ISH's #8 Player of Alltime

[pauk]

Tim Duncan



lol @ the kobetards... trying so hard...


Oscar, Hakeem & Duncan had better careers than Kobe..... deal with it

[BruceLeeBowen]

Lebron.

[pauk]

Lebron.

[Rolando]

Since this pole is not turning into the castastrophe that I thought it would, I will cast my vote again. Tim Duncan.

[Pursuer]

I honestly believe it's Kobe Bryant.

[Yung D-Will]

Hakeemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Dave3]

Just like the last thread, I vote for Hakeem Olajuwon

When talking about the best defensive players of all time, Hakeem will be one of the first names mentioned and for good reason. When talking about best two-way players of all time, Hakeem should maybe be the first name mentioned. And when talking about the best playoff performers of all time, he should be one of the first names mentioned.

At his best, he had almost no weakness. He could cover the perimeter and recover to block shots at an elite level, grab rebounds, improved his post defense and was elite at the other end. His favorite move was the baseline fadeaway, but he could trick you with a quick spin move that same way for a lay up/dunk, go up quick with the fadeaway before you can react, or set up the shot with the dream shake. He could also go to the middle for jump hooks with great consistency. That almost forced you to double team him, and he became an excellent passer out of double teams. He could spin and draw 3 defenders to find a wide open 3 point shooter. Or he could go out on the perimeter and regularly hit shots from 15-18 feet, became a good free throw shooter for a big man and could even shoot off the dribble or occasionally pull out a crossover move.

That's why Houston had success when they finally made the most of his many offensive talents, and he did it without sacrificing his defense. And aside from maybe Kareem, is there any other center you'd take over Hakeem for a big shot late in the 4th quarter?

He also went through teams with some of the best players in the league during both title runs. Drexler's Blazers, Barkley/KJ's Suns, Malone/Stockton's Jazz and Ewing's Knicks in '94. Then Malone/Stockton's Jazz, Barkley/KJ's Suns, Robinson's Spurs and Shaq/Penny's Magic in '95. The '95 run came against teams that won 60, 59, 62 and 57 games, respectively and Houston didn't have homecourt for any series. Hakeem averaged 33/10/5/3 in that run, by the way....

Hakeem rose to the occasion from a young age too. He beat the Showtime lakers in '86 and gave the '86 Celtics a pretty good fight in the finals. He averaged 27/12 during that run as well. With his cast deteriorating, he still didn't go down without a fight in '87 putting up 49/26/6 in game 6 while losing in double OT(though if not for a bad call, they probably push that series to 7).

A lot of that you can say about Duncan though. One of the greatest defender of his generation, incredible clutch performer (bastard just never missed free throws in the clutch despite otherwise being a 65-70% FT shooter) and when it came playoff time, would put up the occasional 40/20 or 6/7 block game. I watched Duncan but never watched Hakeem, so what did Hakeem do to set himself apart from Duncan?

[Fazotronic]

Hakeem Olajuwon

lol@ ppl thinking duncan is better than hakeem

[Odinn]

Hakeem Olajuwon

lol@ ppl thinking duncan is better than hakeem

Hakeem individually better player maybe. But Duncan has the edge on intangibles and as a "franchise-player" Duncan is only second to Bill Russell.

[Doctor Rivers]

Lebron.

Wade

[Deuce Bigalow]

Tim Duncan

By the way, I hope we do this way until we get to 500 or so.

500 Players? woah Im thinking about doing a top 25 or maybe top 50

[JM720]

Kobe

[inclinerator]

shaq

[Deuce Bigalow]

Seems like 95% Kobe voters will have Kobe related nicknames \ avatars.
Fans of the rest of the NBA will vote for someone else.

An ISH microcosm.

Kobe belongs in the #7-10 player of alltime discussion, shaq, kobe, duncan, hakeem all have a case for those spots

[Fazotronic]

Hakeem individually better player maybe. But Duncan has the edge on intangibles and as a "franchise-player" Duncan is only second to Bill Russell.

and thats what? 2 more rings that isn't much more considering that he played with david robinson, ginobili and parker.
thats enough to put him higher than someone that is better at almost everything?
that also played in a much better big man competition.
how many rings would duncan have if he played in the jordan era?
hakeem is so underrated on ish that ppl don't even use the jordan excuse for him.