Fun Fact: In the 94' Finals, that was the only Finals a champion won with his next 3 leading scorers combining for 43% FG since 1969! Vernon Maxwell was Olajuwon's next leading scorer with 13ppg on 36% FG while Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell combined barely averaged 15.6ppg compared to just Derek Harper by himself 16.4ppg on 44% from 3p! And Harper was the Knicks 3rd leading scorer.

@Ryenobal

8 ай бұрын

Derek Harper was one of the most talented PGs never to be an all-star. He was a great shooter and defender. In that ‘94 Finals, he outclassed the Houston guards. Luckily for Houston, Hakeem took over.

Damn Kareem’s stats in 1986 WCF as an 39-year old are insane

@pickzkickz

11 ай бұрын

Hakeem 6 years earlier hadn't touched a basketball yet.

@alectapia1518

10 ай бұрын

​@@pickzkickzhe wasn't American 🏈

@alectapia1518

10 ай бұрын

Ur right 👍

@MJ23-KB24

9 ай бұрын

what's also impressive is that Hakeem at 6'10 was posting up Kareem and scoring easily. Kareem got his, but all the centers Hakeem beat in the playoffs were taller and usually bigger than him.

@alectapia1518

9 ай бұрын

@@MJ23-KB24 Olajuwon was tall and long too

Thanks for all the footage, man. Great job. The Dream was on a different level, one of my favorites ever.

@WilsonSy

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Very glad you enjoyed this video

Agreed. I actually think the 95 playoff run was overall tougher compared to the 2011 playoff run. No homecourt advantage in every round and defeating all top 4 teams in terms of records. The rockets also won 9 road games which is still an NBA record till to this day.

@alectapia1518

10 ай бұрын

I agree with you

Hakeem is the GOAT big man imo. What makes those title runs even more impressive is that Hakeem couldn't stand the Rockets organization and a few of his teammates. Secret Base's Beef History explains it all.

@alectapia1518

10 ай бұрын

I think he was good with championship teammates and secure with the Rockets 🚀 organization post 1991-92. They repaired most everything from 92-93 and by years end 1993 they were committed and focused and in unison to compete for the 1994 NBA Finals... They started 15-0 & 22-1. They were pretty hunky dory by 94 & 95. The only friction came from trading Thorpe (one of the guys) for one of Hakeem's old cronies (Drexler)... And Drexler and Olajuwon had rank and status so that didn't have much standing power for the other guys and Drexler could pass and is a nice scorer to play with because his game was so naturally inclusive.

@7:00-@9:20 I have to give it up. U described this series and accomplishment of Hakeem Olajuwon's very nicely. He was clutch, and outscored Ewing in all 7 games. That was his most important series of the 90's and most essential 90's moment outside of the BULLS 🐂 dynasty. Olajuwon's most dominant moment though came in 95 WCF. He backed up his playoff reputation in 1994 NBA Finals. But in 95 WCF, he proved his dominance of the best at their best in the biggest moments. Realistically, Olajuwon would have been a nightmare for Jordan to tackle in an NBA Finals. Straight up. Nice work. Highly enjoyable.

Game 5 Hakeem 27 pts 8 rebs 57% shooting 🌠 Ewing 25 pts 12 rebs 8 blks 52% shooting 🌠 Knicks W 91-84 At this point 👉 Ewing had a chance to turn 🛞 the table on Olajuwon. Valiant and noble effort. 3-2 lead for NY. Olajuwon was the most clutch guy in the series though. As proven. Ewing, Starks, Harper had their moments and they were probably the 2nd, 3rd & 4th best guys in the series. But Olajuwon was a lofty #1. An absolute underrated classic NBA Finals though. Positioned between Jordan and SHAQ. In-between eras of 1984-1993 & the 1995-2011 eras. Between bigs. The classic dominant position, two Centers. A Game 7. An OJ chase. A GW block. John Starks 4th qtr heroics Gms 2-6. Ewing 8 blks in a game. Olajuwon 7 blks. I mean. It was beautifully balanced and defensive hard nosed basketball. It pointed to the future while paying homage to the past. It didnt have Jordan. It didnt have Bird. It didn't have Magic. It didnt have the Lakers or the Celtics but the 1st biggest city and the 4th biggest city in the United States. North vs South, New York vs Texas. Manhattan vs Houston. It is probably my favorite Finals and i am a Chicagoan and a Jordan and Pippen admirer and apologist and researcher and groupie. I love my 6 championships 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 and i have my wonderful Last Shot stories with my brother and a action figure batmobile and the Burger 🍔 King Rodman hair color change cups. And the Bulls championship parades coincided annually with the Chicago Puerto Rican Day Parades and its all legend and i have DVD of all the championship Bulls teams, the Learning to Fly, UnTouchaBULLS, ThreePeataBULLS, UnStoppaBULLS, UnDomitaBULLS, UnForgettaBULLS and i watched THE LAST DANCE and cried and laughed amd giggled and jumped and pranced and danced and reminisced like a teenage lover with butterflies in my stomach and grapefruits for lymph nodes. But i learned to really respect the 94 & 95 Rockets 🚀 🌌 and a big part of that respect comes from the respect the Knicks earned thru out the 90's challenging my Chicago BULLS 🐂 and everybody else like Champions in their own right. And Houston had arguably the 2nd best duo of the 90's for only 3.5 seasons with Drexler and Olajuwon. And Olajuwon was absolutely that DUDE 😎. A handball, footie ball basketball 🏀 dominating athlete of athletes.

A lot of players can make you look slow or unathletic, but Hakeem would make you look stupid

15:41 This move is completely unstoppable from Hakeem. If he's hitting that, there's no answer.

Hell of a job with this!! When things like this are done unbiasly, especially with Hakeem in particularly, as he is the subject here, then HE, and his entire era is put in it's proper prospective. Unfortunate circumstances in his early years, then horrible moves by , like you said, WEAK front office, that continues to this day, he'd possibly have 5-6 rings. But those BACK2BACK DUECE THOUGH!!! Some of the most RIDICULOUSLY INCREDIBLE basketball we've EVER SEEN!!! 1986 run as well.

I put Hakeem Olajuwon as Number 1

Hakeem Olajuwon is a definite top five center of all time and a top ten greatest NBA players of all time. He is one of my favorite NBA players of all time and deserves more credit and recognition. ❤❤❤❤

He's in my starting 5 all time. That combination of offense and defense with that footwork is unique among big men.

Kareem in 86 had the showtime Lakers. Hakeem had Ralph, and both gaurds got suspended for drug use, and Ralph had knee problems by the end of 86. Basically, Hakeem beat Kareem, Majic, and the showtime Lakers, and after all 4 starters were gone a year later, he still made the playoffs, year after year with some back ups

@mirospajic9929

10 ай бұрын

Kareem was 39 at that time! Still impressive numbers in that series!

Even Jordan himself said that the bulls had no answer for Hakeem.. most underrated player of all time. Greatest big next to wilt IMO

He's most definitely in my top10 players of all-time...

Top 3 centers , Wilt, Kareem, and Hakeem

John Starks and Vernon Maxwell were similar players tho. Hakeem was just in his offensive prime. Ewings offensive prime came earlier from 89-92... Timing meant a lot for that series... And it's true Hakeem Olajuwon was the best player in the NBA in 1994. 1995 it's most clutch because you still have to respect the seasons Robinson and SHAQ had that Olajuwon had to overcome come playoff time and he did masterfully because he was the most clutch and big game of all those guys, Barkley, Malone, SHAQ (in 00-02ish he was as big game and even before that in 98 he gave Utah some business even though he was swept. He was always a tough man to keep out the box under the basket 🧺... But their were still ways to frustrate his teams and him before the basket 🧺.), Robinson. Olajuwon was the better guy and major difference maker the mid 90s Rockets 🚀 🌌 had vs the other elite teams beside the Jordan Bulls.. The Knicks, Suns, Cavs, Sonics, Hornets were expected to win the 94 title before Houston... The Knicks had been TRUE contenders since 1992 and nearly had Jordan beat in 93. They had also been playoff hardened since 1989. It was their TIME and Jordan their #1 adversary was gone and they had a league leading identity 🆔 of defense. They knew who they were and they played that way. The Suns lost the 93 Finals vs MJ. One season away from the East, Barkley took over the Western Conference, he was 92-93's MVP over Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan & Patrick Ewing. Hakeem was the favorite to win MVP in 93-94 but Barkley had the superior team it was believed and they were right there and people trusted Barkley's big game abilities. Barkley remains a long leash having fun loving buffoon that'll probably let you down but you'll forgive him and he's rich because he is so lovable and was indeed big time. Just I mean, the 93 Lakers almost had em round 1 a whole year before the 94 Sonics were taken out by the 94 Nuggets. And if u ask me, if the 93 Rockets beat the 93 Sonics in WCSF 1993, I'd have picked the 93 Rockets over the 93 Suns with all information ℹ️ known by 2023 about what happened in 94 & 95 & 96 & 97 etc. The Cavs, uh. Just a bummer what happened to them. This is a testament to their smoothness, their height, their passing, their talent, their head coach, their system. They had it ALL except Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley or Patrick Ewing. In 88 & 89 the Cavs lost to Jordan famously. They were his original whipping boy classmates. He cut his teeth and sharpened his iron on their backs. He wiped his shoes on their chests and padded his playoff resume and wrote his first classic novels on their skins. A 57-25 1989 Cavs team literally hardly got off the ground in playoff consciousness because they literally became extras in the Michael Jordan movies that have existed ever since 'The Shot' was filmed on National TV. In 1990, a Ron Harper less Cavs lost to Barkley's Sixers 2-3. In 91, Price missed an entire season or so. 92 the Cavs were back on a string 🧵 doing their thing and losing to MJ in the ECF. Another 57 win team retired before the Finals. In 93, they won 54 games interestingly enough and administered greater beatdowns and blowouts and ass whoopings than a majority of their superiors, the 93 Rockets (+347), the 93 Bulls (+516), the 93 Knicks (+505), 93 Cavs (+529) and only the 93 Sonics (+580), and 93 Suns (+546) looked more threatening at the time when on and rolling. The Cavs could ball 🏀🏀🏀🏀 but literally the 93-94 Cavs fell apart along the road 🛣️... I mean the majority of their starting lineup didn't finish the regular season and had career ending or threatening injures. I'm not kidding. Daugherty was done and retired by the end of the 94 playoffs and Nance I think retired before the 94 playoffs ended.. quite hilariously painful to be a Cavs fan from 90-94....88 & 89 aside. They built promise those season. 90 Daugherty showed signs of fragility and absence. Ron Harper was given away for nothing and he was a running guard that threatened Jordan and Pippen & Grant's comfortability. Price became another KJ, T. Hardaway but more injury prone. At least KJ had a couple WCFs achieved pre-Barkley and bounced back from 93 with superb 94 & 95 seasons before breaking down again. Price only truly had the 92 & 93 seasons at apex prime and health and energy. What else can I say? They were a good team people were looking out for since 86-87 draft and 94 was supposed to be another good shot. I mean seriously honestly people, Vegas, sportswriters, fans, executives had this team ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon and Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp and Stockton and Malone and only behind Ewing and Barkley and KJ to win a title without the KING 👑 around Michael Jordan... That's how good they were. And their 1993-94 #6 seed and 0-3 sweep at the hands of Pippen's Bulls was a reality check ✔️ of how good they weren't. The Sonics, a 1992 surprise #6 seed rising young gun squad with an upset of the Run TMC without M ⭐ Mitch Richmond Warriors. Lost to Stockton and Malone in 92 WCSF 1-4 then turned around in 93 and were the #3 seed vs #6 seed Utah Jazz and they won 3-2 in a tough first round. They had successfully flipped fortunes with Tim Hardaway and Mullin and Stockton and Malone and were in with the elites in 1992-93. Payton and Kemp the first of the 90's decade stars 🤩 ⭐⭐⭐⭐'s to capitalize on talent and go elbow for elbow against the 83-87 draft classes and succeed. They were ahead of schedule. Leapfrogged Malone & Stockton, surpassed Drexler, Cliff Robinson and Portland. Crept past David Robinson's promising 1990 Spurs. They were the new major foes of Barkley and KJ, and Hakeem the Dream... And they survived Hakeem and his Rockets 🚀🌌... Just fine in 92-93 WCSF 4-3. Without controversy? Never. Since when? Can there ever not be? Hope. Doubt. Investigation. Inquiry. Retrospection. Circumstance. Variable. The Sonics were a legitimate threat. No they were not. They blew a 1994 playoffs that could have given us a rivalry as true black 🐈‍⬛ 🖤 and blue 💙🔵 as the Bulls - Pistons from 88-91. Lakers - Celtics from 84-87. Pistons - Celtics 85-88. Sixers - Celtics 1980-1985. Bulls - Knicks 1992 - 1996... And I mean it could have been hotter and better than Jazz - Rockets, Rockets - Suns in 94 & 95... Even if 95 we don't get the Sonics - Rockets and we rightfully get Rockets - Spurs in 95 WCF. We should have at least had, a 1994 WCF Sonics v Rockets to truly immortalize the competition between these two franchises from 1993 to 1997 and even strengthen the backstory from 87-89... And the Sam Perkins v Hakeem Olajuwon matchup detail... Damn U Mt. MUTOMBO -Ooooooooo !!! Then the 94 Hornets were #5 favorite WOW 🤯😳🤯😳🤯... Before SHAQ and Penny and after Payton & Kemp their was that brief before BEEF Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. Who took advantage of a dead Reggie Lewis. And were beat up a lil too easily by the 1993 Knicks but hey... Respect the early- mid 90's Knicks. Respect the entire decade of 90's Knicks basketball 🏀🏀🏀🏀. They played ball 🏀🏈. But they were supposed to have more talent and confidence than the 94 Rockets 🚀 and they came out HOT 🔥🥵. They were top 3 seed quick into the 93-94 season. Then they caught an injury bug 🪲🐛... Oh well ❤️‍🩹... Those Hornets came back strong in 95 and gave us a glimpse of how soft Alonzo Mourning was with those creamy stay pufft marshmallow muscles 💪 he had. Alonzo Mourning played for more dynasties that never won a playoff series than I can remember in NBA history. I actually was brainwashed around 2006-2009 in my late teen millennial angst when I had to research my working knowledge of the Heat - Bulls rivalry pre Wade and Gordon and James and DRose and review the Heat - Knicks rivalries because of the flirtations of Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James... And I remember thinking it was the Jordan Bulls, Ewing Knicks, Miller Pacers and Zo HeaT all beating up on each other for a shot at MJ and Chicago and they were all one series away from a title like 3-4-5x.... No no no.... I looked at the 96-2000 HeaT and saw 3 playoff series wins and had to rewatch all the series to make sense of how they did so little. They really only won 2 of those series. And they were fortunate SHAQ left for Los Angeles in 96-97. And the Hornets I remembered the Ewing Zo rivalry predated Miami and New York so I looked and they had the 1 series win over Reggie Lewis less 93 Celtics which they probably would have lost otherwise... I always remembered the Mourning buzzer beater in 93 ECR1. I mean, he has a soft big time resume. He has some of the most questionable victories and he got his ass whooped often by the best in his conference... They were annual #2 #1 #2 seeds and they lost to a #3 seed, #7 seed, #8 seed. I mean. They may be the softest paper dynasty in sports history. And Alonzo Mourning guaranteed a victory ✌️ over the 97 Bulls for 1 game for RESPECT... They lost 1-4. I remembered the chichon on Pippen's head growing up I hated him like Xavier McDaniel after that. But I grew up and realized oh he was never much of a problem after all. He was a big guy with lil nuts.

@alectapia1518

10 ай бұрын

What's amazing is Olajuwons team was behind Ewing, Daugherty and Mourning's teams. The EAST still had some political swing from 92-93 to 93-94. The guard sorta rocked to the WEST in 93-94. Jordan stabilized the shift from 95-98 and 99 the teeter swung back WEST until 07-08 and the WEST had 8 +50 win teams in the playoffs. This was a pivotal year in NBA History and Hakeem Olajuwon owned it. For sure.

Best Center I've seen in my lifetime. We might also add that he's the only Center on your list who can guard all 5 positions😀

Hakeem is top 3 in my all time centers list he was elite on both ends and had two of the best playoff runs of his career in 1994 and 1995. It's tough we didnt see Sampson and hakeem together healthy. Hakeem was wasting his career with horrible teams and management before 1994. They made the finals in their 2nd year beating the lakers in the conference finals in 1986 and pushing the bird celtics to 6 games. The rockets in 1995 were a 6th seed had a slow start and traded Thorpe for drexler. In the 1st round they would face the jazz who were up 2-0 and the rockets came back. This was a really good jazz team. In the semis they had a tough series vs Phoenix and coming back from a 3-1 lead and almost losing in game 5. Game 7 was up by 1 and Mario ellie hit the game winning 3. They beat the spurs with robinson who got outplayed by hakeem who averaged 35 points per game

@WilsonSy

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing the insight. 95 Hakeem and the Rockets are the true definition of overcoming all sorts of adversity. One of the most rewarding titles all-time

At 7:49 you said the “Older Ewing”. Just wanted to point out they’re actually the same age lol . Still a great video tho my guy!

He defeated Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and Shaquille O Neal. The five greatest bigs in his generation apart from himself. In a span of 2 playoffs without any NBA All Star in those two years in 93-94 and 94-95. Clyde Drexler was not an all star in the 94-95 season. Meanwhile the other four big men had all stars in those two years - Patrick Ewing had a 1994 All Star in John Starks with home court advantage over Houston - Charles Barkley had a 1994 All Star in Kevin Johnson, in 1995 he had a 3-1 series lead advantage with home court advantage before blowing it - Karl Malone had a 1994,1995 All Star in John Stockton. Having home court advantage as well in 1995. - Shaquille O Neal had a 1994, 1995 All Star in Penny Hardaway. Having home court advantage as well in 1995. - Only David Robinson didn’t have another All Star in his team, but he still had the home court advantage being the number 1 overall seed in 1995 as well as the being the MVP of the league. This goes to show even if Hakeem didn’t have as much talented players as his contemporaries and being at a disadvantage with home court. That still didn’t stop him from outplaying his best competitors at their best.

@cojack636

Жыл бұрын

FACTS!!!

@dancaswell3703

Жыл бұрын

And Robinson had a rebound leader in Rodman as well, but Dream was in God mode. He beat MJ 5 of 6 thru 93, than took out all the big men in the 90s. Had and NBA record 6 different 5x5 games, the only ever 200/200 season, and led in 5 of 5 catagories for Houston in 95, and amassed the MVP, DPOY, and FMVP in 1 season, after his Quadruple double, and 250/200 season as well (which was his 11th straight 200/100).

@alectapia1518

10 ай бұрын

​@@dancaswell3703San Antonio kind of took Rodman out the series for Houston tho.. Popovich wanted to in fight during the playoffs instead of keeping professional and befriending his eccentric rocknrolla PF... John Lucas tried.

All I remember from that run is when he dominated Robinson with the shake

I wouldn't Argue with You If You Had Hakeem In Your Top 10 ten ...and I could See How He's Better Than All those Centers You Mentioned...Only Center I would Say Is Better Than Hakeem is Wilt

@divinedelaware7541

Жыл бұрын

I agree with you. Off their pure skill exclusively only Wilt

Game 4 Knicks W 91-82 Hakeem 32 pts 8 rebs 70% fg shooting 🌠 Ewing 16 pts 15 rebs 29% shooting 🌠 I mean Ewing also just didnt have legs for his shot vs the intensely encroaching defense of the slenderman Hakeem Dreamland Olajuwon....8/28 and you dont back down that means lots of credit to the space Olajuwon could nullify to keep Ewings shits real uncomfortable and difficult. Olajuwon had more books 📚 in the bag. And didnt have to sweat and labor as hard as Ewing. Ewing again, 15 rebs, shows the heart and dedication. He didn't disappear. He went down with his sword 🗡️⚔️ in hand. Extremely honorable. Especially against an encompassing Grim Reaper like Olajuwon.

Game 3 Rockets win 93-89 Hakeem 31 pts 11 rebs 7 asts 7 blks.. i mean Hakeem brought the wood 🪵🪓 Patrick 18 pts 13 rebs 7 blks 31% shooting 🌠 I mean Hakeem Olajuwon was proving he was a better offensive and defensive player than Ewing here. Ewing played real hard. At this point Olajuwon was too quick, strong, agile, mobile, and gifted for Ewing. Olajuwon didnt have to work as hard for the inches he took as Ewing had to and did. Ewings work ethic and heart was second to none or very few. Olajuwon had the two too as well but he had some extra gifts and blessings that Ewing just didnt have as long. 89-92 may have been another story.

Game 2 Knicks W 91-83 Hakeem 25 pts 7 rebs 4 blks 48% fg Ewing 16 pts 13 rebs 6 blks 37% fg Ewing brought the D # heavy. He controlled the glass, he manned the paint 🎨. He shot poorly but so did Hakeem have to struggle to get his in a defensive style series.

Someone needs to make a Vlade Divac and AC Green video on how they somehow played Hakeem better than Ewing, Jabbar, O'Neal and Robinson during the 1990 & 91 Playoffs.... And a Perkins video vs Olajuwon... He had Olajuwons number every location except 97.

@marckellough529

3 ай бұрын

Divacs held him to 18 points a game in the 1990 playoffs but you will never hear about it

@marckellough529

3 ай бұрын

He only averaged 22 a game the next year in the playoffs against Divacs in 91 so he was basically shut down 2 years in a row but I know there's an excuse for why it happened

Rockets really almost fumbled this man’s greatness

Crazy a 2nd year player got several blocks on Kareems skyhook. I never knew anybody did that.

@dancaswell3703

Жыл бұрын

He had 4 blocks in 1 game on Karem, but not all were skyhooks.

Olajuwon outperformed Ewing head to head all of 1994 regular and post season. But Ewing outperformed Olajuwon defensively in the NBA Finals id only slightly. Olajuwon's offense was superior vs Ewing and Smith and Oakley and Mason for sure. Otis Thorpe and Maxwell however, constitute very similar supporting staff ⚕️ for Olajuwon as Ewing had with the addition Olajuwon was greater than Ewing overall from 93-97. While Ewing had Olajuwon beat especially offensively from about 89-92. They had their times. They had their teams made round their image. It played out as it happened. And its history. Olajuwon is the 2nd best of the Jordan era which is good enough for consideration in the all time top 5 and a near guaranteed top 10 all time spot dependent on a few different variables and curriculum. Facts.

@MJ23-KB24

9 ай бұрын

Olajuwon either blocked or changed so many of Ewing's jumpers.Olajuwon had a big part in causing Ewing to shoot so poorly. So, how does that constitute Ewing being better defensively that series after Hakeem played a big part in Ewing shooting 36% ?

@alectapia1518

9 ай бұрын

@@MJ23-KB24 Ewing was all over the boards and paint blocking more Rockets shots and helping hold Houston to less points than New York for the series. Olajuwon definitely bothered Ewing more than Ewing bothered Olajuwon... but Ewing's overall defense was a little better. Really inspired.

@MJ23-KB24

9 ай бұрын

@@alectapia1518The Knicks scored 86.9 and the Rockets had 86.1. That's not even a full point difference. The reason why I give the defensive performance to Hakeem is because of what he did to Ewing and while he was edged out in blocks at 3.9 vs 4.3 for Ewing, Hakeem got him in steals at 1.6 vs 1.3 for Ewing.Olajuwon also had two crucial defensive plays in game 6 where he got a steal off of a Starks/Ewing pick and roll and then moments later single-handedly saved the championship for Houston with the block of Starks' jumper. It showed me that not only could he contain his center opponent, but also stop a perimeter player from possibly making the biggest shot of his career.

Factsss its actually crazy that everyone doesn't care the rockets fumlbed picking MJ, but it worked out perfectly for both teams

@dancaswell3703

Жыл бұрын

Not really. Lopk up the sampson trade of 84. Houston had MJ also if they wanted

The Michael Jordan of Centers. My GOAT C. Whatever you have against him is all team based. Of all the top 20 guys he had the most putrid teams to carry. Whats crazy is this peak was around 32 years old, he was even more athletic and just as skilled but just had no teammates around him through the late 80s and very early 90s. The other knock that Kareen and Duncan have over him is longevity. Though Kareem and duncan each had amazing teams and system their whole career-there's no doubt Hakeem had his chance with his older big 3 of himself/chuck/clyde nad 1 season of himself/chuck/pippen. Sure they were all past prime, but Hakeem himself was already declining due to constant knee pain and lost several steps of his quickness. If he had the team support Kareem had since rookie season, or Duncan since rookie season, say if Ralph stayed and was a star himself, Hakeem would have more accolades and more early playoff success as them 2 so early in their careers were already in the finals in 86 that just came up short losing in 6 to one of the goat teams in the 86 C's that also swept MJ with no help.

Add Kareem to that list.

GOAT CENTER

Rockets win Game 1 85-78 Hakeem 28 pts 22 fga 10 rebs Ewing 23 pts 9 rebs 26 fga Small edge for Olajuwon.

Hakeem is 8th on my all time list behind MJ, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Kobe, LeBron and Wilt.

@rolandbridgeman5450

Жыл бұрын

I have him as my 1a with jordan and kareem only if olajowaun had a better team him vs jordan would give him the respect he deserves if he had a better team tor more of his prime then ppl would agree

@dancaswell3703

Жыл бұрын

Go look at the postseason stats. Hakeem had more points per game, rebounds, blocks and STEALS then Kobe. He is the #1 center in history in blocks and steals, no other is top 50. He also averaged more epoinys per game than Kobe in the playoffs. A center, think about that.

Hakeem is the best center ever most skill better thin center in lbj Era also Hakeem ring have more value thin any ring lbj have

How can any player be the goat based on just two years of their career. That's ridiculous

Hakeem is easily the greatest big of all time🤷🏾‍♂️ Abused prime Barkley, Malone, MVP David Robinson and prime Rodman at the same time, prime Ewing and a young Shaq. That’s like Bron taking on Tatum, Brown, Leonard, PG and KD all in 1 run and beating them all. He DOMINATED every single big those 2 years while having no home court advantage one of those years

@willardweston8984

Жыл бұрын

Idk Kareem was 39 in that series and was still playing at an elite level. If he was 23 like Hakeem was 🤷🏾‍♂️

@koolkai4299

Жыл бұрын

​@Oj Weston Kareem never won without an All-time great PG and got SWEPT in the NBA Finals in 1983.

@tj5180

Жыл бұрын

@@koolkai4299 made the finals in 1974 when oscar was in his last season

@willardweston8984

Жыл бұрын

@@koolkai4299 they never won without him

@westcrook2718

Жыл бұрын

@@willardweston8984 give Hakeem magic Johnson and he’d have 6+ rings man. Hakeem defensively was flawless, absolutely flawless. He had a nice midrange jumper and the BEST FOOTWORK of any post player to exist🤷🏾‍♂️

Don’t kid yourself.. Kareem is the greatest BB player to ever walk the planet..

Top 3 Centers of All time- Shaq, Kareem, and Hakeem. Hakeem had everything from a skill set. Most skilled big of All time along with his Defense. The fact he got the best of Robinson, Ewing, and Kareem closes his claim.

@tj5180

Жыл бұрын

How you gonna leave out russell and wilt.

No doubt Hakeem was great. But the knicks took him to game 7 and if Starks could have hit a few more shots, the knicks might have won. They were up 3-2 over the Rockets in that series and all the games were close.

@dancaswell3703

Жыл бұрын

They would have won, but Hakeem blocked Pat, then he blocked starks title winner at the ark. NY had ewing, Starks, Deryk, and Mason. Houston had a Dream.

love Hakeem ..no Wilt though

@tj5180

Жыл бұрын

When was wilt brought up ?

@rooseveltgreen1276

Жыл бұрын

@@tj5180 i just bring him up cause he is the real G.O.A.T.

@tj5180

Жыл бұрын

@@rooseveltgreen1276 he was most dominant but he underachieved and wasnt a winner. Well documented he was a stat peddler and cared about stats even was sometimes consider as selfish.

@rooseveltgreen1276

Жыл бұрын

@@tj5180 sir did he not lead the league in ASSISTS 1 year to show his ABILITY,he stopped scoring on his own ,no one could stop him themselves..fadeaway ,,,wilt,, finger roll,wilt,,,hook shot wilt,,could have shot 3's if they were present..best ATHLETE to ever play PRO BASKETBALL..

Ewing 12.4 rebs and 4.3 bpg with 1.3 spg es igual a 12.4 rpg with 5.6 defensive stops 🛑 per game Vs Olajuwon's 9.1 rpg with 5.5 defensive stops 🛑 per game of 3.9 bpg with 1.6 spg Ewing got the better of him defensively like a true leader who looks for other ways to defeat an opponent with the resources he has vs the resources of the opponent. Ewing es igual a Guerrero tambien conocí como Warrior 🪖 Noble. Ewings 18.9 and Starks 17.7 nearly did Olajuwon's 26.9 in by the 6th game. Olajuwon won fair and square ⬜⬛. But Ewing matched him outplaying him in 2/3 major areas of the game for bigs. U can say 2/4 since Olajuwon's shooting was an efficiency win and probably greater than the difference of Ewings defense vs Olajuwon's defense. But for the points advantage of Olajuwon, Ewing at least grabbed a 1/4 more possessions for his team away from Olajuwon and that's a valuable process of the game. It was about as close as a Center battle can get in a 7 game series without having near the exact same production. Where Ewing lacked he made up for it in nullifying ways and nearly won a title he and New York thought belonged to them by destiny. And Olajuwon took care of his business and produced against an incredible defensive team in New York and he blocked a GW shot attempt by red hot 🔥🥵 John Starks in Game 6. Olajuwon won fair and square ⬛⬜ against a near equal.

@wakenightRyu

5 ай бұрын

I agree Ewing offensively was outplayed by Hakeem. But of all the centers, Ewing played the best defense on Hakeem. Hakeem averaged the least points against Ewing. And Ewing was a defensive monster that entire series.

@alectapia1518

5 ай бұрын

@@wakenightRyu agreed

I don't buy that "young Shaq" nonsense. By that logic A young Hakeem outplayed Kareem in the middle of the Showtime Lakers years. Shaq's stats in 95 were comparable to his 2000 mvp run. I believe he was 2nd or 3rd in mvp votes in 95. A prime Hakeem was simply just better than a prime Shaq. A prime Olajuwon was better than any center who's ever played this game.

@ChrisM07

Жыл бұрын

Shaq actually averaged a playoff career high 6.3 apg in the Rockets series. He was matched up against someone who was also a scorer so he had to actually play defense instead of just roaming around the majority of the time like he did often. He was more mobile in his Magic years and always had problems defending the pick and roll so yeah I don't see the results being a whole lot different if you put the Lakers version of him in that spot. Shaq didn't win every year with the Lakers anyway he was beatable even at that point.

@marckellough529

3 ай бұрын

You talk about him outplaying Kareem when he was 39 but what about how Shaq embarrassed Hakeem in the 99 playoffs when he was 36.I guess that don't matter

Lebron is the best AND the greatest basketball player ever.

@supachef_dmoney_4

Жыл бұрын

And Hakeem is HUGE reason why Bron is in the GOAT conversation.....

I never knew he held his opponent centers shooting miserably so many times. Was he really just 6f10?

@dewanewelch1744

Жыл бұрын

Thats always a debate. Many others say he was a legit 7ft. Like Durant still listed at 6'9 but he legit 7ft. Lol

@rodneywashington2017

Жыл бұрын

Hakeem is 7ft because 6'10 guys like Horace Grant, Alonzo Mourning, Mark West, and several others like that could handle him. He went to less counter moves against those guys. When guys were 7ft plus, Dream went into overdrive with the post counters, and counters for THOSE counters. Durant is 6'9, standing right next to 6'8" LBJ, Carmelo, and TMac. He's just got that incredible ass length like Tayshawn Prince had, so the sports analysts do their typical Nick Nolte Blue Chips quote about overaggerated height. "Well it's just something they do".

@ivygardner2322

3 ай бұрын

just look at dream standing next to Otis or Robert same height. Dream was only 6f10.