Flashback - Hakeem the Dream

Watching the NBA playoffs and thinking about some of the NBA legends, I had a flashback about Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon. People remember him as a great player but I don’t think folks fully appreciate how special he was. Playing in an era when centers were dominant, Olajuwon still dominated his position. Olajuwon had to contend with the Hall-of-Famers Moses Malone, Robert Parish and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the beginning of his career, and later with the likes of David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal, among others

The Dream was a star at the University of Houston who went on to win two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets (1994 and 1995). Despite Michael Jordan being out of basketball for the majority of those two seasons, Olajuwon still had to go through Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal en route to his championships.

Beyond a great talent, Hakeem (at 6’ 10”) was one of the NBA’s most versatile players. He ranks first in NBA history in blocks, seventh in scoring and 11th in rebounding. If that weren’t impressive enough, the Dream is seventh (yes seventh!) all-time in steals. This is amazing for a center. In fact, he is only one of two centers (Vlade Divac is the other, ranking 49th) in the top 50 in steals.

Hakeem Olajuwon was recognized as a top-50 NBA player in 1996, and deserves his status as one of the elite centers and players of all time.