Who was the REAL MVP to the Rox, Hakeem Olajuwon or Mario Elie?

One shot does not an MVP make. Yes, if Ellie doesn't hit the "kiss of death" we don't win the Championship. But if Hakeem wasn't playing, we wouldn't have won either.

I think Ellie's 3 is an example of how one man can't win a championship by himself. Hakeem was clearly one of the greatest players in NBA history. But if Ellie doesn't hit that 3, or Cassell or Horry miss key shots against the Knicks, or if Denver doesn't upset Seattle in the first round, maybe he doesn't win that first championship. And if we don't trade for Clyle the next season, maybe we don't win the 2nd championship. Only a few things would have had to happen differently for Hakeem to finish his career ringless, things that were out of his control.

Would that have tarnished Hakeem's legacy? A lot of people talk as if it would. They talk that way about Barkley, Ewing, Stockton and Malone. That's why I have a hard time holding one person fully accountable for a teams success.

 

we wouldnt have been in the playoffs.

 

Without Hakeem, they don't make the playoffs - Elie would never gets the chance to hit that shot. Do you guys think before you post?

 

sarcasm?

 

Dream was a great clutch player himself. He was double or tripled teamed at times,which opened up shots for Elie and the rest of the guys to knock them down. I liked Elie a lot,but everyone knows that Hakeem was the real MVP to our success,

 

Can I make a quick (for me) comment on this?

You actually need both (the Hall-of-Fame talent and the opportunistic glue-guy) to win an NBA Championship, in my opinion, Cannonball.

Hakeem eventually understood this, which is why he went out of his way to praise his teammates and not himself for their championship success.

To the point you make about Mario Elie's game winning shot against Phoenix in 1995, what most of us don't seem to remember about that game was how poorly Olajuwon had played offensively for most of the game. Hakeem was unusually ineffective offensively for virtually the entire game. The rest of the Rockets (Clyde Drexler, mostly) furiously fought to keep the game within striking distance, because each of them knew that Hakeem would deliver for them if they gave him any chance. Which is exactly what Hakeem did to tie the game late for the Rockets.

I tell you, if the Rockets had not played the way that they had played for the balance of that game, nobody would be talking about Hakeem's legendary status (which was never going to be in debate). They'd be talking about how the Rockets lost.

For me anyway, it's about winning and losing. It's not about who's playing the hardest or giving the best effort or giving the best locker room speeches. You get it done, on the court, against all odds, and you get it done together.

Mario Elie or Sam Cassell or Robert Horry, or even Chucky Brown or Caldwell Jones or Pete Chilcutt, needed pedigrees or All-Star votes to win. They did the jobs their team needed for them to do. Pairing that production with Hakeem's otherworldly talent and drive was too much for anybody to beat, as it turns out.

Hakeem, Cannonball, was first ballot Hall-of-Fame bound regardless of the outcome of that game. What he could never have been without Elie's shot, or Drexler's all around game, or Sam Cassell's moxie, or Robert Horry's glue gun, was a champion.

To me (and to Hakeem, as it happened) Mario Elie was just as much of an MVP to the Rockets as Hakeem was.

Ask them. They've got the rings to prove it......

 

Without Robert Horry, the Rockets, Spurs, and Lakers probably don't win those championships.

Robert Horry ...BEST PLAYER EVER?

Steve Kerr hit some key shots for the Bulls...

Steve Kerr >>>>> Michael Jordan



You need role players, as well as stars. It's not a 1 man team.

 

Are you serious? How are some of you responding to this thread as if the OP is not being sarcastic.

 

These sarcastic threads are getting old...

 

Wasn't the game tied when he hit that 3? I'm not taking anything away from the shot, but just saying that I don't think it's factually accurate to say we would've lost had he not made that shot.

 

I like Mario Elie very much but be careful lest we become stupid!

 

What is up with all the DISCREDIT Hakeem Threads...

We all want to _itch about the national media not giving the Rockets any respect, but this is coming from SUPPOSELY Rocket FANS....

This is just getting ridiculous!!!!

 

If Elie had just swallowed an entire bottle of cocky pills, he'd still pick Hakeem.

 

Then Horry should have 7 MVP's

 

If I hadn't been watching the game on tv we would have lost!! So I'm the real MVP!!

 

Every freaking team needs role players. Hakeem was the centerpiece and was the most valuable player on our team, the fact that this is being argued is silly.

 

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1 shot < 1 season