Hakeem Olajuwon vs David Robinson: who was better?

[Moranis]

Hakeem is the one that is underrated.  He should legitimately be right up there with Wilt, Bill, and Kareem, but is never thought of as on their level.  Hakeem is one of the few 5 skill players the league has ever seen.  I mean he is still 1st all time in blocks, 9th all time in steals, 13th all time in points, and 14th all time in rebounds (and I'm aware steals and blocks are newer and thus guys like Bill and Wilt aren't represented whereas they would be).  He wasn't as good a passer as some other centers, but still had 4 straight seasons of 3.5 or more apg and a couple of others at 3 or better.  His low post skills were otherworldly.  He was unguardable and at the same time was the best defensive big man since Bill.  He won multiple DPOY and an MVP, along with the 2 Finals MVP's. He also anchored the worst title team in league history.  Aside from him, that team was downright awful.   

Hakeem is legitimately a top 10 player in league history.  Robinson just wasn't at that level.  Frankly, I don't even know if Robinson was ever the best center in the game in any season (I haven't looked there may have been a season or two between Hakeem and Shaq that Robinson had that mantle, but it was short lived). 

[slamtheking]

saw both of their careers.  It's Hakeem all day, every day.  that's not a knock on Robinson who was a great player but Hakeem was better on offense and defense.

Interesting, I wasn't old enough to witness their careers but from the tape I watched Hakeem was the flashier one, while Robinson had more substance to his play imo. Hakeem had some games where he scored 9 or 10 due to his flashy moves not working, but Robinson kept pouring in 20 point bombs with his simple but devastatingly effective and low-key aesthetically pleasing offensive game. That jumper was a work of art for a lefty 7'1 behemoth lol. On defense I thought Robinson was clear cut better and more versatile, not a significant difference but it was pretty to clear to me.

watching tapes aren't the same as seeing them first hand.  like I said, Robinson was a great player, Hakeem was better though.

I mean no disrespect, but how is it different? It's still a digital show of basketball game, and from what I've seen I think both are close, with David holding a slight edge. Contrary to popular opinion, I think seeing the games firsthand might make people more subjective as the "playoff factor" bias could be stronger. It's still one series and it doesn't define a career, and David actually holds a head to head advantage against Hakeem (30-12) in the RS.

the question on the tapes is this: what tapes are you seeing?  obviously they don't show the good and bad unless you're watching game tapes of every game they played which doesn't seem likely.  typically tapes stick to highlights.

just saying, as someone who's seen their full careers, Hakeem was the better player on both sides of the ball.  That doesn't mean Robinson wasn't a great player because he was. 

[slamtheking]

Hakeem is the one that is underrated.  He should legitimately be right up there with Wilt, Bill, and Kareem, but is never thought of as on their level.  Hakeem is one of the few 5 skill players the league has ever seen.  I mean he is still 1st all time in blocks, 9th all time in steals, 13th all time in points, and 14th all time in rebounds (and I'm aware steals and blocks are newer and thus guys like Bill and Wilt aren't represented whereas they would be).  He wasn't as good a passer as some other centers, but still had 4 straight seasons of 3.5 or more apg and a couple of others at 3 or better.  His low post skills were otherworldly.  He was unguardable and at the same time was the best defensive big man since Bill.  He won multiple DPOY and an MVP, along with the 2 Finals MVP's. He also anchored the worst title team in league history.  Aside from him, that team was downright awful.   

Hakeem is legitimately a top 10 player in league history.  Robinson just wasn't at that level.  Frankly, I don't even know if Robinson was ever the best center in the game in any season (I haven't looked there may have been a season or two between Hakeem and Shaq that Robinson had that mantle, but it was short lived). 

This - TP for putting together the stat support.

[Somebody]

Hakeem is the one that is underrated.  He should legitimately be right up there with Wilt, Bill, and Kareem, but is never thought of as on their level.  Hakeem is one of the few 5 skill players the league has ever seen.  I mean he is still 1st all time in blocks, 9th all time in steals, 13th all time in points, and 14th all time in rebounds (and I'm aware steals and blocks are newer and thus guys like Bill and Wilt aren't represented whereas they would be).  He wasn't as good a passer as some other centers, but still had 4 straight seasons of 3.5 or more apg and a couple of others at 3 or better.  His low post skills were otherworldly.  He was unguardable and at the same time was the best defensive big man since Bill.  He won multiple DPOY and an MVP, along with the 2 Finals MVP's. He also anchored the worst title team in league history.  Aside from him, that team was downright awful.   

Hakeem is legitimately a top 10 player in league history.  Robinson just wasn't at that level.  Frankly, I don't even know if Robinson was ever the best center in the game in any season (I haven't looked there may have been a season or two between Hakeem and Shaq that Robinson had that mantle, but it was short lived).

He's getting a lot of love from fans and critics? Don't see your point when stuff like this props him up to crazy levels
https://youtu.be/TavSsDJegX0

[Somebody]

saw both of their careers.  It's Hakeem all day, every day.  that's not a knock on Robinson who was a great player but Hakeem was better on offense and defense.

Interesting, I wasn't old enough to witness their careers but from the tape I watched Hakeem was the flashier one, while Robinson had more substance to his play imo. Hakeem had some games where he scored 9 or 10 due to his flashy moves not working, but Robinson kept pouring in 20 point bombs with his simple but devastatingly effective and low-key aesthetically pleasing offensive game. That jumper was a work of art for a lefty 7'1 behemoth lol. On defense I thought Robinson was clear cut better and more versatile, not a significant difference but it was pretty to clear to me.

watching tapes aren't the same as seeing them first hand.  like I said, Robinson was a great player, Hakeem was better though.

I mean no disrespect, but how is it different? It's still a digital show of basketball game, and from what I've seen I think both are close, with David holding a slight edge. Contrary to popular opinion, I think seeing the games firsthand might make people more subjective as the "playoff factor" bias could be stronger. It's still one series and it doesn't define a career, and David actually holds a head to head advantage against Hakeem (30-12) in the RS.

the question on the tapes is this: what tapes are you seeing?  obviously they don't show the good and bad unless you're watching game tapes of every game they played which doesn't seem likely.  typically tapes stick to highlights.

just saying, as someone who's seen their full careers, Hakeem was the better player on both sides of the ball.  That doesn't mean Robinson wasn't a great player because he was.

I mean it's unlikely that you've watched games like the way you described watching tape, I don't think living in that career equals watching every game they played against each other unless you're a Spurs/Rockets fan. And I searched up full game tapes to watch/had the luck to have NBA TV replay some of the matches in full.
Here's a full game of Robinson (albeit not against Hakeem):
https://youtu.be/mOdqC3Fbgww

[gift]

I agree with the OP that Robinson is underrated. I think he gets lost because his prime was a bit truncated and he happened to play at the same time as Hakeem, Ewing, and Shaq who were all bigger personalities or had more interesting narratives.

But Hakeem definitely had a better career and, by reputation, a bit more of the killer instinct than Robinson.

Was a great era for those matchups with Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing and Shaq. Shaq came along a bit later and by the time he hit his peak, the others were fading a bit. I always wondered how the prime versions of those guys would've dealt with 2000 MVP Shaq. By that time, Shaq didn't have a rival and wouldn't really ever again (slight rivalry with Yao, but short-lived due to Shaq's age and Yao's health).

[Moranis]

Hakeem was better. He won a championship while surrounded by role players, and followed it up the next year with another title.  He had a more versatile game, better stats, dominated in their H2H matchup in the playoffs, etc.

But, Robinson was a remarkable player, too. His stats are similar, and he was the same type of elite scorer/rebounder/defender.  His team won 30 out of 42 regular season matchups against Hakeem. I think he unfairly gets knocked down for needing Duncan to win. That’s true if almost everyone, though, including Jordan, Russell, Lebron, etc. Hakeem winning without a great player beside him is a rarity in NBA history, not an expectation anybody should be held to.

It isn't that he needed Duncan to win, it is that Duncan was the better player.  That is why Robinson is different.  He didn't get a second fiddle, he got a 1st fiddle and he became the second fiddle.

[Roy H.]

Here’s proof that Hakeem deserves the hype: nobody ever faults Houston for passing on Michael Jordan. Jordan was better, but the two can be spoken of in the same breath.

[Walker Wiggle]

No offense to the OP, but this is not a real question.

Olajuwon. If you weren't around for the 90s... just trust me on this one.

[Somebody]

No offense to the OP, but this is not a real question.

Olajuwon. If you weren't around for the 90s... just trust me on this one.

Why not? Robinson holds a general advantage in advanced stats, and it's not like I'm comparing Luc Longley to Hakeem lol, both were great centers.

[Somebody]

Here’s proof that Hakeem deserves the hype: nobody ever faults Houston for passing on Michael Jordan. Jordan was better, but the two can be spoken of in the same breath.

He deserves hype for being arguably a top 5-6 center, but being #2 all time behind Kareem, and sometimes even #1 by a few homers is pretty ridiculous to me.

[Somebody]

Hakeem was better. He won a championship while surrounded by role players, and followed it up the next year with another title.  He had a more versatile game, better stats, dominated in their H2H matchup in the playoffs, etc.

But, Robinson was a remarkable player, too. His stats are similar, and he was the same type of elite scorer/rebounder/defender.  His team won 30 out of 42 regular season matchups against Hakeem. I think he unfairly gets knocked down for needing Duncan to win. That’s true if almost everyone, though, including Jordan, Russell, Lebron, etc. Hakeem winning without a great player beside him is a rarity in NBA history, not an expectation anybody should be held to.

It isn't that he needed Duncan to win, it is that Duncan was the better player.  That is why Robinson is different.  He didn't get a second fiddle, he got a 1st fiddle and he became the second fiddle.

Robinson wasn't the same player after that foot injury so I think it's unfair to say prime Robinson at his finest wasn't a T1 option. He carried a 21 win Spurs team that was trying not to be bad into a 60+ win powerhouse in the West (at least from an RS perspective, the lack of talent around him eventually bit him in the ass). What's to say that he was second fiddle quality? Don't think a second fiddle guy can do that for a team lol.

[ozgod]

Having watched both I'd have to say Hakeem. Amazing skills both on offense and defense. He made everyone around him better. Just could not guard him in the low post.

But I remember Robinson's rookie season, the stuff he brought to the center position, he was really the first big man I saw that could dribble up and down the floor like a guard. Superb athlete. In fact if you asked me which big man of the past Giannis most reminds me of it would be the Admiral.

[Somebody]

Having watched both I'd have to say Hakeem. Amazing skills both on offense and defense. He made everyone around him better. Just could not guard him in the low post.

But I remember Robinson's rookie season, he was really the first big man I saw that could dribble up and down the floor like a guard. Superb athlete. In fact if you asked me which big man of the past Giannis most reminds me of it would be the Admiral.

Appreciate the input! But wouldn't you say a player who put one of the worst teams in the league on his back and carried them to consistent excellence a better player in terms of making everyone around him better?

[gift]

Hakeem was better. He won a championship while surrounded by role players, and followed it up the next year with another title.  He had a more versatile game, better stats, dominated in their H2H matchup in the playoffs, etc.

But, Robinson was a remarkable player, too. His stats are similar, and he was the same type of elite scorer/rebounder/defender.  His team won 30 out of 42 regular season matchups against Hakeem. I think he unfairly gets knocked down for needing Duncan to win. That’s true if almost everyone, though, including Jordan, Russell, Lebron, etc. Hakeem winning without a great player beside him is a rarity in NBA history, not an expectation anybody should be held to.

It isn't that he needed Duncan to win, it is that Duncan was the better player.  That is why Robinson is different.  He didn't get a second fiddle, he got a 1st fiddle and he became the second fiddle.

Let's also be fair when judging Robinson's championships. Jordan, Pippen and Hakeem were gobbling up all the titles during his prime. When Duncan came along, Robinson was over 32 and recovering from an injury. He wasn't the same player. He helped carry the load for Duncan's first few seasons, but really was past his prime when he took the back seat to Duncan. I don't know that Duncan would have won championships from 1990-1998 on his own either. So I think Robinson was a legit "first fiddle" guy, it's just that not every first fiddle wins the championship.

Actually, Duncan vs. Hakeem might be a more interesting argument.