IN THEIR PRIME, which big man was the best?

by **aldrin** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:27 pm

Rank these hall of famers (or future HOFs) when they were at their prime.

Shaquille O'Neal
David Robinson
Patrick Ewing
Tim Duncan
Hakeem Olajawon
Kevin Garnett

I say shaq ( the monster ) then close probably tie second td and hakeem ( the man with million moves ), then drob, patrick "apeman" ewing, and kg.

oops... i forgot dirk, i put dirk over kg....

by **Riot** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:18 pm

What has Dirk done again?

by **Silas** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:24 pm

Shaq
Hakeem (these two are interchangeable i say)
Tim Duncan
David Robinson
Patrick Ewing
Kevin Garnett
Dirk Nowiztki

by **Stevesanity** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:30 pm

Shaq

Hakeem
TD
David Robinson
Patrick
KG
Dirk

Shaq's just been way more dominant than any of those guys, TD and Hakeem are debatable but I'll side with Hakeem. David Robinson gets the nod over Patrick cause he underachieved in terms of team success to a certain point while Robinson got his rings and KG well he seems forever cursed but gets the spot above Dirk cause he's a way better play, Dirk only got any real MVP chants this season cause he learnt how to play some defense while KG's been in it for multiple years.

by **Unrestrict3D** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:32 pm

The Shaquille of the late 90's was by far the best out of all of these. Hakeem's mid-90's game isn't too far behind in my book.

by **Jing** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:35 pm

shaq and hakeem. pat ewing too.

by **aldrin** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:43 pm

dirk is more reliable than kg...

dirk is a hell of a player...

by **-BHZMAFIA-** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:06 pm

Riot wrote:What has Dirk done again?

I hate to say it but it'll be funny if Dirk wins a championship this year before KG. Anyways, to stay on topic, I'll have to go with Shaq and Hakeem.

by **Unrestrict3D** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:08 pm

-BHZMAFIA- wrote:
Riot wrote:What has Dirk done again?

I hate to say it but it'll be funny if Dirk wins a championship this year before KG. Anyways, to stay on topic, I'll have to go with Shaq and Hakeem.

Look who KG has around him, though, in comparison to Nowitzki. One could say Minnesota has the least amount of depth in the league.

by **Matt** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:27 pm

1. Hakeem......

that's all.

by **Unrestrict3D** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:15 pm

Wait, what about arguably the greatest power forward of all-time Karl Malone? :cry:

by **Lakers08** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:37 pm

1.Shaq
2.Hakeem
3.TD
4.Mailman
5.David Robinson
6.Patrick
7.KG
8.Dirk

by **Unrestrict3D** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:42 pm

Alright, here's my list:

1. Shaquille O'Neal
2. Hakeem Olajawon
3. Karl Malone
4. Tim Duncan
5. Patrick Ewing
6. David Robinson
7. Kevin Garnett
8. Dirk Nowitzki.

I'm not sure about the order of the last three. It's really close.

by **Fenix** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:48 pm

Wow, you guys are a bit overrating Shaq/underrating Hakeem. In his prime, Hakeem destroyed David Robinson AND Shaq in the playoffs. And I'm talking about about serious humiliation here. What makes you think that he couldn't do the same with an older Shaq? He had more advanced offensive game and was a league better on defense. IMO, it isn't even close.

by **Unrestrict3D** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:54 pm

Fenix wrote:Wow, you guys are a bit overrating Shaq/underrating Hakeem. In his prime, Hakeem destroyed David Robinson AND Shaq in the playoffs. And I'm talking about about serious humiliation here. What makes you think that he couldn't do the same with an older Shaq? He had more advanced offensive game and was a league better on defense. IMO, it isn't even close.

Well, I didn't pay much attention to basketball in the mid-90s and maybe your right. I just went to lots and lots of Utah Jazz games all throughout the 90s.

I did get to see Olajawon play on Christmas Day in 1998 I believe it was. Utah defeated Houston which was all I cared about back in those days.

http://www.last.fm/user/SometimeWorld · by **sucram** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:06 pm

1. Hakeem Olajawon
2. Shaquille O'neal
3. Karl Malone
4. Tim Duncan
5. David Robinson
6. Patrick Ewing
7. Kevin Garnett
8. Dirk Nowitzki

by **Gedas** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:43 pm

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
Sheesh, talk about narrow minded. :roll:

1. Arvydas Sabonis (in the 88-92, before playing in the NBA, he was the best center in the world, he outplayed all of the USA centers in the '92 Olypmics, it's just that he alone coudn't drag the team. That was told by many many experts, so this is not just my opinion)
2. Only now, Hakeem
3. Shaq (well shaq is more dominant, but Sabonis is WAY more skilled)
4. Mailman
5. Duncan

by **Unrestrict3D** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:03 pm

Gedas wrote:ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
Sheesh, talk about narrow minded.

Dude, I was born in 1987 so I didn't exactly get to see Sabonis play during those olympics.

Narrow minded? I think not. You've got to remember that we're not all old farts (hardly any of us) and you must excuse us for our various igorances that we may have.

Sabonis? Oh yeah, I remember him. Mister Hookshot from the three-point line.

by **J@3** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:14 pm

Gedas wrote:1. Arvydas Sabonis
2. Only now, Hakeem

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?
Sheesh, talk about narrow minded.

by **j.23** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:31 pm

hakeem

loved how he torched MVP david robinson in the playoffs, and shaq in the finals.

by **Fenix** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:54 pm

Arvydas Sabonis would be a top 3 centre in this league, barring injuries. But he was never the defensive presence Olajuwon, David Robinson or even Shaq were, in fact the only edge he has on them is his passing ability and range on the jumper. That's like saying Dirk>Duncan, because he can shoot 3s. Don't overrate the players from the past. Most of the Sabonis' 'greatness' come from the general opinion that he could be one of the greatest players ever if he didn't get injured. But he did and he never achieved that status, end of the conversation. Was he good? Yeah. Was he as good as Shaq and Hakeem? No way.

by **Matthew** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:17 pm

Riot wrote:What has Dirk done again?

NBA FInals: Dirk 1, KG never...

I have shaq as the best centre ever, and only behind Russell (bill would be a pf in todays game) in terms of big men.

by **Gedas** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:19 pm

Fenix wrote:Arvydas Sabonis would be a top 3 centre in this league, barring injuries. But he was never the defensive presence Olajuwon, David Robinson or even Shaq were, in fact the only edge he has on them is his passing ability and range on the jumper. That's like saying Dirk>Duncan, because he can shoot 3s. Don't overrate the players from the past. Most of the Sabonis' 'greatness' come from the general opinion that he could be one of the greatest players ever if he didn't get injured. But he did and he never achieved that status, end of the conversation. Was he good? Yeah. Was he as good as Shaq and Hakeem? No way.

It depends on what do you mean. If you mean him AFTER all of his worst injuries, when he arrived to the NBA and was just a shadow of himself? Then yes, but BEFORE THAT, before he went to the NBA, he was the no. 1 center. You should look at the '92 olympics video Lithuania-USA. Yeah, Lithuania got blown out, because of players like Jordan, Magic, Barkley, but Sabonis outplayed the USA's centers. Remember those blocks on Robinson? Or against Ewing? How can you say that he has not been a defensive center? When he came into the NBA, he was 32, and still had to adopt to the NBA style. He became much slower than he was before the injuries, and wasn't near that dominant. As I said, he was the shadow of himself and still, in the second part of the season, he averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3-4 assists in 28 minutes (I don't remember the excact numbers). Well, it's understandable, some of you probably haven't seen him play BEFORE the injuries, and that probably explains why don't you see him as a real legend. If the league would have let him play in Atlanta in '86, then I think you would undertand what I mean.

by **Matthew** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:23 pm

The whole "if" never dies.. first sabonis, now darko. I'm not buying it sorry.

by **cklitsie** on Wed Jun 07, 2006 8:24 pm

Where's Wilt?

IN THEIR PRIME, which big man was the best?

IN THEIR PRIME, which big man was the best?

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