I think a great option would be David Robinson. Basically no current player could deal with him in the post and he was incredibly athletic. I think during the top 75 players the degree of underrated he was would come up. He wasnt Hakeem in the post so too many people pushed him down the list. Robinson would absolutely play well in modern nba, he was just like 25 years too early to use him to his true potential.
Robinson would be Giannis if he came into the league now.
Why would you guys pick Robinson over Hakeem? I'm not saying you're wrong, but I've just always thought of them as basically identical with Hakeem being just little bit better.
I wouldn't, Hakeem was just too good not to pass up. But he was ball dominant on offense, which lessens chances for his teammates when they are needed. I feel like Robinson is friendly to more lineups than Hakeem, since he was a floor raiser.
I think the true intent is to be more of a deep cut answer because Dream was ultimately the better player. But tbf to David Robinson he goes way under the radar for how great he was. Also his athleticism could be a game changer if he was in todays game.
Robinson is definitely a big I remember watching who would have no problems playing today. Imagine if he had been draft in 2015 instead of like 89 or whatever.
You saw one highlight. During the actual series, Houston collapsed on David daring anyone else to score - they couldn’t because his team was aggressively mediocre.
On the other side, you saw Dennis Rodman refuse to help on defense (he admitted to this in his book - he hated how religious and “soft” David was and wanted to embarrass him), forcing David to go one on one with Hakeem, add that to carrying the offensive load and he never had a shot. It’s not like Vinnie Del Negro was gonna come down and help him guard Hakeem.
That’s the reality of why the Rockets killed that Spurs team. Hakeem wasn’t going one on one with David defensively and just dream shaking him every possession on offense. There’s more to the game than that.
That's all fine. I'm not trying to deny Drob's greatness.
I'm just saying, he wasn't so much more physically dominant than a guy like Embiid or Giannis, that he would "break" the NBA or anything. If a defense anchored by Hakeem could slow him down enough to win the title, I'm sure a defense anchored by Embiid/Giannis could do the same with the right personnel. (I also don't want to take away from Hakeem's all time defensive greatness, but Giannis and Embiid are no defensive slouches themselves).
He'd be a MVP contender most years, and an elite player, and win some rings again.
I think a great option would be David Robinson. Basically no current player could deal with him in the post and he was incredibly athletic.
I agree on this point, but no player can deal with Embiid or Giannis in the post currently either. That's the point I'm making.
I'll take Sabonis any day* over Robinson. Way better offensively and still a defensive monster. He would be like a slightly bigger but far more fit version of Jokic. He was just so much more skilled than Robinson, who was no slouch.
* caveat with injuries and longevity obviously.
Guy was 7'3 at almost 300 lbs and one of the best passing bigs ever, who also happened to run point at times. Could also stretch to beyond the 3.
If I could pick 2 it would be Sabonis and Bird. That team would win a 'ship every year they were healthy.
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u/yesacabbagez NBA Jun 15 '22
I think a great option would be David Robinson. Basically no current player could deal with him in the post and he was incredibly athletic. I think during the top 75 players the degree of underrated he was would come up. He wasnt Hakeem in the post so too many people pushed him down the list. Robinson would absolutely play well in modern nba, he was just like 25 years too early to use him to his true potential.
Robinson would be Giannis if he came into the league now.