Robert Horry played with Hakeem, Shaq & Duncan...

[jayfan]

He played with each of them in their primes, and won championships with each of them.

Hou 92-96
LA 97-03
SA 03-08


No one on earth is better suited to judge the three.

And he claims, without hesitation or equivocation, that Hakeem is the greatest of the three.

In fact, he thinks Hakeem is the greatest of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_-9Z2LF4fI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlurRMPlfxQ

[LosBulls]

Robert Horry has to be one of the most top notch guys to ever play the game. Such a good guy and professional, never had beef with anybody.

Really, a good guy that comes to mind whenever the word sportsmanship is said.

[TheReal Kendall]

I like Horry and respect his opinion but at the same time it's just an OPINION.

I think all 3 players are great and they have different play styles.

Can't go wrong with either one as a franchise player.

[rmt]

In Duncan's defense, Horry didn't play with him in his MVP years as he did with Shaq and Hakeem. 2004 is when Pop started reducing TD's minutes from 39-40 to 36.

I loved Horry on the Spurs - such a high bbiq, so CLUTCH but lazy.

[jzek]

Ultimate coat tail rider.

[plowking]

Some players just use some flat out stupid shit to justify their reasons, and truly believe that is justification as to why a certain player is better than another.

I remember a bunch of college players sitting around talking on video who was better a while back; in fact it may have been Bill Walker and a bunch of others from his draft class. I remember they were all talking about who the best player was, and typically Kobe and Bron got mentioned, and a few Wade mentions (in 08 or 09?) and then Bill brings up Carmelo... lol. Said something like he has the best looking jumpshot, and he is the best because of it. The majority of the rest of the kids agreed because of it, and you had a room full of current college players thinking Carmelo was the best.



Hakeem isn't a better player than Shaq. He just isn't. He isn't more valuable on the court, and that is the end of the story. Watching the two play, you can see who impacts the game more. Could Hakeem do more shit? Sure. Doesn't make him better though, and I don't think he has any case.

EDIT: And another thing, Hakeem is a player who made his name off that David Robinson series, and at the same time Robinson's name and legacy is defined by that series. Pretty stupid seeing as prior to that, Robinson was viewed as good, if not better than Hakeem. Then that series happens, and 15-20 years later, people act as if Hakeem was always consensus best among centers, and always better than Robinson. If anything, up until that point, Robinson got the better of Hakeem, and not the other way around. So there isn't some big gap between Robinson and Hakeem as a player, let alone Hakeem being a level above Shaq.

[scm5]

My only issue is that Hakeem only shot 2% better FT's than Duncan.

In one of the clips, he said Hakeem shot 85% from FT, when in actuality, he shot 71.2% for his career compared to 69.6% for Timmy.

[K Xerxes]

Hakeem isn't a better player than Shaq. He just isn't. He isn't more valuable on the court, and that is the end of the story. Watching the two play, you can see who impacts the game more. Could Hakeem do more shit? Sure. Doesn't make him better though, and I don't think he has any case.

I agree that Shaq was better, but no case? Hakeem was a more valuable defender. Shaq was more dominant offensively. You can make a judgement on what the separation is there. But Horry played with both guys. Maybe Hakeem was a better leader, inspired his players more and was more valuable to them. Who knows.

[jayfan]

Some players just use some flat out stupid shit to justify their reasons, and truly believe that is justification as to why a certain player is better than another.

I remember a bunch of college players sitting around talking on video who was better a while back; in fact it may have been Bill Walker and a bunch of others from his draft class. I remember they were all talking about who the best player was, and typically Kobe and Bron got mentioned, and a few Wade mentions (in 08 or 09?) and then Bill brings up Carmelo... lol. Said something like he has the best looking jumpshot, and he is the best because of it. The majority of the rest of the kids agreed because of it, and you had a room full of current college players thinking Carmelo was the best.



Hakeem isn't a better player than Shaq. He just isn't. He isn't more valuable on the court, and that is the end of the story. Watching the two play, you can see who impacts the game more. Could Hakeem do more shit? Sure. Doesn't make him better though, and I don't think he has any case.

EDIT: And another thing, Hakeem is a player who made his name off that David Robinson series, and at the same time Robinson's name and legacy is defined by that series. Pretty stupid seeing as prior to that, Robinson was viewed as good, if not better than Hakeem. Then that series happens, and 15-20 years later, people act as if Hakeem was always consensus best among centers, and always better than Robinson. If anything, up until that point, Robinson got the better of Hakeem, and not the other way around. So there isn't some big gap between Robinson and Hakeem as a player, let alone Hakeem being a level above Shaq.

[plowking]

I agree that Shaq was better, but no case? Hakeem was a more valuable defender. Shaq was more dominant offensively. You can make a judgement on what the separation is there. But Horry played with both guys. Maybe Hakeem was a better leader, inspired his players more and was more valuable to them. Who knows.

Maybe Horry just liked Hakeem more as a person? I don't know, but he isn't better. I mean the dude was saying he shot 85% on free throws when it wasn't the case. Some of us have biases and glorify players.

I saw Shaq win a 3 peat, and Hakeem never reached that level.
For the most part, Hakeem was always around 24/12 throughout his prime.
Shaq gave you 28/12. There is a gap. In stats, when watching the game and seeing the amount of attention Shaq draws compared to Hakeem, and simply the level of dominance.

[plowking]

Don't act shocked.
Robinson was being placed on 1st team ALL NBA in his sophomore season, and there was no consensus best center really. Everyone had a different opinion. You also had Shaq and Ewing in the mix.

When you bring up David Robinson's name,vyou immediately think that Hakeem series, and it isn't fair. It doesn't outline or give a correct representation of how good he was or the gap between the two players. The only thing that it represents, which is correct, was that Robinson did shrink on the big stage at times.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

Hakeem was always around 24/12 throughout his prime.
Shaq gave you 28/12. There is a gap. In stats, when watching the game and seeing the amount of attention Shaq draws compared to Hakeem, and simply the level of dominance.

Yeah, if you ONLY look at scoring and rebounding numbers. Why not include blocks, assists, etc in there? Oh, because it doesn't fit your agenda. Defense as well. How could Shaq ever draw as much attention as Hakeem when he played with prime Kobe, who is another top 10 player all time and has more rings than him? I just don't see any teams giving him single coverage and letting him go off so that they can shut down Kenny Smith in the corner.

[plowking]

Yeah, if you ONLY look at scoring and rebounding numbers. Why not include blocks, assists, etc in there? Oh, because it doesn't fit your agenda. Defense as well. How could Shaq ever draw as much attention as Hakeem when he played with prime Kobe, who is another top 10 player all time and has more rings than him? I just don't see any teams giving him single coverage and letting him go off so that they can shut down Kenny Smith in the corner.

I don't have an agenda. I don't care enough to make up some giant agenda against any of them. I watched them all play, and Duncan is the only one I like really.

Why didn't I mention assists? Why would I? Shaq averaged more if anything, and was probably the better passer out of the post. They both have the same apg average over their careers. Are you seriously out here accusing me of an agenda when you can't even back up your own claims?
Anyway you look at it, Shaq had the better raw numbers.

Hakeem was the more versatile and better defender. No arguments there. I'd still say Shaq was more of a deterrent for players wanting to drive in the paint. No one wanted to get clobbered by Shaq on a layup.

Go watch the 95 finals and tell me how Shaq wasn't getting double teamed because of Kobe... oh right.

Shaq was a monster, and just a better player. At his best, probably the best of all time or at least close. Unstoppable. You needed 2 players to have any chance of stopping him in the post. Guy was out there dropping 30ppg on near 60% from the field. Hakeem is all time great, but Shaq is just another level above that only a few have reached, if that.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

Horry is welcome to have an opinion. I still rank Hakeem behind Shaq and Duncan.

[JellyBean]

Some players just use some flat out stupid shit to justify their reasons, and truly believe that is justification as to why a certain player is better than another.

I remember a bunch of college players sitting around talking on video who was better a while back; in fact it may have been Bill Walker and a bunch of others from his draft class. I remember they were all talking about who the best player was, and typically Kobe and Bron got mentioned, and a few Wade mentions (in 08 or 09?) and then Bill brings up Carmelo... lol. Said something like he has the best looking jumpshot, and he is the best because of it. The majority of the rest of the kids agreed because of it, and you had a room full of current college players thinking Carmelo was the best.



Hakeem isn't a better player than Shaq. He just isn't. He isn't more valuable on the court, and that is the end of the story. Watching the two play, you can see who impacts the game more. Could Hakeem do more shit? Sure. Doesn't make him better though, and I don't think he has any case.

EDIT: And another thing, Hakeem is a player who made his name off that David Robinson series, and at the same time Robinson's name and legacy is defined by that series. Pretty stupid seeing as prior to that, Robinson was viewed as good, if not better than Hakeem. Then that series happens, and 15-20 years later, people act as if Hakeem was always consensus best among centers, and always better than Robinson. If anything, up until that point, Robinson got the better of Hakeem, and not the other way around. So there isn't some big gap between Robinson and Hakeem as a player, let alone Hakeem being a level above Shaq.