Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Kobe Bryant

[1987_Lakers]

I love it how when people talk about Hakeem they just mention his '94 & '95 seasons & completely ignore the rest of his career. Anyways, to start a franchise I will probably choose Hakeem, but I have Kobe ranked higher in my all-time list.

[StateOfMind12]

I love it how when people talk about Hakeem they just mention his '94 & '95 seasons & completely ignore the rest of his career. Anyways, to start a franchise I will probably choose Hakeem, but I have Kobe ranked higher in my all-time list.

What is your top 10 in your all-time list? I'm pretty curious to see. I have Kobe ranked 8th or 9th.

[TheBigVeto]

hakeem olajuwon by far

This.

[Cali Syndicate]

Plus a franchise center in today's league is very rare. Dwight and maybe Bynum are the only centers you can build around.

Marc Gasol's progression as an all around center is looking quite dapper.

[dyna]

Hakeem..

[ralph_i_el]

hakeem

he was a defensive anchor and post players are more valuable than perimeter players

[June1026]

The Dream ofc, Hakeem is only capable of winning games, he is incapable of contributing for them losing.

[Lebron23]

Hakeem has a higher basketball IQ, a better fundamental player, a better team leader, and a more likeable person than Kobe.

Prime Hakeem = Best player in the NBA.

[tontoz]

I think something that's forgotten about Hakeem is how ball dominant he was. He completely controlled the offense on his championship teams, and didn't play that well with other all stars other then Drexler.That doesn't mean he was better then Kobe, I don't really think he was (Peak vs Peak, Kobe might be, but not career wise) but it's something that people forget about Hakeem. He isn't exactly the ideal player to build a dominant offense around.

What other stars did he play with? I don't remember him actually playing with any other star that was actually in their prime. Barkley was past his prime when he played in Houston, in his 13th year.

[1987_Lakers]

What is your top 10 in your all-time list? I'm pretty curious to see. I have Kobe ranked 8th or 9th.

1. MJ
2. Kareem
3. Russell
4. Magic
5. Bird
6. Chamberlain
7. Shaq
8. Duncan
9. Kobe
10. Hakeem

[magnax1]

What other stars did he play with? I don't remember him actually playing with any other star that was actually in their prime. Barkley was past his prime when he played in Houston, in his 13th year.

Past his peak, but still an all star, and he basically ended up spotting up on more then half the possessions on that team. Once Tomjanavich got there and started running almost exclusively through Hakeem you saw the rest of the teams production dip pretty dramatically too (Otis Thorpe being the prime example, who was an all star. Kenny and Vernon also had their production drop) It was the right thing to do, but it does say something about Hakeem.

[lbj23clutch]

Marc Gasol's progression as an all around center is looking quite dapper.

Yes but can he be a CLEAR franchise player that you can completely build a team around and hope for a championship run? He'd be an excellent 2nd option for a team with a superstar, but he wouldn't be the guy you'd center a whole franchise around.

[305Baller]

hakeem

[tontoz]

Past his peak, but still an all star, and he basically ended up spotting up on more then half the possessions on that team. Once Tomjanavich got there and started running almost exclusively through Hakeem you saw the rest of the teams production dip pretty dramatically too (Otis Thorpe being the prime example, who was an all star. Kenny and Vernon also had their production drop) It was the right thing to do, but it does say something about Hakeem.

Thorpe made one All-Star game his entire career. he had one 20 pt season before going to Houston, then averaged 17 for 4 straight years. It isn't like that is a big falloff.

The Dream was just a beast. He played for 18 years and had career averages of 22/11 with 3 blocks.

[Heavincent]

Kobe's replaceable...you'd be hard-pressed replacing Olajuwon.

Top 10 players all-time (like Kobe) are NOT replaceable.