Welcome back to the "Best Ever" series as we continue with the third player who has a case for the honor of the GOAT and his name is Hakeem Olajuwon.
He was a legendary big man who was a dominant force on both offense and defense like few were. Hakeem's consistent excellence during his 18 years of his illustrated career of basketball made him a legend.
Olajuwon even led the Houston Rockets to two consecutive championships in the 90's, as he was an unstoppable post force, a terrific presence on the glass, was a fantastic defender, had skills, was physically gifted, had skills and so on.
He now gives lessons to the top players like LeBron, Hakeem etc to help them elevate their post up game and become better. He's in the shadows of his peers at his position and mostly from Michael Jordan.
However, The Dream is an all time great and has a respectable argument to be argued as the best player in the NBA History. Without any further ado, let's start.
1.Low Post Offense
Hakeem Olajuwon was arguably the greatest offensive low post player in the NBA History. He excelled in this aspect like no one else did and there are good reasons supporting that.
He was one of the most physically gifted men to play professional basketball. He had a rare combination of size, speed and athleticism which he translated on defense to block shots and pull down rebounds easier, while on offense to finish better.
Hakeem possessed a variety of quick and agile moves in the paint for which his defenders didn't have an answer. They are known today as the "Dream Shake". He probably had the finest post moves of all time,.
Additionally, his footwork was second to none. He scored in dozens of ways and was efficient too. Few had an answer to contain him as he ranks top ten in the career leaders for total points and playoff scoring too.
His offensive low post game is the best of all time. He's now giving lessons to the today's stars like Kobe, Dwight and most recently LeBron for them to learn the art of scoring in there.
2.Defense
Another aspect of the game in which Hakeem Olajuwon exelled was defense. He was arguably the greatest defensive player in the NBA History.
His defensive dominance was the main reasons why those Houston teams were always great. He was arguably the most intimating and dominant presence on this side of the court.
He intimated everyone when driving to the rim and was versatile enough to stay with the smaller players out of the perimeter. His man to man defense was arguably second to none. He contained elite big men consistently and usually locked his opponents too.
Olajuwon was one of the best shot blockers to play the game, with a good case for the first spot. He's the official all time leader in blocked shots in both regular season and playoffs. He was a terrific challenger and few managed to finish over him.
The Dream was the top off-ball defender of all time. Outside of blocking shots, he was a terrific threat on the passing lanes. He ranks first in total swats and ninth in career steals. That's an amazing accomplishment.
Additionally he was extremely versatile for a center. Because of his quick footwork, quickness and skills, he had no problems with other smaller players on the perimeter. He was so great out there.
Hakeem's physical gifts such as a rare combination of size, athleticism and speed that he translated to a near perfection on defense. He even won two Defensive Player Of The Year awards and was a nine time member of the All-Defensive Teams.
Olajuwon could be truly argued as the best defender of all time.
3.Post Player
He was the "Dream" for the fans, but for his opponents, he was a nightmare. There wasn't arguably a greater post player in the NBA History than Hakeem Olajuwon.
He excelled on both sides of the court like no else did. His excellence in the offensive low post was by far second to none. He possessed a variety of quick and agile moves which got his defender confused. They're now today as the Dream Shake.
Hakeem was a tough guy to contain there. His terrific footwork helped him as well, since he acted like a guard in some face up situations and he attracted a lot of attention. He was one of the most unstoppable forces to play the game.
Additionally, Olajuwon was arguably the top front court (and overall) defender in the league's history. He was a fantastic man to man stopper who contained elite big men and locked them usually. He also forced them to shot really bad percentages overall too.
He was one of the best shot blockers of any time, who's the official all time leader in both regular and post season. He was the greatest off ball defender, who outside of shot blocking, was excellent in getting steals.
He ranks first in blocks and ninth in steals! Had couple of seasons with at least four swat shots and over 1.5 steals. Those are amazing accomplishments that speak for themselves. He was indeed a force in the post.
4.All-Around Game
Hakeem Olajuwon was arguably the most complete big man to play professional basketball, period. His excellence on both sides of the court was amazing.
He possessed a nice combination of size, athleticism and speed for a big man as he also had nice mobility and versatility for a player of his position. Additionally his skill set also helped him to became quite a dominant force on both sides of the court.
Hakeem was arguably the greatest defender of all time. He excelled in all of the aspects of the defender, even if there was a switch on him, he’d make his opponents to have a bad night against him. Also, he was arguably the top man to man stopper to play the game.
Olajuwon was also one of the best shot blockers ever, who’s the NBA’s official leader in blocked shots. He also managed to play Shaquille O’Neal pretty well in terms of one on one match ups and slowed him down in some duels too. He was good at steals, ranks ninth overall.
He was fantastic force on offense as well. He was arguably the most elite low post offensive player to step on a hardwood. He had dozens of quick ball fakes and moves which are known today as the “Dream Shake”. He also had the finest footwork for a player, period.
To prove you that, i will point out the fact that he ranks top 10 in scoring and was nearly unstoppable in there. Here’s a good video that shows just how good he was in there. His post moves were arguably second to none and that footwork was amazing.
Career Facts:
-NBA All Time leader in career blocked shots
-He's one of the rare players to record a quadruple double!
-Ranks first on the playoffs all time list in blocks per game
-Ranks second on the playoffs all time list in total blocks
-Ranks third on the all time list in career blocks per game
-Ranks third on the all time list in career defensive win share
-Ranks sixth on the all time list in career defensive rebounds
-Ranks seventh on the playoffs all time list in defensive rebounds
-Ranks eight on the all time list in career field goals made
-Ranks ninth on the all time list in career steals
-Ranks ninth on the all time list in career offensive rebounds
-Ranks 11th on the playoffs all time list in defensive win share
-Ranks 11th on the playoffs all time list in total points
-Ranks 12th on the playoffs all time list in offensive rebounds
-Ranks 12th on the playoffs all time list in total rebounds
-Ranks 12th on the all time list in career total rebounds
-Ranks 12th on the all time list in career field goals attempted
-Ranks 16th on the all time list in MVP shares
-Ranks 17th on the playoffs all time list in offensive win share
-Ranks 17th on the all time list in career win shares
-Ranks 19th on the all time list in career defensive rating
-Ranks 24th on the all time list in career defensive rebound percent
-Ranks 26th on the all time list in career steals per game
-Ranks 30th on the all time list in career total rebound percent
-Ranks 33rd on the all time list in career points per game
Career Stats(Regular season/Playoffs)
26,946 points (21,8)———————————-3,775 points (25,9)
13,748 boards (11,1)———————————1,621 boards (11,2)
3,058 assists (2,5)————————————458 assists (3,2)
3,830 blocks (3,1)————————————-472 blocks (3,3)
5.Peak
Hakeem Olajuwon had the greatest peak in the NBA History. He was simply said on a whole new level above the rest and was the league's finest at that time too.
He was the top defender, who was an intimating presence as always, swatting shots (ranked first in the playoffs), interrupting passes as he averaged four blocks and 1.8 steals in the first run. He did average 2.8 swats and 1.2 steals too.
Additionally, Hakeem was arguably the best offensive force too. His post up game was much better than the rest and despite facing great defenders, he was scoring easily and on high percentages. He led twice in that category too and in the Finals.
However, this sentence will sum up him on just how great and dominant he truly was. He also became the only player to win the MVP, Finals MVP, Defensive Player Of The Year in the same season.
Olajuwon outplayed terrific opponents during his successful playoff runs. He totally outclassed David Robinson after the Admiral got the MVP award. He averaged 35.3 points on .560 shooting while containing Robinson to averages of 23.8 points on .449 from field.
Then, he also averaged 32.8 points, 11.5 boards, 5.5 assists on 48.2% field goal percentage versus Shaquille and he led his team to a sweep.
Previously he poured in 26.9 points, pulled down 9.1 rebounds, dished out 3.6 assists and blocked 3.9 shots versus Patrick Ewing in the 94 Finals. He had a near triple double in the deciding Game Seven with 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Dream's dominance and greatness on both sides of the court led the Houston Rockets to two championships. His two successful two playoff runs, in which he outplayed his opponents and earned their respect, is why his peak was arguably second to none.
6.Unstoppable play
When you're one of the one of the most physically gifted athletes, possessed perhaps the top two way package, was one of the finest versatile players and having the most polished post game, you've got all the tools to be unstoppable.
That was exactly what Hakeem Olajuwon was, especially in the prime. He'd torch his opponents with his sick low post abilities, as he had a variety of moves that got faked his defenders out of their shots and few could slow him from getting into a good rhythm.
Here is a good example of just how big threat he was offensively. His ability to score was unquestionable. He ranks top 10 in scoring in both regular and post season.
However, he led three times in the playoffs with averages of 37.5, 28.9 and 33.0 points against elite defensive teams in difficult runs. He was also a decent passer, especially in the second part of his career when he was around four dimes.
Still, it was his ability to pour in bunch of points that made him unstoppable. To prove you that, i will point out his stats versus excellent defenders and teams.
'86 WCF (vs Kareem):
31.0 ppg, 11.2 rpg on 52.0% FG/58.4% TS
'86 Finals (vs Celtics)
24.7 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 1.8 apg on 47.9% FG/52.6% TS
'94 Finals (vs Ewing)
26.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.6 apg on 50.0% FG/55.6% TS
'95 WCF (vs David Robinson)
35.3 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 5.0 apg on 56.0% FG/59.0% TS
'96 Finals (vs Shaquille O'Neal)
32.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 5.5 apg on 48.3% FG/51.4% TS
Those are actually much more impressive numbers when everything is taken in consideration. Not many can do this versus all of the competition he faced. Now you know why he was arguably the most unstoppable force of all time.
7.Two Way Package
There was some truly great players who were equally deadly on both sides such as Jordan, West, Jabbar, Wilt, Kobe and so on, but no one possessed a more complete two way package than Hakeem Olajuwon.
He was arguably the greatest defender of all time. He excelled in all of the aspects of the defender, even if there was a switch on him, he’d make his opponents to have a bad night against him. Also, he was arguably the top man to man stopper to play the game.
Olajuwon was also one of the best shot blockers ever, who’s the NBA’s official leader in blocked shots. He also managed to play Shaquille O’Neal pretty well in terms of one on one match ups and slowed him down in some duels too. He was good at steals, ranks ninth overall.
He was fantastic force on offense as well. He was arguably the most elite low post offensive player to step on a hardwood. He had dozens of quick ball fakes and moves which are known today as the “Dream Shake”. He also had the finest footwork for a player, period.
To prove you that, i will point out the fact that he ranks top 10 in scoring and was nearly unstoppable in there. Here’s a good video that shows just how good he was in there. His post moves were arguably second to none and that footwork was amazing.
Additionally, his underrated combination of physical gifts like size, speed, athleticism, vertical jump and strength helped him to maximize his game to a whole new level. He translated his abilities pretty well.
His complete game can be illustrated best with this game. He recorded a quadruple double. That's excellence. He even came close twice to record another one too.
8.Clutch
Hakeem Olajuwon was one of the greatest clutch performers to step on a NBA Hardwood, with a respectable case for the first spot. He excelled when the game was on the line.
Here are some stats from the regular, post season, finals, his game seven performance and versus some elite opponents.
---------Regular Season:21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 1.7 assists
-------------Post Season:25.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 3.2 assists
-------------Game Seven:27.2 points, 13.6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 5.2 assists (has a 4-1 record)
--------Finals Averages:27.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 3.5 assists
Amazing, isn't it? Olajuwon elevated himself when it mattered most and led his team to success.
9.Footwork
"The best footwork I’ve ever seen from a big man" —Pete Newell
That's a great praise. In fact, Hakeem Olajuwon had the greatest footwork of any time. His mix of speed, power and agility also helped him to become a highly offensive low post player too.
These quickness with the feet helped him to maximize his post moves (the Dream Shake) to a near perfection. He acted like a guard in the face up situation. Here's a good video that shows pure excellence.
10.Accomplishments
Hakeem Olajuwon has also a well filled resume too.
- 2× NBA Champion (1994–1995)
- NBA Most Valuable Player (1994)
- 2× NBA Finals MVP (1994–1995)
- 12× NBA All-Star (1985–1990, 1992–1997)
- 2× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1993–1994)
- 6× All-NBA First Team (1987–1989, 1993–1994,1997)
- 3× All-NBA Second Team (1986, 1990, 1996)
- 3× All-NBA Third Team (1991, 1995, 1999)
- 5× All-Defensive First Team (1987–1988, 1990,1993-1994)
- 4× All-Defensive Second Team (1985, 1991,1996–1997)
- NBA All-Rookie Team (1985)
- NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
11.Ability To Play In Any Era
Hakeem Olajuwon had the ability to play in any era and to excel in all of them. There are many factors supporting this.
First of all, he was one of the most physically gifted players of all time. He possessed superb speed, power, athleticism, vertical jump and size which he translated mostly on defense. He was a dominant defensive presence because of that.
Also, Hakeem was also extremely skilled center with terrific all-around game. He was one of the most complete players to step on a NBA hardwood. He's one of the few to record a quadruple double!
On the other hand, Olajuwon's post up game and footwork was second to none. He could fake a defender out of his shorts easily, as he had a complete arsenal to score, acted like a guard in the face up situations and his dozens of post moves helped him to.
He was one of the best presences on the glass too. Once he averaged 17.8 boards during an entire playoff series and ranks high on the all time lists in this category.
He excelled in the clutch and was a strong performer when it mattered most. His dominance on both sides of the court was obvious and he's a true legend!
12.Quotes
"The best footwork I’ve ever seen from a big man" —Pete Newell
"He was so consistent and so remarkably good that is hard to believe that a player could play so well under that kind of pressure, playing against the MVP of the league. And it just kinda makes you to look at him and owe."-----Clyde Drexler on Hakeem's dominance in the Western Conference Finals
If i had to pick a center (for an all time best team), I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. It leaves out a lot of people.
And the reason i would take Olajuwon is very simple:he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It's not just scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots.
People don't realize he was in the top seven in steals. He always made great decisions on the court. For all facets of the game, i had to give it to him.- Michael Jordan
