Olajuwon Better Than Duncan?

Career vs. Skill-Set

Robert Horry has sparked this debate over recent comments that Olajuwon was “twenty times” better than Tim Duncan. The statement could easily be seen as hyperbole but there is one aspect of the debate that was never clarified, is he comparing careers or the player’s skill-sets? ​

• Olajuwon was arguably the most skilled big man to ever player the game--his speed and agility in the post was marvelous and even made Hall of Famer David Robinson seem helpless in the 1995 Playoffs.
• Duncan was more of a methodical and powerful force in the painted area, known more for bank shots than silky fade-away jumpers. Olajuwon’s career numbers beat out Duncan in almost every legitimate statistical category outside of assists. The assists being within mere tenths away from each other, around three a game.
• Duncan by far has had the better career though, raising five championship trophies to Olajuwon's two. Also grasping three Finals MVPs and two regular season MVP awards--the latter Olajuwon was never able to accomplish (mutiple MVP awards in regular season). So while Horry’s comments raised a lot of eyebrows they have some credence to them from a certain point of view.
• Now was Olajuwon twenty times better than Duncan? No way, but the debate could go either way in terms of skill-set and a hypothetical one on one match-up. It’s truly not a forgone conclusion for either of these players on who was better at the game of basketball.