hakeem could have had a better overall career but the potential was always there. there was a lot of turbulence in his career. obviously sampson's untimely retirement and then some nagging injuries of his own. he had kind of a tendency to sulk sometimes, too.

the important thing is that we DID see his BEST and he was doing it against other great centers, something that is not easy to say about many other guys.

to me, at his peak i might take him over any player. he had unparalleled range at both ends of the floor, absolutely dominated games.

for his career, obviously i would have him lower, somewhere in the top 5/6 centers and top 8-12 players.