Tag: Hakeem Olajuwon

NBA stars who had a winning record against Michael Jordan

There aren’t many stars who can boast about besting Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest of all time by most basketball fans. Though MJ gave everybody the business, a bunch of NBA luminaries managed to beat him more often than not during …

There aren’t many stars who can boast about besting Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest of all time by most basketball fans. Though MJ gave everybody the business, a bunch of NBA luminaries managed to beat him more often than not during his early days with the weak Chicago Bulls roster in the mid-80s or when he donned the Washington Wizards jersey.

Few accomplished that when MJ and his team were at the peak of their powers – most notably a towering center from the Western Conference.

Here’s a list of stars who retired with a winning record against the GOAT:

Sam Cassell: Nikola Jokic ‘wouldn’t stand a chance’ versus Hakeem Olajuwon

“I believe Hakeem [Olajuwon] would have an answer for whatever [Nikola] Jokić tried defensively,” Sam Cassell says of his former championship teammate.

After winning a pair of championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, NBA veteran Sam Cassell is understandably biased in favor of his legendary teammate at center, Hakeem Olajuwon.

While Denver’s Nikola Jokic is currently the gold standard among NBA big men, having won three of the past four Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, Cassell doesn’t view the Nuggets star as in the same caliber as his two-time champion and Hall of Fame teammate.

Speaking to Draymond Green — a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Golden State Warriors — on Green’s podcast, Cassell said of the comparison (as transcribed by EuroHoops.net):

Hakeem is a beast in every sense on the floor. He’s in the Top 10 in every NBA category — steals, rebounds, points. I think Jokić would score more points, but Hakeem would win because he would constantly pressure him. Jokić wouldn’t be able to do damage in the post; it simply wouldn’t happen.

On the other end of the floor, Jokić wouldn’t stand a chance. Joel Embiid gives him problems, and he wouldn’t have any hope against Hakeem. I believe Hakeem would have an answer for whatever Jokić tried defensively.

Now an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, it’s worth noting that Cassell previously spent three seasons (2020-23) as an assistant in Philadelphia. There appears to be a rivalry between Embiid and Jokić, and that experience working closely with Embiid and the 76ers might have further tilted Cassell in an anti-Jokić direction.

Cassell’s complete podcast comments can be viewed below.

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Jayson Tatum joins names like LeBron James, Larry Bird, and Tim Duncan in crazy playoff stat

Jayson Tatum accomplishes something only five other players in NBA history ever have while he led the Celtics to an NBA title on Monday.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] did something only five other players in NBA history ever matched during the 2024 postseason, and each of them are among the greatest to ever play the game.

With the Boston Celtics defeating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 on Monday night, their fourth victory in five games, Tatum finally got to hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The former Duke basketball star ended his 19-game run to the title game as Boston’s team leader in points, rebounds, and assists for the postseason. The five other players to match that feat? LeBron James, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, and Nikola Jokic.

Tatum scored 31 points in the decisive victory, his second 30-point performance of the series, and added 11 assists and eight rebounds. He put together three double-doubles in the five-game series. He averaged 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists for the playoffs, and he scored at least 30 points in six different games and managed a double-double in 14 different contests.

James, in his typical outlier fashion, managed this feat three times in five years. Bird, another Celtics star, is the only other player to do it twice.

‘Clutch City’ celebration: For 30-year anniversary, Rockets’ TV network to re-air 1994 NBA Finals

To celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Houston’s first championship, Space City Home Network is re-airing all games of the 1994 NBA Finals.

To celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Houston’s first championship in a major sport, Space City Home Network (SCHN) will be re-airing all games of the 1994 NBA Finals over the next two weeks.

Each game of the seven-game series between the Rockets and New York Knicks will be aired on the corresponding date in which the game was played 30 years ago. The schedule is as follows:

  • Game 1 — Saturday, June 8, 5 p.m. Central
  • Game 2 — Monday, June 10, 5 p.m.
  • Game 3 — Wednesday, June 12, 7 p.m.
  • Game 4 — Saturday, June 15, 8 p.m.
  • Game 5 — Monday, June 17, 7 p.m.
  • Game 6 — Wednesday, June 19, 3:30 p.m.
  • Game 7 — Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.

Each NBC rebroadcast will be condensed into a two-hour version.

SCHN (program schedule) is now jointly owned by the Rockets and Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros, which gives the teams more flexibility in being able to schedule unique programming.

The newly branded network launched last October after the teams acquired what was formerly AT&T SportsNet Southwest from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The plan from WBD executives is to exit the regional sports network (RSN) business — and in the case of the Houston market, the negotiated arrangement was for WBD to give the broadcast rights and related infrastructure back to the teams.

Pre-existing carriage agreements with providers such as DirecTV, AT&T Uverse, Comcast Xfinity, and fuboTV have remained in place.

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Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon on Michael Jordan and the Bulls: ‘He gave us all the respect’

Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon on Bulls star Michael Jordan: “He gave us all the respect, and that’s what’s important to me.”

On numerous occasions, Bulls legend Michael Jordan has gone out of his way to show respect to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. After all, outside of Chicago, Houston was the only other NBA champion over an eight-year span from 1991 through 1998.

There has long been mutual respect between the two Hall of Famers, who were each selected in the first three picks of the 1984 NBA draft before becoming the league’s cornerstones in the 1990s.

But as fate would have it, Jordan and the Bulls never met Olajuwon and the Rockets in the NBA Finals. Jordan was retired during Houston’s first title season in 1994, and he returned late in the regular season prior to Houston’s second championship run in 1995.

That dynamic has led some casual observers to speculate Houston might not have won its titles if not for Jordan’s very unusual (and relatively brief) mid-career retirement.

But it’s not something that has come from Jordan, himself.

In a new interview with Michael Shapiro of Chron.com, Olajuwon made it clear there’s been nothing but respect from Jordan.

Among the latest comments by “The Dream” (to Shapiro):

You don’t win a championship by accident. We had the best record in the league. Some people try to say, ‘oh (Michael) Jordan was out those two years, that’s why you won.’ That really doesn’t matter to us, we don’t have to prove anything. … That’s one thing I really respect about Michael Jordan. He never say that. He has tremendous respect for our team.

Even when Chicago was winning championships, and we had a more average team … we were beating Chicago. We were good against Chicago. That is something we can always refer back to. We never played in the playoffs, but we played in the regular season.

He gave us all the respect, and that’s what’s important to me. … We were the champion. It’s not an easy task to win, and we got it done.

Shapiro’s full interview with Olajuwon can be read here. As for Jordan, it’s worth noting his son, Marcus, picked Olajuwon as the second-greatest NBA player of all-time (behind his father).

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Rockets proudly host NBA’s first Nigerian Heritage Night as Olajuwon, Udoka take part

Hakeem Olajuwon, Ime Udoka, and Chiney Ogwumike were part of Houston’s inaugural Nigerian Heritage Night, which was the first held by any NBA team.

When Julian Duncan joined the Rockets as chief marketing and strategy officer in July 2021, the native Houstonian had a vision of celebrating Nigeria and its communities during a regular-season game. The Houston metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Nigerian immigrants communities in the United States.

Two years of planning turned out to be well worth the wait for Duncan and his staff. Last Friday, the Rockets paid tribute to the Nigerian population in Houston and surrounding areas by hosting the team’s inaugural Nigerian Heritage Night at Toyota Center.

It was the first such tribute arranged by an NBA team. It was a massive success for fans in attendance and those individuals who joined a postgame Q&A session with icons such as Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon; Rockets head coach Ime Udoka; WNBA All-Star and ESPN personality Chiney Ogwumike; and award-winning recording artist Tobe Nwigwe. All are of Nigerian descent.

“Being in Houston, it is the city of innovation, but it is also a city with rich cultural heritage,” Duncan told Rockets Wire.

“We celebrate tons of different heritages here, but the one we had not touched bases with was the Nigerian heritage,” Duncan explained.

“It made the most sense when one, you have Hakeem Olajuwon in your city, and two, Houston is home to the largest population of Nigerians, bigger than any other city in the nation. It just made sense. So, two years in the making, we have a beautiful celebration of Nigerian culture and heritage here in Houston.”

Ogwumike, who grew up in the Houston area and became a national player of the year at Cy-Fair High School, was honored with the team’s ceremonial pregame “First Shot.” Naturally, she made it, earning $5,000 for charity from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.

In subsequent comments, she said it meant a lot for her to participate in an event that celebrates her culture and represents her family.

“It meant the world to me,” Ogwumike told reporters after being formally honored by the organization as a hometown hero. “I am able to celebrate my culture here, the African diaspora, and the sports world, and how it has brought us all together.”

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Kevin Durant passed Hakeem Olajuwon in scoring then admitted his mom had a crush on The Dream

This was a special moment for Wanda “The Real MVP” Durant.

Last night was a special night for Kevin Durant as he passed Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon to become the NBA’s No. 12 leading scorer of all time.

This was an especially impressive accomplishment from Durant as he has unfortunately missed quite a bit of time during his professional career due to injury. In fact, Durant is the only player on the NBA’s top 20 all-time leading scorers list to play less than 1,000 career regular season games.

After passing Olajuwon last night, when asked about his achievement, Durant shared a fun fact with reporters during his postgame interview. He said that growing up, Olajuwon had special significance in his house.

Here is what Durant had to say:

“My mom had a crush on Olajuwon when I was a kid. So that’s all I used to hear in the house. It wasn’t Jordan. It was Olajuwon in the house. [That’s] somebody she told me to since since [I was] a kid and I really admire his game and his journey as a man and as a basketball player. It’s always amazing to be amongst the greats.”

Durant was able to share the special moment in front of his mom as she attended the game in Los Angeles.

Wanda Durant, also known as “The Real MVP” due to an incredible speech from her son, was the Suns-Lakers game and had a chance to briefly catch up with LeBron James after the game.

After all the adversity he has faced overcoming severe injuries, we can only imagine how special it must have felt for her to see her son pass her favorite player in scoring.

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Where Rockets rank in updated list of 77 greatest NBA players of all-time

With 77 NBA seasons in the books, @HoopsHype issued an updated list of the greatest 77 players of all-time. Here’s where players with #Rockets ties were ranked.

The 2023-24 regular season is the NBA’s 78th overall, which means 77 seasons are in the books.

With that in mind, our friends at HoopsHype recently compiled an updated list of the NBA’s best 77 players of all time, complete with statistics and information through the 2022-23 campaign.

As one might expect, the Rockets are well represented. Along with many All-Stars over the years, they had three Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and James Harden. Historically, Houston is among the league’s top franchises.

Granted, the Rockets haven’t won a championship since Olajuwon led them to their only two in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals. But the hope is that could change in the years ahead. If it does, perhaps a rising star such Jalen Green, Amen Thompson or Jabari Smith Jr. might crack an updated version of this list in a decade or so.

For now, with the start of 2023-24 training camp only days away, here’s a look back at where legacy Rockets stand on HoopsHype’s updated list of the 77 greatest players in NBA history.

Shaquille O’Neal tips cap to Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon for 1995 NBA Finals

“I realized that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best,” Shaquille O’Neal says of Hakeem Olajuwon. “That year [1995 NBA Finals] we faced off, and the best won out.” #Rockets

In a show of respect between Hall of Fame centers, former Orlando Magic center Shaquille O’Neal reflected on his team’s loss to the Houston Rockets in a four-game sweep during the 1995 NBA Finals.

On Friday, O’Neal — who works as an analyst for the NBA on TNT — served as “principal for the day” at Pine Shadows Elementary School in Houston’s Spring Branch.

In a wide-ranging interview at the event, Josh Criswell of chron.com asked “Shaq” about his battles with rival Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets. When asked of his greatest takeaway, O’Neal said:

Just him being one of the best ever. I realized that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. That year we faced off, and the best won out. It just made me a much stronger competitor.

Olajuwon was named NBA Finals MVP after averaging 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. O’Neal averaged 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in four straight losses.

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Gilbert Arenas bizarrely trolls Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon for training rates

Despite endorsements from the likes of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas apparently thinks Hakeem Olajuwon’s training workouts are too expensive.

Legendary Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the best big men in NBA history, and the Hall of Famer is particularly well regarded for his footwork in and around the low post.

That’s why numerous current stars, most recently two-time MVP and 2021 NBA Finals champion Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, often attempt to work with Olajuwon to improve their games.

“This season, (before) training camp, I have a trip that I’m going to go down to Houston and try to work out with Hakeem Olajuwon,” Antetokounmpo said on the “48 Minutes” podcast. “I love his game and if I can take a few things from his game or learn anything from the few days I’m going to spend with him, it’s going to be a blessing.”

Olajuwon is believed to charge $50,000 for a week of his services, according to past media reports. That price is excessive in the eyes of former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas.

In a light-hearted rant, here’s a sampling of what Arenas had to say about it on his own podcast, “No Chill Gil”:

First of all, who wants to learn a move from somebody who did it in 1990, anyway? He ain’t been good since the 90s. That means any moves from the 2000s, he don’t know. Who (are) you going to do the moves on? (Victor) Wembanyama?

Nobody wants that Hakeem Olajuwon skyhook. You should be ashamed of yourself. Charging these young whippersnappers $50,000. When you came into the league in 1984, you weren’t getting $50,000 a game. You’re trying to make the money back through the youth!

Arenas didn’t explain why he believes Olajuwon’s rates should be relative to salaries 39 years ago, as opposed to today’s figures.

Whatever the case, Olajuwon’s training has received high marks from legends LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, and that’s of greater significance than a bizarre slight by Arenas.

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