Kidd to Mavs

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

I think you are a little bit off here. When Ewing came into the league, people thought he'd be a defensive star more than offensive. It was his offense that ended up surprising people but his rebounding numbers were often criticized because they weren't where people thought they should be. He also was not even close to being the best defensive center of his era. Better than Olajuwon or Robinson or Mutombo? Seriously?

Times voted as defensive player of the year:
Ewing-0
Robinson-1
Mutombo-4
Olajuwon-2

Times on the NBA all defensive team 1st/2nd:
Ewing-0/3
Robinson 4/4
Mutombo 3/3
Olajuwon-5/4

Times in the top five in blocks per game:
Ewing-5 times (0 times led the league)
Robinson-7 (1)
Mutombo-10 (5)
Olajuwon-12 (3)

Times in the top five in rebounds per game:
Ewing-4 (0 times led the league)
Robinson-5 (1)
Mutombo-9 (2)
Olajuwon-7 (2)

Rebounds are not a defensive stat. Ewing was the best post defender in the NBA during his 1st 7 or 8 years. There has always been a bias against this guy for whatever reason, including the writers who vote on those awards. He was a tremendous player who was easily as good defensively as any of those other guys. Olajuwan was more athletic but took lots of plays off. Mutombo was just long. He could never get further than 8 feet away from the basket without being a liability. Robinson was a great player and a nice guy but if you watched the NBA during the late 80's and early 90's and thought that he was a better all around defender than Ewing, you just didnt watch enough. There is more to defense at the center position than simple shots blocked.