Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (born Akeem Abdul Olajuwon on January 21, 1963) is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Olajuwon played cen...
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (born Akeem Abdul Olajuwon on January 21, 1963) is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Olajuwon played center for the Houston Rockets, whom he led to back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995.
Olajuwon was drafted by the Rockets with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA Draft. Olajuwon combined with the 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson, to form what was dubbed the "Twin Towers" duo. The two led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Boston Celtics. After Sampson was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 1988, Olajuwon became the undisputed leader of the team. He led the league in rebounding twice (1989, 1990) and shot--blocking three times (1990, 1991, 1993). In the 1993-94 season he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP), Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season. In 1996, Olajuwon assisted in the gold medal-winning performance of the United States national team and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He ended his career the league's all-time leader in blocked shots.
Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Olajuwon is generally considered one of the five greatest centers to ever play the game. Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.68 blocks in his rookie season. He finished as runner-up to Michael Jordan in the 1985 Rookie of the Year voting, and was the only other rookie to receive any votes.
Olajuwon was a legitimate two-way threat, being effective on both ends of the floor. On his own half of the hardwood, he was a standout defender (he was a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner) and thwarted opponents with his shot-blocking ability, averaging 3.09 blocks per game in his career. He was quick enough to defend guards at the perimeter in clutch situations and was also an excellent ball-thief, averaging 1.75 steals per game in his career. Olajuwon was also a prolific rebounder, averaging 11.1 rebounds per game in his career, and leading the league in rebounding twice.
On offense, Olajuwon was famous for his soft touch around the basket and his footwork combined with a vast array of fake moves, highlighted in his signature Dream Shake (see below). He was a prolific scorer, averaging 21.8 points in his career, and an above average offensive rebounder, averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds per game in his career. Beyond this, Olajuwon could "put the ball on the floor" and dribble with guard-like quickness. He is also one of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double, illustrating his versatility.
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I love MJ myself even have 46 pairs of his shoes in my closet! lol. But he hit 2 shots to win a game ! Missed hundreds...clutch or over hyping his 2 makes? Mj was great but with that came a double standard. The League made him better than he really was. Until he won the dunk contest, he was just a ball hog on a sorry team. JEROEL is right, give Dream the Bulls and MJ the Rockets and it's a landslide! I dont think MJ would have won one. Jordan RULES is right, the rules the nba put in to help him.
i agree Jodan was hyped, but he was still the best player ever. Jordan was extremely clutch. everybody misses, even Jordan, but he always made them when they were important. and you can't just disregard the stats. highest career scoring average, nine all defensive teams, ten scoring titles to name a few. and the jordan rules were not meant to help. they were a tactic the pistons used where they would downright pummel MJ, justified to the judges by selected tape of bad D on Jordan.
MJ is def ONE of the best, truth is I don't believe anyone was actually better than Olajuwon. Scoring titles? Well you forget he took more shots than any one else. 9 Defensive Teams? Cause of his name and the fact that every time he touched the ball, 3 refs would blow a whistle simultaneously. Had nothing on the greatest defender of all-time, Olajuwon, who would get hammered with few calls. The league Wanted Jordan to succeed, an american. Dream was soft spoken and let his quads do the talkin'!
he took more shots than anyone else, and hit the majority, thus making him the best scorer. don't act like Jordan was protected by the refs, cause he would get downright mugged by the pistons in the playoffs. you can't just dismiss that Jordan was the greatest all-round player of all time, it's just not right. was dream the greatest center of all time? maybe, but he was defo the most polished center, i won't deny that. and don't make this a question of nationality, you are smarter than that.
the number one scoring center of all time is chamberlaing follow by shaq so u totally worng he was a great player dont get me worng but he also have graet team an i sweart if mj didnt retired he wouldnt get none of those 2 rings
i said Dream is the #1 scoring center per game in post season history-that's a fact-26/game at 53%-# freakin 1 in post season history-only fools say "if mj didn't retire,Dream would get none"-moron,Mike never ever stopped Dream-EVER-Dream had a lifetime winning record vs Air,Mike admitted he didn't know how to beat Dream-IDIOT FOOL,Olajuwon played most of his prime with zero all stars,only player to lead team to 2 titles with zero all stars,even Clyde wasn't an all star in '95-shutup already
OPINIONS vary.... i respect your opinion and i like your writing style so much that i have nothing else to say right now...have a good day buddy,peace out-Jeroel
thanks for the compliment man, it means a lot. if you ever get feel like talking some ball, just write me. not a lot of people are interested in Denmark, so i'll welcome anything
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