Started watching the Rockets after Hakeem's true athletic prime. He was still awesome no doubt, but he didn't seem to dunk enough.. especially post '93. He would get the opportunity, then mostly shoot layups. No problem because he made them. However, Youtube highlights show he seemingly dunked far more often earlier in his career. Is this true? Many of those dunks were complete awesomeness. What are some other differences between early Hakeem vs older? I know he was more hotheaded earlier. What's your theory behind the failure of '88-'92? This is Olajuwon's only legitimate knock career-wise. 5 seasons 4 First Round defeats 1 Missed Playoff -I've always said Hakeem had the worst teammates of any other Top 10 player in history, but that's just a somewhat educated guess as I can't truly speak about players like McCray and whoever else was on the team. Not that he had bad teammates, just bad relative to other Top'ers. -Sampson's heath is another factor. We were primed for greatness after beating Showtime and making the Finals. -Drug suspensions Shame to miss MJ and Hakeem's athletic primes. Ditto Barkley. Forget PHX, in PHI he (6'5'') was dunking on 7-footers!!! Charles won a rebounding title... during the Golden age of Centers. Amazing
Shouldn't you be posting somethign about Reggie Miller vs. Chuck Person? That is more your area of expertise right?
Most will say Akeem had little offense besides the dunk shot, but if you watch UH and 84-88 Rockets highlights, you can see some dream shakes, spin moves, jump shots. Sure, they're "raw", but they're there. It's why I find it comical that players like Howard or Kobe try to "learn" his post game by training with him. What Olajuwon did basically came naturally to him...and he merely had to refine some of the moves to make them "automatic".
Good points. I can understand some players wanting to improve on footwork and post game, but trying to replicate his actual moves is going to be mostly futile. He had freak coordination for a man of his size. Years of playing other sports that required more finesse served him well. And "raw" is a great adjective. You could clearly see the ability even back at UH, but he was so late in learning the game that it took some time to develop. It was a beautiful sight when it all came together.
Wonder how much playing soccer helped his footwork. He was athletic regardless. Crazy thing is, soccer may've hurt him. What if he started playing basketball earlier in his life instead of soccer? Hakeem barely played before college. PS- Don't laugh too hard at Dwight, we need him to miraculously figure it out.. lol
He was more raw in his early career. He had some post moves but nothing like what he developed in his prime. He seemed angrier in general back then...fights at times, the whole "did he fake the injury thing", grumblings about contract, etc.. but that all seemed to kind of go away when he converted to Islam (or maybe a few years after?). He could always rebound and block and was never a bad offensive player (look at his PPG from the get go). He was a great center in the first half of his career but he took it to a whole other level to become an all time great in his prime. He played on some great teams early on that were decimated due to injuries and drug suspensions, then spent some time in Rockets purgatory with a weak cast of teammates (Buck Johnson, anyone?). Once we had the right pieces around him like OT and Vernon and Kenny/Sam and Horry, Eli, etc... guys who played hard and could spread the floor, he led us to glory. I don't think he dunked as much later in his career because he realized you only dunk when you have to (IE the layup or tip in would get blocked). I would kill to have the entire San Antonio series in 95 on DVD when he absolutely decimated Robinson after DRob got his MVP during one of the games.
Appreciate this post. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/n_-9Z2LF4fI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Apparently so... a few times. Check the bottom of the page for "related threads". Wasn't posting here yet so didn't know they existed. Is there a way to check related threads before actually posting? Will accept a lockout (like I have a choice.. lol) and view the other threads.
I think it is so awesome that Horry who played with Shaq, Duncan, and Robinson says that Olajuwan is the greatest center of all time. I agree with him that Hakeem may be the most underrated player of all time. Unless you were a Rockets fan and watched him night in and night out you have no idea how great he was.
Shaq himself has said many times that Hakeem is the greatest center in the history of the game. I also think Hakeem is becoming more and more appreciated by the media and fans outside of Houston as time goes along. Probably has something to do with longing for the days when the game was dominated by centers instead of guards.
100. He said he "might be biased because he played with him (Hakeem), but he's actually the best person to judge (Hakeem/Duncan/Shaq-wise at least) because he did play with all of them.
True Also because players (low post and perimeter) keep getting his tutorship. Hakeem remains relevant because he's constantly brought up in those situations. All Hail Dream!!!!
I recall announcers mentioning him being a goalkeeper in soccer and how much it helped his footwork, it was talked about often in the 80's.
Imo, Hakeem should be on Rushmore. I don't think you'll find a better player that dominated both sides of the floor like Dream. That man was a absolute freak of nature
Most of your assumptions are wrong. Just read this article. http://grantland.com/features/an-oral-history-hakeem-olajuwon-ralph-sampson-1980s-houston-rockets/
