The golden era of NBA big men seems to be behind us, as some of the greatest of the position in the game played before 2000. Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon are terrific examples of that.
O’Neal has gone on to have one of the greatest careers for a big man in the modern era. However, he always recognized that Hakeem was better than him in the ’90s, naming Hakeen on his all-decade team.
“At the 5 spot, Imma go Hakeem Olajuwon. I know I was coming in and emerging/already emerged. He’s the only guy I couldn’t figure out. He’s the only guy I couldn’t intimidate. The Georgetown boys, we know they’re going to fake left and go right. Rik Smits used to kill me earlier on too. They’d go left and ahh, go ahead Alonzo (Mourning). Get that dumbass runner off.”
Hakeem and Shaq met in the 1994 NBA Finals, which the Olajuwon’s Rockets won via a sweep. That was Hakeem’s first NBA Championship and the highest-profile loss of the young Shaq’s career. He’d become a monster when the calendars turned to 2000, but in the 8 years he played in the NBA in the ’90s, he couldn’t beat out what Hakeem achieved.
The Resurgence Of Centers In The NBA
Through the 2000s and 2010s, the NBA became a league dominated by wings and guards. The center position was especially neglected in this era, with the only all-time center of the era being Dwight Howard. That has changed once again as we have seen the first three MVP races of the 2020s dominated by two centers, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid.
The pair have finished first and second the last two seasons, with a third standoff between the pair expected this season. Jokic is 2-0 over Embiid right now, and there’s no guarantee on who will end up with the award this season. This is one of the closest MVP races in years and also features Giannis Antetokounmpo.
These three players dominating the league for the last few seasons proves that the big man has re-emerged in the NBA, albeit not in its traditional sense, given the dynamic ways Jokic and Embiid play. Given Hakeem has influenced Joel’s game, there may be more modern significance to how Hakeem dominated Shaq in the 1990s as well.
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