I never get tired of watching Dream, the wife always says she wishes she could have played because of the way I talk about him and the highlights I've shown her.
Wow.. Dream was so smooth and graceful. After seeing those clips, we all probably took for granted what we had in Dream. Transfer his game to this generation and he still dominates. I'm not sure there will be anyone like him again.
If you lived it, you can't help but get misty. While these highlights are great and most of them we've seen, I wish there were more from when he was in college. I went to school with him and saw every game he ever played there. He was raw and so athletic. He would block shots or dunk balls in which you would think "why is he even jumping" and next you are recovering the ball from the stands where he blocked your three pointer while he was standing in the paint. When he was a Freshman, he only played off the bench because we had the Bunce twins in front of him and he was just so hard to keep in the game because he tried to block everything and would get in foul trouble. Donnie would tell him "you can't block everything" and his soccer goalie mentality said "yes I can" and he could. There wasn't a shot he couldn't get to but he would often crush someone on the landing and it wore him out. He couldn't make more than a few minutes without being gassed but oh the highlights and crazy things he would do in those short stints on the court. When he finally started to learn he didn't have to use the full 47 inches of his vertical on every block and the fear of him would often make them miss is when it really got fun and he really took off. He started as a sophomore and started making it through games and the rest is history. There was one game against Auburn we played and Charles Barkley was talking smack saying he was going to dunk on Akeem. Out of Charles first 6 shots, I think Akeem had 5 blocks. I say all this because he was so prideful that you never wanted to try to embarrass him or rile him up. Seeing Robinson get the MVP trophy that should have been his I think he was embarrassed and that is never a good thing when you are lacing up opposite of Dream!!
Yeah, Alvin Franklin used to bring him home to LaMarque alot. Dream loved ice cream and would eat it by the loads when he came with alvin. I guess being from another country and not really experiencing it, it was new to him. Like someone said, you can never get tired of watching Dream. I mean, people dont think he would be as effective today are fools. He could score so many ways whether its running the floor, offensive rebounds,dribble drive, or just classic post ups. Thats what made him and alot of the big guys in that era so effective. They all had jimmy's, post game, and would run the court. Now today, there isnt a center today other than a older shaq that can do it different ways. Let me tell you, those games at fonde with moses were ferocious. It wasnt any of this summer league crap like we're seeing. Moses felt the young lion was trying to take his food and moses wasnt having it.
I think that if every new fan of the Houston Rockets learned about Hakeem first and know that this is the standard for which we hold our top players, then the mods of clutchfans would have an easier job. scoring champion --NO world champion --YES mvp candidate? --NO regular season MVP and Finals MVP --YES coach needs to sit him cause he's tired or he might get hurt -- NO he'll play every minute cause he's TIRING OUT the OTHER TEAM -- YES "IF DREAM" --- F**K NO DREAM DID --YES
Growing up as a kid, i was very fortunate seeing Dream play on a regular basis. I must have gone close to 100 games at the Summit to see Dream play. I used to love getting off the 59, park the car under the bridge, walk over the bridge to the other side, make a left, and up the stairs to the Summit. Dream is and will always be one of my favorite players of all time. I believe he is one of the best centers who has ever played. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JmMCPw_djNo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JmMCPw_djNo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
What always gets me about Hakeem ruining Robinson is that by most standards, on paper, Robinson actually had a pretty good series but Hakeem was legend. It was the difference between watching a very good player versus one of the all-time greats. Hakeem always had that extra level he could go to that separated him from the competition.
Funny you mention Alvin. Only guy I ever saw dunk on Dream in Practice and he posterized him. He had mad skills. I always thought he was going to be a great player. What did he end up doing? I lost track of him a long time ago. Last I heard, he was balling in the Phillipines or someplace over in Asia and that was probably 87/88. Only thing I heard after that was he ran into some "candy" problems and quit playing but I never really believed it.
You know...someone's already mentioned this... ..but I'm still amazed at how much of what most of us here remember about Hakeem has been compartmentalized in what he did on the way to his two NBA championships. But that's only natural. At the end of the day, nobody's going to remember how good you may have looked if you lost. Unless, of course, you were last season's Rockets, who should have gotten a parade for playing a second-round series in over 10 years, depending on who you asked... ...You don't really understand how good Hakeem Olajuwon was, in my opinion, until you understand how good he was. Let me explain. Hakeem's athleticism, especially at his size, was unreal. He probably would have been a world-class athlete no matter what sport he decided to play, and I don't think that's something you could say about virtually anybody else. We all remember how well Michael Jordan did playing AAA baseball, don't we? What most people don't understand about Hakeem, was that he understood, almost instinctively, how he needed to play his position. You don't teach some of the things Hakeem could do. And the thing that made him legendary was that he continued to LEARN how to play his position. Your center is the last line of defense. He's got to be the guy that cleans up a lot of other teammates' mistakes. And he's got to be willing to do it time and time again. It helps if the guy is smart and tough. I don't lie when I say that Hakeem had no weaknesses. We, and most everybody else, marvel at The Dream Shake, or the up-and-under moves, or the hammering dunk shots. And I suppose we should. But I don't think there's been a better defender at Hakeem's position than Bill Russell. There have been some players who could be intimidating. There have been some players who could block a lot of shots. But I don't know very many, at any position (let alone center) that defended the way Hakeem did. Some of the best plays Hakeem ever made were on the defensive side of the ball. That's why, when people talk about "defensive specialists" like it's an automatic pass on the other side of the ball, I cringe. That's why I laugh when people try to compare Dwight Howard to Hakeem. Howard couldn't carry Hakeem's jock strap. I don't care how strong he is. People did the same thing for awhile with Amare Stoudemire. And that's starting to shake itself out, too. We should praise the Dream for being one of a kind. Nobody remembers how dominant he was in all those first rounds of the playoffs that the Rockets were stuck in during his prime years. He was, for all practical purposes, the same Dream. But he couldn't do anything like win by himself. And Hakeem knew it. And that's why I'm happy for him. Playing basketball came unnaturally easy for him. But winning was another matter. I'm glad Hakeem got a chance to win. I'll send Mario Elie and Sam Cassell and Robert Horry and all the rest of those guys some cookies...
Anyone remember the H2O brand bottled water he had briefly? - Hakeem 2 0lajuwon my mom threw away my olajuwon-signed H20 bottled water when i moved away for college thinking it was just an old bottle I left laying around. still makes me angry
Tinman posting SI covers of the Rockets championship years after the disrespect SI gave Houston. Surprising.
Nothing like that man ever. Never was and never will be. None of these centers today could hold Hakeems game. Not anyone even close.
He owns a construction company, but he did have the candy problem,lol. I also remember alvin coming home in a maroon 300zx and his mom was a janitor and his other brother driving the same colored ltd. You want to see something funny, watch a 6'10 guy getting out a 84 nissan 300zx. Those were the days. I think with John thompson and even guy lewis leaving cbb, big men have struggled.
Might as well post this video I made a few years back. Most have probably seen it, but it's still fun to watch. Makes me realize how lucky we've been to have such great centers throughout the years, despite Yao's injuries. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pk0MPyiJBbc&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=18"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pk0MPyiJBbc&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
