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Olajuwon: One of NBA's four best pivots
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Olajuwon, now 45, was presented into the Hall along with rival center Patrick Ewing, superstar coach Pat Riley, high-scoring Adrian Dantley, Detroit Pistons and Shock owner Bill Davidson, women's basketball pioneer Cathy Rush and gregarious college basketball commentator Dick Vitale on Friday night.
But it was Olajuwon who blossomed into certainly one of the four greatest all-time centers along with Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, putting up a superior career to both Bill Walton and Shaquille O'Neal. The big comparison, of course, came with Ewing. Olajuwon clearly was the more pure athlete and they became rivals first at the collegiate level before titanic struggles in the NBA so it was fitting that they would be inducted together.
Olajuwon was a product of Lagos, Nigeria, and never played the game until he was 17. But at 6-foot-10, he had developed extraordinary hand/eye coordination and footwork as a soccer goalie and playing team handball. So with that size and those skills, he was a natural for basketball. A coach lured him to the court and he ended up playing on a national touring team.
Within months, still 17, he landed on the University of Houston campus, and after a year of adjustment to life in America and learning the game from coach Guy Lewis, Olajuwon became a human highlight film of blocks, steals and rebounds while learning the finesse of offense. It became a dunkfest every night for Lewis' Cougars and the team, along with All-American Clyde Drexler, drew national acclaim as the Phi Slama Jama dunking fraternity.
They went to the Final Four three times with Olajuwon winning the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player award in 1983. But they did lose in the thrilling championship game to Jim Valvano's North Carolina State Wolfpack on a last-second put-back, and then again in 1984 to Ewing's Georgetown squad.
It was then that the Rockets made Olajuwon the first overall pick of the fabled 1984 draft ahead of Sam Bowie and Michael Jordan. From there Olajuwon became an unstoppable force with the Rockets. He established the "Dream Shake" spins on the baseline on the offensive end, with endless pivots that would end in a jump shot or a patented up-and-under move. Today, Kevin Garnett does his own version on jumpers, but not with the same power, nor at the basket with the same effect.
Olajuwon went on to set Rockets records for points (26,511), rebounds (13,382), blocks (3,740) and steals (2,088). His blocks are the most in NBA history although it is widely considered a mark that Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain exceeded dramatically but were not recorded because blocks didn't become official statistics until the 1973-74 season.
Nonetheless, Olajuwon's impact on the game was inexorable because of his unusual combination of quickness and agility on such a powerful 6-10, 255-pound frame. He was rookie of the year in 1985, combining with 7-4 Ralph Sampson, the rookie of the year the previous season, to foist the "The Twin Towers" moniker on the NBA. They upset the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in 1986 in the Western Conference finals before losing to the Boston Celtics in the Finals. But Olajuwon was devastating in 20 playoff games, averaging 26.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 2.0 steals.
In many ways, it was hard to believe the Rockets didn't get back to the Finals until 1994, with the loss to the Sonics in 1987 the biggest upset they suffered. But it was during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, when the Rockets won back-to-back titles, that he cemented his role in history. During the 1993-94 campaign, Olajuwon won his only Most Valuable Player award, and he then led the Rockets to their first title. In his much-awaited re-match with Ewing, the Rockets overcame a 3-2 deficit to defeat Ewing, Riley and the New York Knicks for the 1994 NBA title.
Perhaps even more impressive was the next season, though. Struggling mightily as a team, the Rockets made a mid-season trade to get Olajuwon's former college teammate Drexler, and limped into the playoffs as the sixth seed. Nonetheless, "The Dream" had a remarkable season, averaging 27.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks, but nobody realized that was just a taste of what was to come in the playoffs.
The Rockets struggled to a five-game win over Utah on the road in the first round and pulled out a spectacular one-point victory at Phoenix in Game 7 of the West semifinals. That set up the conference finals against MVP center David Robinson at San Antonio. The special night belonged to Olajuwon, who embarrassed Robinson with 41 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks in a one-point win at San Antonio. It set the tone for the Rockets to clinch the series at home in Game 6.
And that brought in the next big challenge for Olajuwon and the Rockets, monstrous rookie of the year center Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic. The Magic blew Game 1 in overtime, and the Rockets swept the series with Olajuwon winning NBA Finals MVP for the second consecutive year. His performance in the playoffs — 33.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 blocks — moved coach Rudy Tomjanovich to utter, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion," about his superstar.
A champion bound for the Hall of Fame indeed.
Member Comments
shaq is garbage an over grown man with no talent or ability <br />hakeem was amazing simply amazing<br />and he could shoot free throws
9/20/2008 10:42:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Again Jtrot, the history of basketball can never be likened or reduced to golf. And if u've been following the NBA for over 30yrs and on a day in- day out basis as I do on NBA TV, u will quickly realise and appreciate the fact that the game was taken to another level by a collection of players along with MJ. Players such as Kareem, Dr. J, Magic, Bird, Hakeem and Isiah and NOT only MJ took the NBA a notch over !! All these players Jtrot had ur so called clutch perfomances, will to win and mental toughness aplenty and YESSS the stratosphere of MJ. They must never be UNDERRATED as it seem as though u've been following the games since only the 90s. Reducing a players greatness to mainly the number of titles they've won along with their respective TEAMS, is a lazy erroneous yardstick, their stats have to go majorly under the microscope as well. That will be the skeleton of which to truly judge their career bodies of work. I brought up the Orlando Magic issue bcos either people keep making the excuse for MJ or they just forgot that the NBA is all about matchups. And as such, nobody will really know how many less titles MJ would've won had Magic, Bird, Isiah and even the Houston twin towers never went down so early with injuries. The twin towers whipped the Lakers as a testament to the matchup theory remember.
Jumpiman9/19/2008 5:27:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
its fun arguing with you JUMPIMAN :) i'm not underestimating what Hakeem did, its just that in the game of basketball one person has happened to take it to such another level. (kinda like Tiger with golf) Outside the stats it was the clutch performances, will to win, and mental toughness that makes MJ so much better than everyone and that doesn't even show up on the stat book. Also, in Houston's 2nd title would u not consider Clyde Drexler a decent supporting cast? Yes, he only had a few good years left in him at that point, but his number were as good as they were in the early 90's. About 21 pts. and 7 reb. per game that year isn't too shaby. I think thats about what Pip's averages were. And wow! you wanna bring up the orlando magic thing considering MJ hadn't played in a year and a half?? U know what..no excuses..you can have that one. I'll just ask what happened to Hakeem the other 6 times when MJ was collecting his rings?? At least Hakeem did truly earn the rings he has, but holler back at me when Kobe wins one when he's not on Shaq's coatails.
jtrot229/18/2008 21:10:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
hakeem is possibly the most underrated player of all time. we always see mention of wilt, kareem, russell on this website. hakeem is a million times the defender kareem was. a zillion times the scorer russell was. a better rebounder than kareem. a more clutch player than wilt. hakeem has something in common with jordan. he changed the standard for centers. he won his championship with no all star(or even close to all star)players on his roster. only clyde drexler who was only a couple years from retirement. he may not have the six titles that jordan has but he also didn't have the help jordan had. the bulls were the most fundamentally sound teams during the 90s followed by the jazz. the 6 championship teams displayed the two best 3pt shooters of the 90s(kerr and paxson) the best penetrator in the game(jordan) best post player during the second 3 chapionships(jordan) two best perimeter defenders(jordan, pippen) best hack-a shaq group.shooters off the bench. a top rebounding and defensive forward (horace grant, dennis rodman)rebounders off the bench. one of the smoothest scorers ever in toni kukoc. they lacked a shot blocker but the perimeter defense was so tight it didn't matter too much. who did hakeem have. rookie sam cassell(he was very good though) kenny smith, otis thorpe(he was good at times). vernon maxwell who is the most unstable person ever in the nba. one thing they had in common is they followed hakeem's lead. for this olajuwon and jordan do have something in common. they led their teams to the chamionship.
gargamel9/18/2008 18:25:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
stop comparing michael jordan and kobe. kobe did not even turn up during the finals. when kobe is faced with what he perceives to be a challenge he packs up his things and goes home quietly. look at all his eliminations from playoffs. celtics... no show. phoenix 2007... gave up several times during the series most notably the second half of game 7. phoenix 2006 gave up a 3-1 lead.... year before no playoffs... he's overrated. please stop comparing him to jordan. jordan always pushed himself and his team whethe rplayoffs or regular season. olajuwon never backed down and was quite the fighter early in his career. kobe is either a quitter or a choker. please stop comparing him with greats. no matter what he does in his future he has too many chokes and submissions to his name. he is not jordan. and as long as basketball has a mental component he will never be close.
gargamel9/18/2008 18:12:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Jtrot 22, yess MJ was a little greater than Hakeem or Kobe, but if someone is a top 10 player, a top 12 in in pts, rebounds, blocks and steals, how can u say he ain't fit to be mentioned in MJ's breath. That's BS, I should turn the Q around, that had MJ never had Pippen, Rodman and had Magic, Larry & Isiah hadn't got injured to shorten their careers, Jordan wouldn't have won six titles, TRUTH BE TOLD !! Infact Hakeem would have had a couple more titles, if we swapped Pippen from Jordan for say Ortiz thorpe. So lets stop this foul habit of denigrating the carreers of other true legends of the game in comparison to MJ. Today a grt pivot-man will still still be drafted ahead of a grt guard as evidenced in last yrs NBA draft, whereby an unhealthy Oden was selected ahead of Durant. And Jtrot22, no more excuses for MJ being beaten by the Magic in 1995, the same yr Hakeem swept that same Magic. So lets stop all the stupid excuses, assumptions and give credit to whom credit is truly due. Hakeem & Kobe deserve to mentioned along with Jordan, eventhough Jordan was greater {AND NOT BY A WHOLE LOT}.
Jumpiman9/18/2008 13:38:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Ok guys..I'm mainly talking to you Jumpiman and partially to basketball in HD its fantasic..Hakeem the Dream was definately nasty! No denying that! We need to keep him in his proper place tho boyz. He does not belong in the same breath as MJ, and neither does Kobe for that matter (Kobe proved why when he was outplayed by a flabby looking Paul Pierce in the Finals) How quickly we forget how amazing MJ was! Do y'all really think that Pip would have been a top 50 player without MJ?? MJ groomed him into that! The truth is that had MJ not retired, Hakeem would join Sir Charles, Ewing and others that were great players that never won a championship. Btw, Magic did have his chance at MJ and he got beat! Also, I would love to know which GM would say that they would rather have Hakeem than MJ, knowing what they know now? Who said that? If that was my teams GM I would fire him on the spot for saying such stupidity. It would prove he wasn't fit for the job! MJ is not a top 3 player, he is hands down #1. Anyone, who think Hakeem or Kobe is close is crazy. You can compare stats, championships, and intangibles. Its not opinion, its fact. Wilt might be the only guy with a argument worth even listening too. I know you guys are both admitting MJ was better, but you are both definately confused as to how close they are to him.
jtrot229/18/2008 12:24:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
If Jordan's career is a Ferrari, Hakeems career is a Lamboghini. Hakeem is still has the top 12 in 5 categories of the game i.e. steals, points, blocked shots, rebounds and assists. He almost had 2 quadruple doubles and got to 3 NCAA title finals. He redefined the center roles in ways Jordan didn't even redefined the Guard position bcos of guys named Dr. Julius Erving. Though Jordan is still the best guard to ever play the game. However, winning championships is a team thing and Jordan had another top 50 player ever in Scott Pippen to do so. If Hakeem had a top 50 in his prime, God knows how many title he would have wrestled away from Jordan hands. This is so, because the Rockets in regular seasons still used to kick the Bulls asss in the 90s. Hope u remember. Many GMs have said that had the draft been done over again, they will still go for Hakeem. Hakeem is a top 4 center of all time, some will even rank him higher bcos his game like Jordan's had no weakness. Jordan had more media exposure, plus Nike, Hakeem who had an accent, is the most humble and quiet NBA player u can ever find. Opponents even said that he never talked thrash, as a testament to his grace. So we can see why Jordan became more of a media darling than Hakeem, but both had their stars that shine brightly. And if Jordan is a top 3 player of all time, Hakeem is definitely a top 10 player of all time based on steals, points,rebounds, assist and blocks. So please lets give this quiet 6'11" star Giant all his dues. If anyone is gonna whine about Jordan missing in action for 2 yrs as a reason for him not taking all 8 titles, then may be it's time, they put an asterik on Jordan's 6 titles bcos Bird and Magic didn't play till the mid- nineties as projected OR that Hakeem never had on his team another hall of famer in time. Truth . . . be told !!
Jumpiman9/15/2008 17:51:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
If Jordan's career is a Ferrari, Hakeems career is a Lamboghini. Hakeem is still has the top 12 in 5 categories of the game i.e. steals, points, blocked shots, rebounds and assists. He almost had 2 quadruple doubles and got to 3 NCAA title finals. He redefined the center roles in ways Jordan didn't even redefined the Guard position bcos of guys named Dr. Julius Erving. Though Jordan is still the best guard to ever play the game. However, winning championships is a team thing and Jordan had another top 50 player ever in Scott Pippen to do so. If Hakeem had another top 50 player in his prime, God knows how many title he would have wrestled away from Jordan hands. This is so, because the Rockets in regular seasons still used to kick the Bulls asss in the 90s. Hope u remember. Many GMs have said that had the draft been done over again, they will still go for Hakeem. Hakeem is a top 4 center of all time, some will even rank him higher bcos his game like Jordan's had no weakness. Jordan had more media exposure, plus Nike, Hakeem who had an accent, is the most humble and quiet NBA player u can ever find. Opponents even said that he never talked thrash, as a testament to his grace. So we can see why Jordan became more of a media darling than Hakeem, but both had their stars that shine brightly. And if Jordan is a top 3 player of all time, Hakeem is definitely a top 10 player of all time based on steals, points,rebounds, assist and blocks. So please lets give this quite star Giant all his dues and J.A. pls. give us on another article on ESPN outlining to us Hakeem true but full tribute. If anyone is gonna whine about Jordan missing in action for 2 yrs as a reason for him not taking all 8 titles, then may be it's time, they put an asterik on Jordan's 6 titles bcos Bird and Magic didn't play till the mid- nineties OR that Hakeem never had another hall of famer in time. Truth . . . be told !!
Jumpiman9/15/2008 17:45:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Damn, I read all of these! I love all the virtual human interactions. Guess that's the price we pay for being a social species.<br /><br />I feel no shame in stating that I am a Kobe fan now because I have been a Laker fan for so long. If he was playing somewhere else, I'd still be a fan...just not as much. It seems to me that every single article I've read where Kobe is the topic, the blogs eventually degenerate into arguments about who is better Kobe or MJ. And I've seen it stated several times that just the fact of mentioning Kobe in the same breath as MJ says something and it does, no matter who you think is better. Aside from the name calling and petty opinions spewing forth as facts (in all caps, no less, that's classic). It will always come down to opinion, which should be based on facts. My opinion? As a Kobe fan who watched Jordan beat my Lakers back in 91, all the way to seeing Kobe write "Return to Sender" all over the fade-away jumper that was MJ's go-to move later in his career (I'm not sure that really counts though, he was wearing a Wizard's uniform) I believe that Kobe is more skilled in many things now than MJ was in his prime but MJ is still the better player, not by much but still better. People can yell all they want about how it's not even close, they can manipulate stats to suit their purpose as they please, it will never be anything other than one person's opinion vs another's. As far as throwing stats out left and right, Mark Twain once said "There are liars, there are d_a_m_n liars and then there are statistics.
9/11/2008 15:02:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
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space_invader9/11/2008 13:45:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
shaq-foo's legacy has already started to slip and will continue to do so. He never dominated defensively as Olajowan did, and was never the rebounder Hakeem was on the offensive glass. I am a crazy fan and a crazy cute girls too :> Let's chat online at B L A C K W H I T E K I S S . C 0 m where you can meet many nice black & white women now..
ofishy9/11/2008 13:42:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Jaim90,<br /><br />"Mj was rookie of the year in '85!! What are your journalism credintials, Kahn?! Come on.. That's a no brainer!"<br /><br />Sorry bro, Patrick Ewing was the rookie of the year in 85, Jordan was rookie of the year in 84. You might want to get your facts straight before you start blastin'. I guess that's why you're blogging and he gets paid to write.
9/11/2008 13:41:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Why does everyone keep putting Bill Walton's name on the list of great centers? He had 3 good years out of an injury plagued career. His name shouldn't be mentioned anywhere on this list. We're looking at the NBA not UCLA.
wilburnrb9/11/2008 6:00:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Haakem never needed a point guard to win some rings!! Shaq who did he have to get his rings!! HA
9/10/2008 23:57:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Best dream shake I ever saw came against big Mark Eaton of the Jazz. Typically what happens is that Hakeem spins one way and the defender follows the the Dream spins back the other way and goes by the defender. In this instance Hakeem was so fast and Eaton so slow that the Dream spun and the spun back. The problem was that Eaton was so slow he hadn't even been able to move to respond to the first shake so he was still standing flat footed and the Dream just span right into him and go called for the charge.
bballnerd9/10/2008 19:48:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Couple of points, first I want to reemphasize what Rick AZ stated, it would have been nice to see Sabonis in his prime. He was 7'3" a great 15 foot in shooter and good from 3point range. His passing skills were as good if not better than Waltons. Next lets talk about Bill Russell. I will agree with the comment that he is the greatest team player of all time as his titles reflect. Being a great or the greatest team player doesn't mean you are a great individual player. Now I know I'm comparing apples to oranges but is Bart Starr or Bob Griese the greatest quarterback of all time. The Packers of the 60s won more titles than anybody else and the Dolphins of the 70s won back to back Super Bowls and were perfect for one year. Both are hall of famers. I will concede the point that Bill is the greatest team player of all time, but he is not on my list of top 3 centers. I think Hakeem is in the top 3 with Jabbar and Wilt.
bballnerd9/10/2008 18:01:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
I've watched alot of basketball when I was younger and David Robinson was my favorite center. Unless they'd played the Rockets, the Dream would missuse him along with everyone else, he played. Yes I know about older ball headed Kareem and heard of Wilt and and the Great Bill Russell but I didnt watch them play as a kid sure. The Dream was the best Center during his time and Period. Shaq was Good yeah a big bully a manchild if you will you can't help but root for him but even in his prime he couldnt shoot play defense away from the basket and create his own shot. Robinson could as long as he wasn't playing the Dream. Actually what Center did Shaq ever have to play against he played the Dream once got a little of Barkely who was a power forward Webber was always weak and New Jersey never had a great center during that time So who. Moses Malone, old Kareem, The Chief, Robinson, Barkley and so on and oh yeah Lips (Ewing)
solochamp9/10/2008 13:00:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
it amazes me at the ignorance out ther. find me any big man that could hold him one on one that he couldn't hold one on one. damn sure wouldn't be Jabbar. people have to look at the era. yeah, Russell was great, but most of his comp was 6'6" Dream was always the smaller man and bringing the pain. also, Shaq came to Houston in the summers to learn at the foot of the master. Recognize and know you facts
ramogriff9/10/2008 12:48:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Mj was rookie of the year in '85!! What are your journalism credintials, Kahn?! Come on.. That's a no brainer!
Jaim909/10/2008 11:18:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
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