Who was the consensus "best Big man"in the late 80s-mid90s?

[theoneneo]

Hakeem, Malone, Barkley, Robinson, Ewing, Shaq

:biggums: It's crazy how quality the Big men were back then. I'm too young to know, but who was the undeniable Number 1?

[G-train]

Hakeem, Malone, Barkley, Robinson, Ewing, Shaq

:biggums: It's crazy how quality the Big men were back then. I'm too young to know, but who was the undeniable Number 1?

There wasn't a consensus.

[Round Mound]

Some Great Competition Compared To Today`s Big Men. :applause:

Charles Barkley was considered the Best PF in the late 80s and early-mids 90s till about the 1994-95 season. Then Karl Malone took over in the mid-late 90s as the Best PF. Hakeem was considered the Best C by most till about 1994-95. Although, many had David Robinson as the best (defensively maybe) but i was one of the fans that knew he would get destroyed in the play-offs on offense. Ewing was considered the third best big men till about 1994-95, then after that, Shaq took over.

[Spurs m8]

Mutombo was pretty big too.
I remember kids at school with his shoes and stuff.

If i had to pick one i'd say maybe Hakeem, but they were all respected for what they were, things were different back then, pre internet and all that hahah

[JohnnySic]

Some Great Competition Compared To Today`s Big Men. :applause:

Charles Barkley was considered the Best PF in the late 80s and early-mids 90s till about the 1994-95 season. Then Karl Malone took over in the mid-late 90s as the Best PF. Hakeem was considered the Best C by most till about 1994-95. Although, many had David Robinson as the best (defensively maybe) but i was one of the fans that knew he would get destroyed in the play-offs on offense. Ewing was considered the third best big men till about 1994-95, then after that, Shaq took over.
Barkley wasn't really thought of as strictly a power forward until he went to the Suns. He played mostly small forward on the Sixers.

[Hey Yo]

Barkley wasn't really thought of as strictly a power forward until he went to the Suns. He played mostly small forward on the Sixers.
and wasn't considered a big. When someone says "big man" I'm thinking Center.

Ewing IMO had the best shot/range out of the bigs listed in OP

[JohnnySic]

Ewing was probably considered the best big man until about 1990 because Hakeem was buried on bad teams and overlooked and Robinson had just arrived. But Ewing was never really the best.

[Hey Yo]

Ewing was probably considered the best big man until about 1990 because Hakeem was buried on bad teams and overlooked and Robinson had just arrived. But Ewing was never really the best.
Plus overlooked because Sampson was there playing underneath more than Hakeem.

Once Ralph left, Hakeem got to work on and showcase his in game skills more.

Hakeem was definitely more agile and athletic than Ewing

[FKAri]

Charles Barkley, the 6 foot 4 inches and change big man. Funny to see him labelled a "big".

[oarabbus]

Charles Barkley, the 6 foot 4 inches and change big man. Funny to see him labelled a "big".

He played big.

[Prime_Shaq]

Charles Barkley, the 6 foot 4 inches and change big man. Funny to see him labelled a "big".
Have you watched Barkley play? Barkley plays bigger than almost any big today.

[KungFuJoe]

Barkley was a ****ing beast. It was a thing of beauty watching him block opposing center's dunk attempts right at the rim. I know he wasn't known for defense at all, but he could time those blocks with the best of them. Just wasn't much he could do overall being at such a height disadvantage.

Barkley was one of my favorite players back in the day. He was once asked why he was such a good rebounder and he simply replied, "I wanted it more than anyone else."

:bowdown:

[Round Mound]

Barkley wasn't really thought of as strictly a power forward until he went to the Suns. He played mostly small forward on the Sixers.

He played SF from 89 to 91 thats it. The rest of his career he played at the 4.

[sdot_thadon]

Some Great Competition Compared To Today`s Big Men. :applause:

Charles Barkley was considered the Best PF in the late 80s and early-mids 90s till about the 1994-95 season. Then Karl Malone took over in the mid-late 90s as the Best PF. Hakeem was considered the Best C by most till about 1994-95. Although, many had David Robinson as the best (defensively maybe) but i was one of the fans that knew he would get destroyed in the play-offs on offense. Ewing was considered the third best big men till about 1994-95, then after that, Shaq took over.
This.

But with this stuck in there.

Ewing was probably considered the best big man until about 1990 because Hakeem was buried on bad teams and overlooked and Robinson had just arrived. But Ewing was never really the best.
It was such a gauntlet back then for bigs then you factor in 2nd tier guys like Zo, Mutombo, later on sabonis, hell even divac.

[rezznor]

Ewing was probably considered the best big man until about 1990 because Hakeem was buried on bad teams and overlooked and Robinson had just arrived. But Ewing was never really the best.
plus that east coast media bias.

[rezznor]

shit even a 3rd tier guy like kevin willis would make some noise in today's game

[FKAri]

Have you watched Barkley play? Barkley plays bigger than almost any big today.

I did watch him play. It wasn't until years later I found out about his height and had my mind blown. It was amazing what he was able to do. He was thick af tho.

[kkb_12]

No consensus there, some amazing players in that era: Hakeem, Barkley, Robinson, Malone, followed by Ewing, McHale, Mourning... Parish and Jabbar were still presence in the game in late 80s, but past their peaks... Rodman was just starting to be rebounding force... And then 'Next string'' players: Mutombo, Oakley, Willis, Divac, Kemp., Thorpe..

[Sarcastic]

Ewing was probably considered the best big man until about 1990 because Hakeem was buried on bad teams and overlooked and Robinson had just arrived. But Ewing was never really the best.


No he wasn't. Ewing was only considered to be the best from 1989-1991, when he was putting up monster seasons. It was always still a pick-em situation.

Hakeem wasn't buried on bad teams either. He was drafted by a team that quickly made the Finals, and had Sampson as his front court mate. It wasn't until about 1993 when Hakeem started to separate himself from the pack, 9 years into his career.

[Psileas]

Hakeem was the best in that period, I don't see how anyone can seriously nominate someone else. What he did in that period was mainly what catapulted him to top 10-12 GOAT status. Forget centers, no other player except Jordan reached to such a status due to what he did in that period (Barkley probably came the closest, but he never seriously entered top 10-12 discussions).

[hateraid]

Barkley wasn't really thought of as strictly a power forward until he went to the Suns. He played mostly small forward on the Sixers.
This is true. In the Sixer era he was slotted at small forwad with Mahorn and Gminski. Then behind Armon Gilliam.
with hindsight being 20/20 I got to say Ewing at the time was considered the best center. He filled the gap between Moses Malone and Shaq. It's easy to say Hakeem now but back then Ewing was a force.

[ClipperRevival]

Ewing came into the league with much hype in 1985 and pretty much lived up to it. Playing in a big market, he got a lot of the publicity. Of course, Olajuwon was dominant from the get go starting 1984 but he didn't get as much publicity as Ewing. Robinson came along in 1989 and set the league on fire and many thought he would be the next dominant big. Again, Olajuwon was still dominant but he always seemed to take a backseat to Ewing or Robinson in the media market.

But by the time Olajuwon started winning rings and started dominating the other bigs of his era, it was a wrap. And of course looking back, there was no doubt who was the best big man of that era. The Dream and it wasn't close.

[Dragonyeuw]

I don't think there was a consensus. Ewing probably had the biggest national profile, being in New York. I think by 92 some people felt the Admiral was the best center, and then you had the Hakeem camp but he was on underachieving Rockets squads. It wasn't until the 94 and 95 titles that there was a 'consensus' best center in Hakeem. To be honest those mid 90's center battles between Shaq/Robinson/Hakeem/Ewing were epic, then you had the second tier with Mourning and Mutombo. Those days aren't coming back.

[choppermagic]

Yeah, I miss the dominant big man eras of the past. Guys like Dwight today would get embarrassed to try and bang with them.

Late 80s-mid 90s. So many to choose from. I'd say Hakeem with a slight edge because he was coming into his championship form, but with such a large time period, Ewing was solid as a rock too.

[Dragonyeuw]

I think Hakeem and Robinson were considered neck and neck until the 95 playoffs. That beatdown unfairly defined Admiral's legacy, because in meetings prior they pretty much battled to a draw. That 'rivalry', if you want to call it that, wasn't lopsided like that one series would have you believe. It was just so memorable because it was such a glaring case of one star player completely outperforming someone at his position and considered in the same tier.

[Dragonyeuw]

(Barkley probably came the closest, but he never seriously entered top 10-12 discussions).

Do you mean in terms of GOAT lists, or in terms of how they were viewed in their period? Because Barkley was well inside the top 10 in the 80s and 90's, heck he was basically inside the top 3/4 between 88 and 93.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Ewing was probably considered the best big man until about 1990 because Hakeem was buried on bad teams and overlooked and Robinson had just arrived. But Ewing was never really the best.

Making the finals in your 2nd season = buried on bad teams. Only at ISH :lol

[fandarko]

Some Great Competition Compared To Today`s Big Men. :applause:

Charles Barkley was considered the Best PF in the late 80s and early-mids 90s till about the 1994-95 season. Then Karl Malone took over in the mid-late 90s as the Best PF. Hakeem was considered the Best C by most till about 1994-95. Although, many had David Robinson as the best (defensively maybe) but i was one of the fans that knew he would get destroyed in the play-offs on offense. Ewing was considered the third best big men till about 1994-95, then after that, Shaq took over.r
Good summary. Ewing for one would shit on today's bigs.*

[Dragonyeuw]

r
Good summary. Ewing for one would shit on today's bigs.*

Rik Smits would shit on today's bigs.

[Psileas]

Do you mean in terms of GOAT lists, or in terms of how they were viewed in their period? Because Barkley was well inside the top 10 in the 80s and 90's, heck he was basically inside the top 3/4 between 88 and 93.

GOAT lists. Obviously Barkley was top-10 back then.

[JohnnySic]

Making the finals in your 2nd season = buried on bad teams. Only at ISH :lol
Yes, he made the finals in '86, but at that point it was Sampson that was getting more of the limelight.

From '87 to '92 Hakeem's teams were bad. That a six season stretch, pretty significant. And it was during that time that Ewing, and then Robinson, were generally considered the best centers. Hakeem was in the background and overlooked, as is often the case with players on bad teams.

If you were around at that time you'd get it. Which you probably weren't.

[houston]

hakeem

[ButterFace]

By mid-90s, it was Olajuwon, closely followed by Robinson, and Shaq gaining steam.

[julizaver]

Hakeem, Malone, Barkley, Robinson, Ewing, Shaq

:biggums: It's crazy how quality the Big men were back then. I'm too young to know, but who was the undeniable Number 1?

There was no consensus "best Big man" at the time, but after 1995 it was clear that Hakeem was the best big man of his generation. He was strong playoff performer and outplayed decisively Robinson and Ewing, and outplayed young O'Neal (Shaq held his own, but admitted that Hakeem outplayed him in 1995 Finals).

[Soundwave]

It was probably David Robinson, he had the most hype/accolades in the early part of the 90s.

But Hakeem seized the throne by taking him to school in the playoffs in the mid-90s.

[julizaver]

No consensus there, some amazing players in that era: Hakeem, Barkley, Robinson, Malone, followed by Ewing, McHale, Mourning... Parish and Jabbar were still presence in the game in late 80s, but past their peaks... Rodman was just starting to be rebounding force... And then 'Next string'' players: Mutombo, Oakley, Willis, Divac, Kemp., Thorpe..

In the 1986 All-Star game:
EAST bigs:
Parish
Ewing
Moses Malone

WEST bigs:
K. A. Jabbar
Hakeem
Gilmore
Sampson

[RoseCity07]

I remember when I was like 6 o 7. I asked for a Shaq jersey. Got it for Christmas. This was when he was in Orlando. If that is an sort of metric for how big of a deal he was.