Olajuwon drafted in 2002 not 1984 by Houston

migya · Post #1 » by **migya** » Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:36 am

If Olajuwon was drafted by Houston in 2002 instead of 1984 and instead of Ming, how many championships do the Rockets win, how does Olajuwon's career turn out? How does it change the nba landscape.

Post #2 » by **pillwenney** » Fri Nov 18, 2022 5:44 pm

Obviously a bunch of different butterfly effect things happening, but IMO, champions skewed weaker from like 06-11. I could very much see him snagging one at the tail end of T-Mac's prime or carrying a team of role players post T-Mac.

Buckets22 · Post #3 » by **Buckets22** » Fri Nov 18, 2022 7:41 pm

Akeem was raw when he entered the league, but less so than Yao. Put him in there with Steve Franchise, Mobley, Glen Rice, Posey, Eddie Griffin - filthy.
They'd win a chip or two, I wont even trade for T-Mac keep Mobley-Franchise duo in the backcourt and add shooters. Can they win it all in 2002-2003?

Post #4 » by **tsherkin** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 2:44 am

Buckets22 wrote:Akeem was raw when he entered the league, but less so than Yao.

Eh?

Yao was quite a bit more polished by comparison. Olajuwon took a while to get his offensive game together. He started with remarkable strength and mobility with great bounce, of course, and he had a head for defense early on but yeah, speaking to offensive skills? Yao was considerably more polished from the word "go." The health and defensive differences would more than make up for that, of course.

Put him in there with Steve Franchise, Mobley, Glen Rice, Posey, Eddie Griffin - filthy.
They'd win a chip or two, I wont even trade for T-Mac keep Mobley-Franchise duo in the backcourt and add shooters. Can they win it all in 2002-2003?

They would certainly make for an interesting team. And with a little more offensive firepower than to which he was accustomed, he'd have to score less, which would be good for team efficiency until he needed to elevate in the playoffs. Dream would definitely make them a lot better than they were in -era, for sure.

HeartBreakKid · Post #5 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 3:35 am

Buckets22 wrote:Akeem was raw when he entered the league, but less so than Yao.

Yao Ming had been playing professional basketball by years at that point. Olajuwon didn't even start playing basketball until he was 15.

migya · Post #6 » by **migya** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:32 am

HeartBreakKid wrote:
Buckets22 wrote:Akeem was raw when he entered the league, but less so than Yao.

Yao Ming had been playing professional basketball by years at that point. Olajuwon didn't even start playing basketball until he was 15.

Yet he was much better than Yao ever was. Yao was soft and couldn't handle physicality. Recently saw the 2007 r1 between Houston and Utah and Yao was awful. He was bullied by much smaller players. Olajuwon would've destroyed them and gotten 35 a game.

migya · Post #7 » by **migya** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:35 am

pillwenney wrote:Obviously a bunch of different butterfly effect things happening, but IMO, champions skewed weaker from like 06-11. I could very much see him snagging one at the tail end of T-Mac's prime or carrying a team of role players post T-Mac.

Think he'd push for championships the whole time, even from 2000-05. Think there was better shooting and defense astound him than in the 90s. Francis deteriorated quickly and TMac with Olajuwon looks like potential threepeat.

HeartBreakKid · Post #8 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:12 am

migya wrote:
HeartBreakKid wrote:
Buckets22 wrote:Akeem was raw when he entered the league, but less so than Yao.

Yao Ming had been playing professional basketball by years at that point. Olajuwon didn't even start playing basketball until he was 15.

Yet he was much better than Yao ever was. Yao was soft and couldn't handle physicality. Recently saw the 2007 r1 between Houston and Utah and Yao was awful. He was bullied by much smaller players. Olajuwon would've destroyed them and gotten 35 a game.

Yao Ming was definitely not "soft". He was able to move around O'Neal and Howard and would easily bully Olajuwon.

Everyone knows Olajuwon was better than Ming, so I don't know why you bothered saying that.

migya · Post #9 » by **migya** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:17 am

[streamable][/streamable]

HeartBreakKid wrote:
migya wrote:
HeartBreakKid wrote:
Yao Ming had been playing professional basketball by years at that point. Olajuwon didn't even start playing basketball until he was 15.

Yet he was much better than Yao ever was. Yao was soft and couldn't handle physicality. Recently saw the 2007 r1 between Houston and Utah and Yao was awful. He was bullied by much smaller players. Olajuwon would've destroyed them and gotten 35 a game.

Yao Ming was definitely not "soft". He was able to move around O'Neal and Howard and would easily bully Olajuwon.

Everyone knows Olajuwon was better than Ming, so I don't know why you bothered saying that.

He was soft and it was plain to see.

HeartBreakKid · Post #10 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:34 am

migya wrote:[streamable][/streamable]
HeartBreakKid wrote:
migya wrote:
Yet he was much better than Yao ever was. Yao was soft and couldn't handle physicality. Recently saw the 2007 r1 between Houston and Utah and Yao was awful. He was bullied by much smaller players. Olajuwon would've destroyed them and gotten 35 a game.

Yao Ming was definitely not "soft". He was able to move around O'Neal and Howard and would easily bully Olajuwon.

Everyone knows Olajuwon was better than Ming, so I don't know why you bothered saying that.

He was soft and it was plain to see.

Yeah, I'm sure you'd box him right out the paint. Just because Yao Ming had a hook shot and could shoot doesn't mean he was soft. That's just a dumb stereotype.

Many players have struggled with Ming while trying to play physical, so obviously he wasn't that soft.

migya · Post #11 » by **migya** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:39 am

HeartBreakKid wrote:
migya wrote:[streamable][/streamable]
HeartBreakKid wrote:
Yao Ming was definitely not "soft". He was able to move around O'Neal and Howard and would easily bully Olajuwon.

Everyone knows Olajuwon was better than Ming, so I don't know why you bothered saying that.

He was soft and it was plain to see.

Yeah, I'm sure you'd box him right out the paint. Just because Yao Ming had a hook shot and could shoot doesn't mean he was soft. That's just a dumb stereotype.

Many players have struggled with Ming while trying to play physical, so obviously he wasn't that soft.

He was constantly taken out of position. Great example was the playoff series I mentioned againn't Houston. He was rarely able to get low post position and took awful shots. Any of the good Centers would've been big that series.

70sFan · Post #12 » by **70sFan** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 9:32 am

Yao being soft is an absurd take.

Post #13 » by **tsherkin** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 2:57 pm

70sFan wrote:Yao being soft is an absurd take.

Yeah, "soft" is not a word I'd use for Yao. He was a strong guy who fought his way through injuries (in the NBA and for the Chinese league) and he battled hard with dudes like Shaq and Dwight. He had a very high center of gravity and he had only so much mobility due to his size, but that's another story. He definitely had no issue with toughness, you'd have to be blind to watch him play and think that.