there it is
THAT is where to me, he is grossly overrated. because he is not worthy of being in THAT conversation to me. i don't think he is on the same level as shaq, kareem, wilt, for the reasons I outlined. The gap between those 3 and the next tier is pretty signifigant to me. I don't see how hakeem is clearly better than moses malone or willis reed on paper either.
for players i've seen, hakeem is second to shaq, followed by robinson, zo, ewing, etc
I personally think the center position has a lot of variance depending on what you value. Shaq was of course a dominant force, but really... if you're just looking at their primes, you're looking at a guy that averaged 28/12 versus 25/12... with the second guy being a vastly superior defender.
I've always felt Wilt is an anomaly, because I think he'd be dominant in any era... but his era was pretty far removed from what we see today. I personally don't see what separates Kareem from Dream if you switch eras.
People always forget that shaq couldn't be your number one option late in games, because of his free throw shooting... which is why he's always trying to re-write history with that '
I made them with it counted
" propaganda.
And as far as 'on paper' goes... well, he's not that much better than Bob Pettit on paper... but I have a feeling he would have given The Bombardier that work.
Like I said, agree to disagree. I happened to think Shaq was the best center ever for a long time, but as I have gotten older, and seen more players, I now allow for a lot more wiggle room when it comes to that stuff.
... so hot a couple of rings were won and a hall of fame seat awaits, but Hakeem was a non factor in the Magic Bird Isaiah Jordan years(which spans most of his career)...facts
