Why doesn't Hakeem get the attention that other great ones get?

Two reasons Hakeem is not a marketing cornerstone anymore (although he was during the championship years):
1. He is not about hype and marketing.
2. He was overshadowed by Barkley to some degree.

Sad but true statements about the current state of the NBA. Do you remember when Barkley first came here and the NBC pregame promos all started saying "Sir Charles' Rockets take on [whoever]"? That was the beginning of the end of Hakeem's reign as team icon in the media. Maybe this year he'll get some of that back.

But, he still gets plenty of RESPECT, maybe not attention. I know that still people consider him as one of the all-time greats and always will. His name always garners high compliments and although he's not one of the "style" players in the NBA that gets marketed heavily, he's revered by players, coaches, and media alike as a true NBA player that doesn't need all that hype. Just look at all the centers that have stolen his moves and emulated his game. So many of them would say that he is their role model (Shaq openly says it all the time, and I think that Mourning has done his fair share of studying tapes of Olajuwon... I wouldn't be surprised if Tim Duncan hasn't scanned a few Hakeem videos in his day, either).

 

He got overshadowed by Barkley, but not enough really. Even Barkley thought Hakeem still had his game when he came to the Rockets. Even more off the mark, Scottie Pippen must have thought that Hakeem was still good last year. He is still the Dream, but by the time Barkley came to the Rockets he was just an excelent center, as apposed to superstar.

I love the Dream, but dreams aren't always good ones.

 

Yeah, what ever happened to LA Gear, anyway?

"Unstoppable".

 

Kagy,

how bout Etonics???

 

really, who cares about media rankings.

I think you will find in a poll of the players from 1985-1995, plus the greats who remained fans of the game they indeed give him his props. One of the smartest players ever, Magic, certainly does. I remember him saying in 86 how they were afraid of Hakeem, and even still with preparation, did not know how to stop him. And that was a great Lakers team. and Hakeem kept getting better.

Bill Russell also ranks him higher than the armchair media.

Besides, I believe everyone puts him in their top 4 centers of all time without a second thought: Hakeem, Wilt, Jabbar, Russell.

How the media rates importance of positions is irrelevant to me. If I was starting a history fantasy team, I would only consider those 4 centers or MJ, Bird, Magic as my first pick. The center position is the most valuable.

And you're absolutely right...he redifined the center position. The speed and moves of any future centers will always be measured against Hakeem. I think he'll get plenty of props as the years progress.

 

I think RocketSiv is exactly right on this one. I think respect for him is dampened because he's from Nigeria. But, I think his accent sparks a xenophobia in many people. I think his religion plays a role in it as well.

 

are any of you guys not from houston? people up here in salt lake think the world of dream...

wait, my argument's been invalidated by the existence of greg ostertag.

anyway, last year, dream had a 27 point game where sloan sent everyone after dream. people here freaked for weeks.

i think the biggest issue w/ dream's marketability isn't his accent, but his age. who in here knew that bill bradley played for the knicks before they payed attention to politics? all of the mindless little consumers are products of the sound byte era (me included), you get thrown into a world of charisma (barkley) strength (shaq) everything (jordan) and flash(jason williams). those who know better than we will and have marked dream as one of the, if not the, greatest centers of all time.

 

Just look at Tim Duncan, the low key best player in the league who doesn't gat any commercials.

Also look at Detlef Shrimp, who is underrated being a foreigner. Add in the fact that Dream's speech is slow and quite boring, that's the whole picture.

 

Its really a simple 4 letter word:
N-I-K-E.

If he had a contract with NIKE, between 1990 and 1996 he would be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan.

Sad but true.

 

When Hakeem retires, will he get any pub from the media? I don't think he'll get much. ESPN may do a small piece on him and I'll bet it will focus on the last 5 years of his career, not the first 12. He will never get his due as the greatest post up player ever. He has more blocked shots than anyone else. Look at his career number of steals and then remind yourself he is a center. You'd think that if a guy was the greatest post-up offensive player ever, and one of the greatest defensive players ever, he would get some recognition as one of the greatest basketball players ever.

 

Beck,

we probably shouldn't say that he had the most blocks ever....that stat was not recorded when Russell played.

 

As Axeman mentioned, its not a matter of lack of respect for Hakeem, its more attention and marketing. In the Rockets championship seasons, he had a sudden fury of commercials (we all remember him riding on the bike with Shaq), but since then he has disappeared faster than Matt Maloney's game. The main reason is not entirely his foreign descent, but his quiet demeanor and humbleness just as much. Unlike many of the other stars in the league, he doesn't scream when he slams one home, he doesn't show much emotion, even though he no doubt is an emotional guy. Take for instance when Houston won its first title, while everyone was celebrating wildly, there was Hakeem siting in the corner with the game-winning ball in his lap.

Another big thing that sets DREAM apart from the rest is how he stays away from controversy. Even though this is a good thing, just look at guys like Iverson or Barkley and the attention they gain from it. Hakeem is simply too diplomatic.

So when you add up his quiet demeanor with his diplomacy as well as his foreign accent, you can see why Hakeem Olajuwon is not a houselhold name through the world, unlike Shq, Jordan or even Rodman.

Azim da Dream


------------------
"Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress
undeniably requires change."
- Motto of the Houston Rockets

 

heypartner,
Its not Dream's fault they didn't keep the stat. If you are that worried about the language then say he is the leader in blocked shots since whatever year they recorded the stat. I think you missed the point of the post.

 

verse,

Hakeem still owns a majority of Etonic although it's shoes are mostly sold overseas in Africa and Europe where they still remain popular to an extent. Since he bought the shoe company out, he hasn't exactly lost them as an endorsement has he? Of course the very fact that they were never popular in the states is the point. Hakeem isn't a marketable player. But remeber he kind of had it going on with that Applebees comercial and of course McDonald's chicken McNugget sponser. But then he refocased his life. He placed his life in the hands of his religeon and he became less outspoken and more humble. Hence less marketable. Of course this was the time when Jordan quit and Dream was at his best(I honestly felt he should've gotten MVP in 93 instead of Barkley but who could argue with the Suns record that year). There's no telling why he is disrespected by the media. I do feel that he is one of the top four centers of all time. I remember Bob Costas saying after Dream torched The Admiral in the 95 Western conference Finals, "Now I think we must start to consider Hakeem Olajuwon, not only as one of the best of all time, but perhaps as the best of all time." And I thought finally Hakeem has his respect. And he deserved it too the way he played and then went on to battle Shaq and brought home our second championship. So for a time I think that Hakeem got his just do. But then Jordan came back and won the ring the next three years. And then all the props once again went to Jordan and everyone sort of forgot how good Dream really was. I am of the opinion that had jordan continued to play those two years that the Rockets still would've won it all both times. But when Jordan did what he did, everyone was on the band wagon. even the former halftime show host for the Rockets Hanna Storm said that had Jordan not retired, the Bulls probably would've won eight championships in a row. When you think of the 80's you think of Bird and Majic. When you think of the 90's you think of Jordan; unless you're a Rocket fan.

Anyway, that's my take on it. Dream like so many others(Malone,Barkley,Robinson), got forgotten in the mist of Jordan's mystic.
When people think of the greatest of all time, they tend to think in era's. Hardly anyone remembers Pistol Pete Maravich. His career average was something like 41 points. But when Wilt Chamberlain averages 50 for one season and led the league in boards nearly every year and even one year led the league in assits and boards while averaging 25 points a game and then Bill Russell wins 11 championships, guys like pistol pete get lost in the shuffle.

But lets remember, Maravich, Olajuwon, Oscar Robinson, Dr. J, Malone, Barkley, Robinson,West and many other players were recognized when the NBA announced it's top 50. I seriously doubt Dream will ever fall out of this category. And he is after all a hall of famer for sure. That's respect. maybe not the kind we all think he deserves but it's still respect.

 

I could care less about all the media coverage that Hakeem never received most of the people in the media are a bunch of Jordan fans anyway. The thing that bothered me was the lack of calls Hakeem received throughout his career. I have watched almost every Rocket game since the 90-91 season and it has been a disgrace the way he has been treated. Hakeem should definitely have more points at this point of his career but lack of calls has kept that lower than what it should be. Here is 1 example of how he never got any calls, In a game vs. the Nuggets in the 96-97 season Hakeem made 24 of 40 shots with no foul shots! Hakeem was getting killed too that night it's not like he was just shooting practice jumpers. At one point in the game Bill Worrell said if that was Jordan getting fouled there would be more whistles than a fire alarm. Never the less Hakeem still has had great seasons despite erratic referres.