I think that while his personal/team accomplishments don't measure up to the likes of Kareem and Russell, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Hakeem Olajuwon possessed the greatest skill-set/intelligence of any big man in history of the league. No big man could rival Dream's moves/versatility. If he had a loaded roster like the Lakers or the Celtics of the 80's had, he would have won at least five rings in his tenure. The only thing Kareem was better at was being able to play for as long as he had and remain productive.
I did say dream was the only player i ever saw block the sky hook One of my dad's friends taped that game (one of the 1986 playoff games against the lakers) and gene peterson i think was announcing it and when dream blocked it, he said it was only the second time he has ever seen somebody block kareem's sky hook
Everything he said PLUS.... The reason I rate Hakeem as the greatest center... If you take all the top centers to ever play the game, and look for weaknesses/weak spots in them, every single one has a glaring one except Hakeem. You could exploit them in the following ways... Russell - Offense. Jabbar - Quickness on defense/perimeter. Shaq - No perimeter game/FT liability. Pick and roll defense liability. Wilt Chamberlain - FT liability. Pre-Hack a shaq anyone? I really dont see any glaring weakness in Hakeem's game. He is the most versatile and complete center who has ever played on both ends of the court with equal ferocity.
Very well said. The funny thing is, all of Hakeem's detractors have absolutely nothing to criticize about his game, they always resort to the "Well, Jordan didn't play/wasn't himself in those two years, so that's why the Rockets won" card. However, ask ANYONE to dissect Olajuwon's game and try to find weaknesses in it while simultaneously doing the same thing with (insert name of greatest big men in NBA history here), then compare the two players on their own merits. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Dream was the most complete big man to ever play the game.
Let's not forget Dream never got any real respect from the refs....He got no where near the calls MJ got. He was also gipped out of some awards like when the DPOY went to Rodman and MVP went to David Robinson
I also remember during a post-game interview a journalist asked Jordan who was the best in the game and he said Dream
I still remember that, as well. MJ knew how great Dream was. As Bun B would say, "Trill recognize Trill".
I remember reading somewhere that MJ made a statement along the lines of: "it's good that Hakeem won't make it out of the West because if we played them in the Finals...I don't think we can beat them." If the "greatest" says Hakeem is the best and the first person he'd pick on his team...I say f*** what the media says. They don't know greatness. Specifically when Hakeem was on the summit in the early to mid 90's. The irony is- you switch cities...say Hakeem ended up in LA or NYC...Hakeem would be crowned best ever since...
i read an interview once where bill russell hated hearing things like this. apparently he's got a great offensive game, just not gaudy numbers like wilt's, but because his defense gets so much recognition, his offense seemed mediocre.
Also didn't Sampson guard Kareem most of that series and vice versa while Kurt Rambis played Hakeem? Not taking anyway from Hakeem but Sampson was pretty damn good that series too. Ah what could've been if Ralph could've stayed healthy and motivated.
Yet another reason why Hakeem is the greatest Center ever to play the game. Only four players have had a quadruple double in NBA history and Hakeem should of been listed as having it twice. Robinson is on that list in 1994 and we all know how foolish Hakeem made Robinson look in the 1995 playoffs. Nate Thurmond, October 18, 1974, Chicago vs. Atlanta; 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 blocks Alvin Robertson, February 18, 1986, San Antonio vs. Phoenix; 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals Hakeem Olajuwon, March 29, 1990, Houston vs. Milwaukee; 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 blocks David Robinson, February 17, 1994, San Antonio vs. Detroit; 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks "On March 3rd 1990, Olajuwon seemingly became just the third NBA player in history to record a quadruple-double when he compiled 29 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, and 11 blocks versus Chris Mullin and the Golden State Warriors. Shortly after the game ended however, league officials corrected a statistical error on their part and relinquished one of Olajuwon’s assists leaving him with 9 and nothing more than a monstrous triple-double. Olajuwon, feeling denied perhaps, dramatically entered the NBA record books 26 days later on March 29th when he earned 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and 11 blocks against none other than Alvin Robertson and the Milwaukee Bucks. Olajuwon’s performance that night is still considered by many to be one of the greatest in NBA history" http://blogs.foxsports.com/James_M_Morisete (about half way down)
does anyone have video of olajuwon's quadruple double or his performance against david robinson the game robinson accepted the mvp trophy? I was just a young pup back then and don't remember it well. If anyone has it let me know. Appreciate it!
I always thought vernon scored 24 in that second half. even more unbelievable. I was watching that game in the basement of my dorm at ut arguing with a guy wearing a suns hat and a few others. by the end of the game I was by myself. that's when people weren't really rocket fans, when you walked around Houston and saw jordan, bird, and magic jerseys. vernon maxwell probably had the biggest game in rocket history that night.
About a month ago I broke out my Double Clutch tape to show my 7 year old boy who Hakeem was. He laughed when Hakeem juked David Robinson out of his shorts.
there were only a few of us. I was in austin and listening to the crap feed 740am radio during the regular season. i remember watching the choke city game at jester dorm with a bunch of rockets fans. keep in mind of the mentality of the houston sports fan, it wasnt very good after the Oilers damn the city to hell. so the fields of buffalo were brought to mind. maxwell rubbed off his clutchness and no fear attitude to Sam and Robert and Mario. those were the good ole days, where Rockets were always superior to the Spurs and the Mavs. maxwell would destroy san antonio, becuase he took it personal everytime he played them.
Thompson was 6' 8". On Dream,he was the total package....best ever.Just look at way everything came together. A soccer and handball background at home lead to incredible footwork and great shotblocking. GuyV and PSJ's wide open style of play helped him develop naturally,utilizing his insticts and ability to run the court like a deer. Then there was the little matter of Fonde and Moses.Here Dream learned about bigtime work ethic and played against top flight competition,honing his game every summer. The draft rolls around and Dream stays home..... The Rockets help Dream to unlock what reamains of his potential.......The rest is history. My point is that like with any all time great player,so many variables fell into place.But with Akeem,the unmatched athleticism for a man his size was already in place to start with.Combine this with his WILL and desire to be the best he could be....and you have the BEST OF ALL TIME.
