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Early look at episode 8 (!)...the one and only Hakeem Olajuwon. Pretty clear peak here -- 1995 included because of offensive factors discussed in the video, 1989-91 were probably better defensively but the offense wasn't the same. It's looking like there will be 16 episodes including the finale where we rank players. 

Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-10 peaks at the end of this series. Voting will take place after the final player profile and will be revealed as part of the final episode of this series.

($7 subscribers will receive most videos in this series a week before they are released to the public, $4 subscribers a few days later).

Files

Hakeem final comp.mp4

This is "Hakeem final comp.mp4" by Ben Taylor on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Comments

Anonymous

Will the final video be primarily overall rankings? Or will you also have some by area/position (greatest defensive peak, offensive peak, peak as a center)? Also, will the last 7 before the finale all be player profiles, or something else? Thanks for a wonderful series. Might be my favorite sports retrospective ever. Just amazing work Ben. Apologies for all the questions lol

Anonymous

I'm appalled that you didn't make a video for 1990 Michael Adams

Anonymous

Great vid. I love Hakeem's game and he's in my personal Mt. Rushmore of peak players. I wonder why this vid was released after DRob's when his peak started/ended a year later.

Anonymous

Great stuff Ben. Quick note: in the summary you mention "subpar shot selection" twice. I don't know whether you intended that or not, but figured I'd flag it in case it was a typo.

Ben Taylor

Thanks! Primarily overall rankings. And yes, all profiles remaining until the finale.

Anonymous

Ben why'd you do the nfl films voice that was triggering

Anonymous

Did you mention Oliver Kahn or am I crazy? Hahaha

Anonymous

Sorry if you've answered this elsewhere but is there a chance that you make a video/series on the Greatest Teams of all time? I suppose SRS and MOV already paint a good enough picture but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thanks

Anonymous

Bear with me for a moment on this, it may be difficult to articulate coherently. I see a loose parallel between the offense of guys like Hakeem/Kobe and the defense of guys like jokic/kat today, in that their contributions on that end might be slightly positive but that they restrict the ceiling of the respective unit. For kat, for example, whether his defense is a slight positive or neutral, since he plays center and occupies the main role that generates defensive impact, he will never likely be part of a top tier defense

Anonymous

So we criticize his defense, and deem it a negative for the void it leaves, the lost opportunity for a higher impact defensive anchor. Should we criticize kobe or hakeem the same way? Lots of floor-raising, difficult shotmaking but only at a level that ensures ‘medium-good’ offense as a centerpiece (AI fits in this category as well), and which disallows the offense from ever being ‘great.’ Should the two situations be analyzed similarly?

Anonymous

A player like Hakeem still works because he can lead you to a slightly positive offense and a massively positive defense, and that can win you a title as it did for the rockets. Also, even though Kobe isn't too efficient of a scorer, he creates enough shots for teamates that his offenses can still be 3 or 4 points better than league average. Also, Kobe has off ball movement which makes him compatible with other stars if his ego would allow it.

Ben Taylor

I think I follow you. The difference to me is that a talent limitation seems harder to overcome, whereas a decision-making limitation (ie "will he shoot less") has a little more uncertainty.

Anonymous

Quick follow-up, will you deduct for missed games/injury like your CORP evaluations on backpacks? Will this be more "championship value added per season" or "championship value as a per game average" ?

Anonymous

The Oliver Kahn reference has made at least one subsection of your viewers extremely happy.

Anonymous

Breathtaking video.

Anonymous

Ben, what's the name of the music for the video?

Anonymous

This WHOLE series has been absolute 🔥👏🏾 this video makes me wonder what could've been if Ralph Sampson were an elite facilitating guard like a John Stockton, Mark Jackson etc?