5RobinsonPoints 27Rebounds 12Assists 2

So with that, let's look at Shaq and Hakeem's respective careers.Career Let's go through Hakeem's list of achievements: 12 All-Star appearances 12 appearances on the All-NBA team Nine appearances on All-NBA Defensive team 1992-1993 Defensive Player of the Year 1993-1994 Defensive Player of the Year 1993-1994 NBA Finals MVP 1993-1994 NBA MVP 1994-1995 NBA Finals MVP 8th all time in field goals made 11th all-time in field goals attempted 9th all-time in offensive rebounds 5th all-time in defensive rebounds 12th all-time in total rebounds 9th all-time in steals 1st all-time in blocks 7th all-time in turnovers 10th all time in pointsA lot accomplished in his 17 seasons. But in addition, let's also look at the Dream's career numbers:Regular season: 21.9 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg, 3.1 bpg.Playoffs: 25.9 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.7 spg, 3.3 bpg Let's now have a look at the long list of achievements and/or landmarks of Shaquille O'Neal's career: 12 All-Star appearances 1992-1993 Rookie of the Year 1999-2000 All-Star Game MVP (shared with Tim Duncan) 1999-2000 NBA MVP 1999-2000 NBA Finals MVP 2000-2001 NBA Finals MVP 2001-2002 NBA Finals MVP 2003-2004 All-Star Game MVP 2008-2009 All-Star Game MVP (sharedwith Kobe Bryant) 14 appearances on All-NBA team Three appearances on All-NBA Defensive team 7th all time in field goals made 2nd all time in field goal percentage 4th all time in free throw attempts 7th all time in points 2nd all time in PER (Olajuwon finished 16th in this category)After having gone through that list, let's have a look at the Diesel's career numbers:Regular season: 24.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 2.4 bpgPlayoffs: 25.2 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.6 spg, 2.2 bpgPrime One of my biggest arguments when debating this issue with Money and Supreme was the respective primes of both players. We all remember Shaquille O'Neal as being a dominating force that bullied his opponents and did whatever he wanted to on the basketball court. He was an NBA center with the size of Godzilla, superhuman strength like Kal-El, amazing speed, more foot quickness then Casius Clay (his momma called him Casius so I will call him Casius; but for the uninformed, I am talking about Muhammad Ali), the touch of Tim Duncan (people forget that Shaq didn't just dunk the ball), the drop step of Chris Webber, and the engaging personality of Money Mike (Kat Williams). Add to that Shaq's actual production on the court, and it's easy to see why several would pick him over Hakeem.However, Hakeem is the most skilled big man I have ever seen play (never saw Kareem play). Dream scored in every conceivable way imaginable, rebounded with ferocity, and defended the basket like a pimp who wasn't getting his money's worth.Think of the best pure scorer in the NBA right now. Now picture Kobe Bryant as seven feet tall; to me that's Hakeem.

Dream gave you the fade away jumper, the crossover, the hook shot, the up and under, the drive baseline, and then fake the reverse layup and come back on the side where the play started to score.On defense, Dream was like Ben Wallace...the two-time Defensive Player of the Year (not the one you saw get destroyed by Dwight in the 2009 playoffs). Olajuwon created steals, blocked shots (never throwing them in the stands but instead blocking it to a teammate), changed some shots just by looking at the opposing player coming down the lane (he was really that intimidating), and always helped out his teammates on defense.Although it's tough to measure a player's value through stats, we'll give it a try Olajuwon's prime coincided with his two championship years. Let's have a look at his regular season stats for those two years:'93-'94 & '94-'95 regular season averagesPoints: 27Rebounds: 12.6Assists: 3.4Steals: 1.6Blocks: 3.3Average vs. leagueAfter seeing what Olajuwon did during those seasons, wouldn't it be interesting to also see what he did against top level performers I mean, it's one thing to dominate a team without a center while playing at home, but it's completely different to go up against an All-Star at your position right Let's have a look at Olajuwon's numbers against All-Stars from the 1993-1994 season & 1994-1995 (not necessarily All-Stars in both seasons); the players were Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, and Alonzo Mourning.Opponent MutomboPoints: 22.3Rebounds: 11.3Assists: FiveSteals: 0.3Blocks: TwoDivacPoints: 32.9Rebounds: 13.6Assists: 2.7Steals: 0.4Blocks: 2.4DavisPoints: 28.8Rebounds: 14.5Assists: FiveSteals: 0.5Blocks: 3.5RobinsonPoints: 27Rebounds: 12Assists: 2.9Steals: 0Blocks: ThreeMourningPoints: 24.5Rebounds: 11.3Assists: 4.3Steals: 0.3Blocks: 2.5Average vs. AllPoints: 27.7Rebounds: 12.6Assists: 3.7Steals: 0.3Blocks: 2.7Here's the crazy thing about Shaq: His numbers against All-Star players at his position are actually slightly inferior to his overall regular season averages, but they are still impressive numbers.

With that said, only David Robinson is a sure pick to make the Hall of Fame, and yet we still see a decrease in Shaq's numbers. I'm pretty sure that O'Neal got up for big matchups against top flight centers (I know, Dale Davis being considered a top flight center is a joke, but hey, he made the All-Star game, don't blame me) but right now it seems that Hakeem was better at it then Shaq was.'99-'00 & '00-'01 playoff averages:Points: 30.6Rebounds: 15.4Assists: 3.1Steals: 0.5Blocks: 2.4Average in playoffsAs expected with great players, Shaquille O'Neal's number trend upwards in the playoffs. There is a decrease in his assists and his blocks, but he still shows up as a performer. The memories I have of Shaquille O'Neal earlier this decade (it's not that far mind you) are exactly what I thought they were.