shaq. It's close, but Hakeem's all around game was better than Shaq's.- Kentucky Wildcats
- Cincinnati Reds
- New England Patriots
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Re: Hakeem Olajuwon Vs Shaquille O'Neal
I'm nitpicking here but the shaq that got beat in those finals was not the "prime" shaq, he was still a baby by nba standards at that point and I don't think it can be argued he was a vastly superior player after a year or two in LA... But what the dream did to Robinson in that series was the most dominating performance against equal talent that I've ever seen and that includes Jordan vs. drexlerComment
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