Who was the bigger NBA Star?

[Diesel]

Just a small poll here.   It's interesting to see what the Squawk has to say?

[Guest]

Dominique.  There are many who consider Hill just a really good player who had a few great years.  Wilkins is seen as a great player and sure-fire HOF who never had any talent with him.

[Guest]

Nique, hands down!!!!

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Is there any other answer to this question, other than Nique?   He's been the face of this franchise, even 20 years after he retired.  Mention Grant Hill's name, and the first thing that will come to mind is Duke . . . not an NBA team.

 

In his prime, Nique ( at the bare minimum ), was regarded as a superstar, much in the same vein that Carmelo Anthony is thought of as a superstar.

[Guest]

Nique

[ATLHawks3]

If Hill had stayed healthy throughout his prime, it would have been him. Nique has the edge over him though.

[jy23]

If grant stayed healthy my answer might have been different but given how his career actually went it's Nique hands down. And that's coming from the biggest Duke lover on the board

[Guest]

Is there any other answer to this question, other than Nique?   He's been the face of this franchise, even 20 years after he retired.  Mention Grant Hill's name, and the first thing that will come to mind is Duke . . . not an NBA team.

 

In his prime, Nique ( at the bare minimum ), was regarded as a superstar, much in the same vein that Carmelo Anthony is thought of as a superstar.

 

Don't ever put sMelo and Nique in the same sentence.  I understand why people make that comparison, but #21 had more heart in his left pinky than sMelo has ever had in spite of having won an NCAA 'ship.

[DJlaysitup]

Nique for sure - you could argue about a few others as far as true basketball contributions - but what with him having a statue now and all the cool work with Bob...it's a no-brainer.

 

"that's a heat check Bob"

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Come on D, you're better than this... Hill couldn't even stay laced up to play.

[Diesel]

This is an interesting topic.

Let's not confuse the issue, I didn't ask who was the better player.   I asked who was the bigger star.  That changes things.  When you're talking about star power,  Grant was the rookie of the year.  Grant played in one less allstar game than Nique although he missed about 5 seasons.  Grant also have more All NBA first team nominations than Nique.  2 to 1.

Nique has more points over his career (by a mile) but that's not bigger star.  Nique has more MVP nominations.   Nique has more All NBA team nominations.

I think what is said is true that Hill's injuries kept him from being the bigger star.  However, even without the 5 years missed, people still remember that Grant Hill who Could have been the next Jordan before Kobe or Lebron.  Whereas Nique played against Jordan.

[ATLien_]

This is an interesting topic.

Let's not confuse the issue, I didn't ask who was the better player.   I asked who was the bigger star.  That changes things.  When you're talking about star power,  Grant was the rookie of the year.  Grant played in one less allstar game than Nique although he missed about 5 seasons.  Grant also have more All NBA first team nominations than Nique.  2 to 1.

Nique has more points over his career (by a mile) but that's not bigger star.  Nique has more MVP nominations.   Nique has more All NBA team nominations.

I think what is said is true that Hill's injuries kept him from being the bigger star.  However, even without the 5 years missed, people still remember that Grant Hill who Could have been the next Jordan before Kobe or Lebron.  Whereas Nique played against Jordan.

I voted for Nique, but I think it depends on how you define star. Nique was the better player with the better career, but I believe Grant Hill was the bigger star with the public. Grant was seen as the heir apparent for the NBA and expected to be the face of the league. He had national endorsement deals with Sprite and others. Nique didn't have any of that and wasn't as well known by the casual fans IMO. This is partly because there were more stars in front if Nique in his era, and because Grant benefited from starting his career in the Information age. There's no doubt in my mind that Nique and Grant started their careers today Nique would be the bigger star by any definition; Nique was built for the Sports Center age just look at Blake Griffin Nique was much more skilled than him.

[AHF]

As nba stars go:

Kobe > Nique > TMac > Grant Hill > Steve Francis

[Diesel]

I voted for Nique, but I think it depends on how you define star. Nique was the better player with the better career, but I believe Grant Hill was the bigger star with the public. Grant was seen as the heir apparent for the NBA and expected to be the face of the league. He had national endorsement deals with Sprite and others. Nique didn't have any of that and wasn't as well known by the casual fans IMO. This is partly because there were more stars in front if Nique in his era, and because Grant benefited from starting his career in the Information age. There's no doubt in my mind that Nique and Grant started their careers today Nique would be the bigger star by any definition; Nique was built for the Sports Center age just look at Blake Griffin Nique was much more skilled than him.

 

 

I think you make a good point here.   Hill was looked to to become the face of the league after his rookie or sophomore season.  Nique was never looked at above Michael, Magic, Bird, or even Isaiah.  Moreover, the only endorsement I ever remember Nique having was Brooks Brothers.  Where as Grant Hill was a spokesperson for Sprite.  Even in retirement, Grant still reps AT&T.

The star power doesn't just come from what you do on the court.   I mean, Johnny Manzelle is way more popular than Matt Ryan.  Chris Webber & Charles Barkley were far more popular than Tim Duncan & Karl Malone.  The popularity means something when you talk about star power. I was watching a Hardwood classic the other day.  It was Golden State in the playoffs.  The average Joe doesn't know how great a player Mitch Richmond was.   For some he would not be classified as a bonafide star.  Outside of Atlanta, I think Nique is met with that same perception.

[AHF]

Grant Hill never had a moment as big (from a PR perspective) as beating Jordan in the dunk contest. Unlike the joke it is today, that was a huge deal back in the 1980s.

[ATLHawks3]

Grant Hill never had a moment as big (from a PR perspective) as beating Jordan in the dunk contest. Unlike the joke it is today, that was a huge deal back in the 1980s.

 

Can't agree more. Although Zach LaVine put on one of the best dunk performances since Jason Richardson did it, the level of competition isn't where it used to be. I hope that changes soon.

[EazyRoc]

Grant Hill never had a moment as big (from a PR perspective) as beating Jordan in the dunk contest. Unlike the joke it is today, that was a huge deal back in the 1980s.

or his shootout with Bird in 80s (wasnt old enough to see it), but Nique just had more Star moments and with comparable accolades, i think the easy answer is Nique.

[Diesel]

Nique, however, was never anointed as the next guy.  He was like a backwood phenom in comparison to Hill who was the Golden Boy from Duke whose Father Tiger Woods him into the game.  Hill had a great feel good story about him and the fact that he was the anti-Iverson and just as good was David Stern's Joy... But Grant couldn't live up to it.  Too injured.  He had his chance.

 

In this league, there have been a few movements over the last 30.

 

Magic vs. Bird.

 

Jordan Era.

 

Grant Hill heir apparent.

 

Kobe Bryant heir apparent.

 

Allen Iverson Takeover of the League.

 

Lebron James Heir Apparent.

 

Anthony Davis Takeover.

 

Now in the midst of all of these great stories there are great players who were overlooked:

 

Nique

Barkley

Malone

Hakeem

Duncan

TMac

Shaq

V. Carter

R. Allen

Kidd

KG

Durant

 

So fourth and So on.  All of the above mentioned guys were/are great players.  Probably better than those who the league promoted... but for some reason or another they were not promoted.

Now don't get me wrong, Iverson was not promoted either.  However, he created his own culture.

But Nique falls into that category of guys who overlapped with the league's choosen.

Hill was a league choosen guy.  However, the league had to drop him because of his injuries.

[atlhawks1]

Was this REALLY put up for a vote????????????

 

[bird_dirt]

It's obvious who was the biggest NBA star here. It's a pretty dumb question that doesn't even deserve a vote.

What I'm getting from this that hasn't been said out loud is who would be the best at drawing free agent targets here.

So what the question should be, in my opinion, is who is the most highly regarded among NBA players. I have no idea who that would be, but I think that it is something Hill could potentially have a leg up on Nique.

Let's face it, we've all heard Nique on air....he doesn't always seem like he's the sharpest tool in the shed. Who knows...maybe he's a d*ck? Wouldn't be unheard of for a (former) star player. This is all speculative of course, I'm just presenting senarios that could open up doors for someone besides Nique to be "The Face" of the franchise.