Shaq vs Hakeem - Who was better?

[SouBeachTalents]

hakeem didn't need a top 5 all time player to drag him to the finals past all the real competition

Neither did Shaq

[tontoz]

Shaq

I think Hakeem has become overrated over the years. For a lot of his career he was a black hole that settled for jumpers too often. His career TS of 55.3% is pretty weak for a big.

Shaq's poor foul shooting was a big problem but I still would pick him over Hakeem.

[Facepalm]

.

Yes, I know Shaq says that Hakeem dusted him, but that is Shaq being classy.

Shaq being classy? C'mon now

[Euroleague]

Hakeem was better at everything except for dunking and committing offensive fouls.

[Odinn]

People on internet really love to overrate Hakeem. Wow. Shaq was better.

[And1AllDay]

Shaq

I think Hakeem has become overrated over the years. For a lot of his career he was a black hole that settled for jumpers too often. His career TS of 55.3% is pretty weak for a big.

Shaq's poor foul shooting was a big problem but I still would pick him over Hakeem.

Shaq all the way

[Duncan21formvp]

Hakeem was better. Even Shaq admits that.

In 1995 he does.

[Smook A.]

Hakeem was more skilled

Shaq was more dominant

Both are legends and top 10 players of all time.

[AussieSteve]

People on internet really love to overrate Hakeem. Wow. Shaq was better.

Do you think peak Shaq goes back to back in houston in 94 and 95?

Do you think peak hakeem three-peats in LA in 2000-02?

[Odinn]

Do you think peak Shaq goes back to back in houston in 94 and 95?

Do you think peak hakeem three-peats in LA in 2000-02?

In 1994-95 season, if Houston had threepeat Shaq they wouldn't win just 47 games. Do you know Houston's record with Drexler in regular season? 17-18. Shaq wouldn't put his team in that position. Ever.

Hakeem's 1993-94 season and Shaq's 1999-00 season is pretty comparable. They won the title without a decent supporting cast. Yes, Shaq had Kobe who could average 21 ppg in the playoffs in '00. But Rockets in '94 had a deeper roster.
The next 4 leading scorers comparison; Hou 47.7 ppg / LA 48.8 ppg

You do realize Shaq averaged 38/17/2/3 in '00 Finals. Right?

Maybe '00 Shaq wouldn't be able to win in '94. But the same chance is there for '94 Hakeem in '00.

Kobe in '00 playoffs; 21.1 - 4.5 - 4.4, LAL record 15-8 and title
Kobe in '01 playoffs; 29.4 - 7.3 - 6.1, LAL record 15-1 and title
Kobe in '02 playoffs; 26.6 - 5.8 - 4.6, LAL record 15-4 and title

You see the correlation, right? What was not changing during that time is Shaq getting 30/15/3/2 in the playoffs and 36/15/3/3 in the finals.
Shaq's worst finals performance during 3peat was 33/16/5/3 against the Sixers who had DPoY Mutombo and that is still better than Hakeem's '95 Finals display which was the better one between his '94 and '95.

And let's not pretend that Shaq didn't have to work for his FMVPs and they were won automatically.

[Lebron23]

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/...ad-more-talent Robert Horry said Hakeem was better

[HoopsNY]

Hakeem no question

[Gudo]

Shaq. But I prefer Hakeem.

[jayfan]

Just last night, on Inside, Shaq said, "Hakeem was way better than me."




.

[HoopsNY]

In 1994-95 season, if Houston had threepeat Shaq they wouldn't win just 47 games. Do you know Houston's record with Drexler in regular season? 17-18. Shaq wouldn't put his team in that position. Ever.

Hakeem's 1993-94 season and Shaq's 1999-00 season is pretty comparable. They won the title without a decent supporting cast. Yes, Shaq had Kobe who could average 21 ppg in the playoffs in '00. But Rockets in '94 had a deeper roster.
The next 4 leading scorers comparison; Hou 47.7 ppg / LA 48.8 ppg

You do realize Shaq averaged 38/17/2/3 in '00 Finals. Right?

Maybe '00 Shaq wouldn't be able to win in '94. But the same chance is there for '94 Hakeem in '00.

Kobe in '00 playoffs; 21.1 - 4.5 - 4.4, LAL record 15-8 and title
Kobe in '01 playoffs; 29.4 - 7.3 - 6.1, LAL record 15-1 and title
Kobe in '02 playoffs; 26.6 - 5.8 - 4.6, LAL record 15-4 and title

You see the correlation, right? What was not changing during that time is Shaq getting 30/15/3/2 in the playoffs and 36/15/3/3 in the finals.
Shaq's worst finals performance during 3peat was 33/16/5/3 against the Sixers who had DPoY Mutombo and that is still better than Hakeem's '95 Finals display which was the better one between his '94 and '95.

And let's not pretend that Shaq didn't have to work for his FMVPs and they were won automatically.

By 2000 Kobe was arguably the best SG in the game. Furthermore, the Rockets added Drexler just after mid-season, so obviously there were chemistry issues, especially with the locker room fallout with Vernon Maxwell who was repeatedly missing practice after the trade. Their 17-18 record wasn't indicative of their team capability, and this was evidenced no greater than in the playoffs and finals itself.

I wouldn't say the supporting casts were even. 2000 Kobe was a better player than '95 Drexler. And Glen Rice was better than any third option you could think of on Houston. Roberty Horry was on both teams. And we're also forgetting that Phil Jackson coached the 2000 Lakers team?

You're also comparing 38 year old Dikembe Mutombo, who was still a great defensive player evidenced by his winning the DPOY award, to prime 1995 Shaq? Who was tougher to defend?

Shaq feasted in an era that saw the demise of the center and the league literally catering to him. The league turned a blind eye and allowed for Shaq to throw his weight around, something you couldn't do for the first 50 years of league. Wilt talked about this when comparing how centers had to rely on skill and footwork as opposed to later on when guys like Shaq came around and weren't called for offensive fouls like they would have been in the 60s and 70s.

Lets not forget the league fixed the 2001 Kings/Lakers series? That was one of the most blatant examples in history.

All a person has to do is look at how Shaq performed against elite centers in the 90s and what he did against piss poor opposition in the the '00s. I did a spread of these stats somewhere on ISH. It certainly helps when the likes of Ewing, Hakeem, Robinson, Daughtery, Mutombo, Mourning, etc are out of their primes or retiring.