Better Player.....Shaq or Hakeem??

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You said he was very limited in overall skill set which I don't agree with :manny:
Which is fine.

The general criticism of Shaq has always been that "all he can do is dunk" and "He cant do anything once he's beyond 8-10 feet of the basket" which are both true.

Where Shaq excels is that you COULD NOT keep him away from said basket either. Footwork is a skill and his was down right excellent. He was extremely quick for his size and his agility was out of this world. Had an array of low post moves that he developed after Hakeem schooled him in the finals his second year. Add his power into the mix and you have an unstoppable force and good luck trying to stop him. He was also a very good passer which i dont think people give him enough credit for.

BUT In terms of overall basketball skills, yes he was limited. To me, being a Center doesnt excuse you from being able to hit a jump shot. His defense was good enough but could have been better.

I know in American/NBA style basketball the bigger you are the less that's expected of you outside of 10 feet . American coaches used approach basketball with a football mindset: Each player does one thing extremely well and doesnt need to learn much else. I've never liked that approach. Any player should develop their skills to have the ability to score from any part of the court. If i had my way the only place where your position and size shoud really matter is on defense.

Just my opinion :manny:
 

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Here's a quote from the Houston chronicle...

When Shaq and Hakeem met in the 1995 NBA Finals, Olajuwon was in his prime, and Shaq was still in the early part of his career. But it's not like it was close. ... Shaq absolutely dominatedHakeem in that series, but he was well past his prime.
And then they was supposed to settle this heads up like men but guess who backed down...


Details here
OLAJUWON WON'T DUEL WITH SHAQ

But hey, it sounded good in our memories that Hakeem was better. But nah. Maybe better going out the door than Shaq was but that's it
 
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Eh...Hakeem was an elite player and possibly the most skilled to ever play but...

Dude was having a lot of trouble getting to the finals. After his 2nd year, dude was lucky to reach the conference finals because he was usually get waxed in the first round until his 30s.

That's cause he never had another star beside him in his prime after Ralph Sampson got injured dummy. Shaq had Penny, then Kobe, then Wade. Give Hakeem those guys and he would also have been to the finals 6 times winning at least 4 rings.

Hakeem Olajuwon is CLEARLY better than Shaq. The defensive end being the huge difference. Hakeem is arguably the GOAT defensive center. Shaq was only ever adequate and never lived up to his potential.
 
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imagine if Dream played with prime Penny, Kobe, D. Wade and LeBron

Just what I said. Shaq played with a lot more talent his entire career than Hakeem. All Hakeem ever had was Ralph Sampson for a short while before he got injured (and they made it to the Finals once). And then he got Drexler when he was older. Same with Barkley.

Dream never actually played with a dominant perimeter player in his prime that could compliment his skills like Shaq did his entire career.

Imagine Dream and Kobe in their primes on the same team? :ohlawd:
 
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Shaq took 3 different teams to the finals in 3 stages of his career (young, prime, vet). Shaq by a large margin.

Those teams had superstar guards in their prime playing with Shaq. Hakeem never had players the caliber of young Penny, Kobe, and D-Wade on his team.

I'm sure if you gave Dream those guys he would have also made it to 6 finals and won 4 rings like Shaq.
 
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