I was reading the ESPN article asking if Blake Griffin can save the Los Angeles Clippers franchise located here . In the article, they ask if he can become comparable to other number 1 draft picks of the past. The article lists the best number 1 picks overall and they have this to say about Hakeem: I'm not sure if that is the greatest testimony of his career but it certainly rings true.
Absolutely... He is in my mind the greatest Center of all time. He played in a day when there were plenty of other 7 footers out there. He towered no one yet he dominated most. He had some trouble with Eaton and guys who were very tall but overall, he was the greatest all around center the game has seen in my personal opinion. I will never ever forget Hakeem schooling Ewing in the 94' Finals (I was there) and I will never forget him manhandling the 95' MVP David Robinson in the Western Conference Finals of 1995. He then lead the Rockets in a sweep of Shaq's Orlando Magic (granted - Shaq was very young). I believe if you ask Shaq who his toughest opponent ever was, he would humbly say Hakeem Olajuwon. Dream was a blast too watch, I only wish he knew when to say when and we wouldnt have to see him in that Purple and Red uniform he wore at the end.
Gotta love Dream if it wasent for him we would still be like the Jazz and Suns Teams known for not winning championships.
I loved watching Dream. It was sad and painful as he became older though. I'll never forget his dominance as a player. It was a different type of domination. Different than MJ, Lebron and Kobe. Hakeem attacked from every possible angle of the game.
No center can pass like him, handle the ball like him, have feet like his. I think he is in the same class as Russell/Chamberlin/Kareem, won't rank them in any particular order as they all dominated different eras (well Chamberlin/Russell were in the same era, a era hard to compare to any modern era).
The best thing I can say about Hakeem is that we probably will never see anything like him again. at his peak, as complete as about a center could be.
My fondest Dreams. - John Starks block in game 6 - I'll never forget him running down 3/4 lengths court to chase KJ down and block his dunk. The way he covered so much ground with his long legs and arms flapping all over the place was simply amazing. - His personal block party against the Blazers who were my favorite team at the time (since Drexler was in Portland)... he blocked Rod Strickland and Drexler on back to back attemps. - Olajuwons block against Shawn Kemp and reverse dunk against the Sonics in the closing seconds when we finally eliminated them. - Ownage of Mrs. Robinson. - Schooling Shaq. - Celebration with Drexler near midcourt with hands in air.
I think this is the best Hakeem vid on youtube: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sbmm2IZvdtg&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sbmm2IZvdtg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Simply "The Most Incredible Center in the World". No center has possessed his shot blocking, scoring, ball handling, leadership, and hustle skills.
One of my favorite moments is when he celebrated with the TEAM when he won the MVP trophy. I'm getting choked up thinking about it
