Yeah. You missed it, man. I was there when we won game 4 of the Finals vs. the Magic. I'll never forget when Olajuwon hit that 3 pointer in the 4th quarter of that game, back when it was unheard of for bigs to even attempt a 3 pointer, and we were all just left wondering "Is there anything this man cannot do?". I really think if he played in this era he'd be a 38%+ 3 point shooter too.
I have been an Olajuwon fan since he started at U of H. Just seeing how quick he was again is mind boggling, if he was playing today he would be a cross between The Greek Freak and Durant, I think his skills would be that refined. Not as good a shooter as Durant but better than Greek Freak.
To this day the only "star" that won a ring on his own. Level of domination that he unleashed in 1994 has yet to be matched. Yep - he was pretty good.
The misspelling of Olajuwon is an offense punishable by death in Harris County, sir. I hope you live elsewhere!
Dream Scouting report. Offense: In the post. Top Notch footwork, perhaps the best ever. Everything is based off the jump hook over the left shoulder. Give that to him and he'll make 8 of 10. The counter is the drop step right, to the baseline. If he hit's you with that, he's dunking or getting a plus one layup. When he shows off he'll fake the layup on one side of the basket and come back to the hook. If the defender hedges the hook and the drop step, Dream would go to the baseline fade away jump shot. It looks like a horrible shot, but the gag is, it became his favorite shot and a trademark go to move. This move made him officially unstoppable on the block. In the Championship years, he was an excellent passer out of the post. On the Floor: Due to his ELITE athleticism and length he was a pick and lob threat. He became an excellent mid range shooter, which made him a pick and pop threat. He later developed a face up cross over move that when combined with his elite quickness render slower bigs helpless. He could get all the way to the basket at times and get his pull up jumper whenever he wanted. Smaller guys would go back into the jump-hook, drop-step, & fade away post-up torture chamber. The guy never stop working. Defense: He finished in the NBA ALL TIME top 10 in Blocks (#1), rebounds & steals. He could Rim protect in the half court, switch out on guards (ask John Starks), and could get a chase down block on anyone in the open court (Ask Rod Strickland). Prime Dream had no weaknesses. He was to be feared.
Didn’t watch the video yet, but I’m going to guess that Jordan didn’t actually say and the quote is pure click bait.
He did have 1 very minor weakness. When he was frustrated he would commit a quick foul, usually on a guard.
Yep. Got a ton of reach in fouls on guards. But man it’s hard to find blemish on his game. He was the man.
I didn't watch the video but if you've seen the Clutch City special filmed a few years ago Jordan gives hakeem major props and is quoted as saying : " "We have no answer for the big guy,” Jordan said after watching the likes of Bill Cartwright and Will Perdue try to guard Olajuwon. “It's a good thing they won't ever make it to the (NBA) Finals, because I don't think we could beat them" Source: https://www.chron.com/sports/rocket...ve-Michael-Jordan-Bulls-problems-15213105.php While slightly backhanded at the time there was legitimate concern from him, and if the damn sonics didn't get some garbage calls in 93 I think the Rockets would have had the best shot out of any of Jordan's finals opponents - it would have been probably one of the greatest finals ever. Or in 97 and 98 - those teams matched up too. But bear hug Malone in 97 and then Barkley injury to his arm in 98 - houston probably would have been the 1st 8th seed to have a legit shot of winning it. There's another quote I can't find atm, but Hakeem and Jordan give each other respect in interviews too. Ie Jordan taking hakeem number 1 if he couldn't pick himself to start a team, or putting him in his all time 5 of himself w/ Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Hakeem Olajuwon. He breaks it down in a filmed interview of how special Hakeem was. of course hakeem's recent interview states Jordan is goat over lebron too. I honestly think hakeem is the only player that Jordan knew truly had his number. I mean if Jordan beat the Magic in 95 and got out of the east, the Bulls would have been in trouble, and anyone who says Jordan wasn't good in 95 is wrong, it's because they didn't have the same cast - ie no Grant, 96 though w/ Rodman changed that - Rodman couldn't stop Dream but definitely changed the match up against Shaq. Sorry if you don't need the history lesson - but I know a lot of other people do. I mean Durant just had an interview on taking hakeem on his all time team too as a starter. Anyway, getting to see hakeem play in his prime in person several times is something I'll never forget and finally it seems hakeem is getting some respect outside of nba players and houston fans. Horry also has a good quote on Jordan/Olajuwon Lastly, what I like the best is that no one ever states taking Hakeem number 1 over Jordan was a mistake. I think the only real mistake was not putting hakeem/Drexler/Jordan on the same team - there's better sources somewhere - https://bleacherreport.com/articles...xler-played-together-with-the-houston-rockets But at the time trading Sampson really wouldn't make sense w/ how the game was played.
Man that sucks for sure, Olajuwon was the real deal - I'll definitely cherish the memories, especially watching him play in person at the Summit w/ my dad - and then of course the B2B. did you at least get to see that Clutch City special that came out 5/6 years ago? the whole thing was amazing and is probably the next best thing other than watching game footage.
