Hello Gang, Olajuwon, I've researched extensively, watched and have taken everything into consideration..Conclusion, he is to me the most underrated athlete (not just basketball) of all time...I love goat list and he is never in anyone's top 10 and this is just insane, it blows my mind!! Please help me, what am I missing..?
He played in Houston his whole career and didn’t win as many rings as the guys usually in the Top 10. He’s criminally underrated mainly because his supporting cast was weak to awful for almost the entirety of his career. After the ‘86 team, he basically didn’t play with another true all-star until Drexler came long (yes, Thorpe made it one year) and, yet, he was able to win a championship without another all star in 1993-94. And, of course, Jordan’s shadow…which hangs over everyone from the era. Since they didn’t face each other in the Finals, many casuals write Hakeem off because Jordan was “retired.” That completely disregards Houston’s record against Jordan with Hakeem as well as Jordan stating that Hakeem would be his first pick if he had to choose anyone else to play with. “Ringz” and “Jordan” and playing in Houston instead of New York, LA, or Boston.
Except that he is generally in the top 10 discussion. He tends to always be ranked in the top 15, which at least puts him in the top 10 conversation.
Recency bias and social media. Those talking heads on TV are mostly comprised of former players that never played with or against Olajuwon save for the TNT crew. They were growing up worshipping Jordan (which makes sense since most of them are forwards/guards). Social media is mostly driven by the younger generation that puts Kobe on a higher-than-necessary pedestal, puts LeBron has the de-facto GOAT, and somehow slides Steph Curry in as a top 5 all-timer.
I agree with this. In most discussions I see he is mentioned around the top 10. I think that is amazing since he "only" has 2 rings. For him the rings is the main reason some people are placed above him (who might not actually have been better)
Whenever players talk, they mention him. That’s what truly matters. Players know better than anyone who the greatest were.
It comes down to rings basically. LeBron fans like to say his rings count as 2x to give him extra ring count, but the truth is he is ahead of Magic in most peoples eyes with less rings. Same with Kobe. Same with Duncan. Kareem. Jordan h8ers act like rings is the only argument so they can say "well Bill Russell has more so MJ's not GOAT." It's all a combination of legacy and awards. Hakeem has 2 rings, the first of which was with a guy who made a single all star game years prior-and iirc as a injury replacement(correct me if i'm wrong) in OT and the other was with a past prime HOF'er, but the degree of difficulty of that run is the stuff of legend and the hardest ring ever won. Hakeem has the stats, the flash and the highlights, b2b rings in the HOF loaded 90s, but Shaq and Duncan went on to surpass him in ring count and there are just too many all time great non Centers to keep out of the top 10. There's no fair way to compare a single players legacy with his teammates and franchise compared to others who have played with every single HOF'er of his era like Bron Bron. It's okay. We all know the truth. Hakeem is the 2nd greatest of all time behind MJ and at his peak could surpass MJ.
Jordan put Dream in his starting 5. Gary Payton recently said he would take prime Hakeem over prime Shaq no question.
Combination of the following things: 1. played entire career in HOU (sans TOR spell)…no prime years in LA/NY/ CHI/MIA or a big media market, so most fans did not watch him to the extent they should have (and would have in today’s age) 2. Both rings happened while Jordan was out (even though people like to forget about ORL bouncing MJ in 95) 3. Stupid Sonics and Jazz getting in our way in Dream’s prime did not help. 4. People are stupid and most fans just did not watch Dream. Players who played with and against Dream know exactly where he stands among the game’s best, and even Shaq has admitted as much despite most fans putting Shaq over Dream (which isn’t an inconceivable argument on its own) 5. Defensive stats and highlights aren’t as sexy in hindsight as other players’ mixtapes…I think most fans and medias top 10 list overweigh offense and belittle defense
He won as a 6 seed, he won without all-stars, he was in the same draft as Jordan, and he won without constantly grooming himself on TV and letting his daughter play with the microphone, etc. He is the antithesis of a modern superstar. He lets his game (and sometimes, his fists) do the talking. ESPN is a hype-machine that's hooked up to itself. It is the sports journalism equivalent of empty calories. Olajuwon will pop up randomly in some publications (ESPN included, if there's a particularly deep-thinking writer). But he is criminally underrated.
Almost every single top 10 discussion involves Hakeem. In fact, he is usually around the 8-9 spot in most cases and ALWAYS in the top 15. The thing is, anyone can make a legitimate for everyone in the top 15 to be in the top 10 depending on their personal criteria. Here is roughly everyone's top 15 in no real order: Hakeem Olajuwon Michael Jordan Wilt Chamberlain Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bill Russell Magic Johnson Larry Bird Jerry West Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan Oscar Robertson Pete Maravich Charles Barkley Kobe Bryant LeBron James Those are all highly respected names and even leaves off great players like Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Moses Malone, John Stockton, Dirk Nowitzki, Gary Payton, Dominique Wilkins, and others that are not coming to mind immediately.
and yet, convo goes to the current ears and they never saw most of them play. and yet, how to compare Wilt/Kareem/Russ/Shaw/Dream with MJ/LBJ/Kobe etc with Magic/Bird/Oscar/The Logo and yet, eras have no impact? Say, wha’???
I personally think comparing players across era is a really stupid thing to do. There are just so many variables to it. I do understand as well however, that people like doing stupid things. IMHO, it is far more productive to discuss which players have the skillsets that can translate across eras and having fun discussing how they would fit in.
