# For Olajuwon, Hall of Fame journey was all a Dream



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

> Before there was a monument outside the Toyota Center in Houston, before a Hall of Fame career, before two championships, before two Finals MVP awards, before Phi Slamma Jamma, there was a skinny 17-year-old kid sitting on a gym floor one hot afternoon in Lagos, Nigeria.
> 
> As the coach spoke, he listened to the instructions, but his eyes and his mind wandered. His gaze kept rising toward the rim.
> 
> ...


http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/08/01/hakeem-olajuwon-feature/index.html


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

In before the "he would have never beat Jordan in the NBA finals" comments come


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## Luke (Dec 7, 2008)

He doesn't have **** on Shaquille.

That being said he's a top ten player of all time and one of the best two way players ever. It's a shame that nobody in today's league has a fraction of his post game. Players would benefit from watching old Dream tapes.

OneBadLT - you really think he would have beaten the Bulls both years?


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

VanillaPrice said:


> He doesn't have **** on Shaquille.
> 
> That being said he's a top ten player of all time and one of the best two way players ever. It's a shame that nobody in today's league has a fraction of his post game. Players would benefit from watching old Dream tapes.
> 
> *OneBadLT - you really think he would have beaten the Bulls both years?*


Yes. They MAYBE could have taken 94, but no way were they winning 95



> For those who would diminish those championships for coming during Michael Jordan's "retirement," consider that during the first "three-peat" from 1991-93, the Rockets posted a 5-1 record against the Bulls. And following a home loss in 1993, Jordan sat in the bowels of the old Chicago Stadium, shook his head and said, "*It's a good thing those guys can't find their way to the Finals, because we don't have an answer for the big guy*."


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## Luke (Dec 7, 2008)

I've always thought that the '95 year was safely their's but I don't see how they win in '94.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

I honestly think though they could have beaten the Bulls in 94 also. If there was one team that was the kryptonite to the Bulls it was the Rockets. Not only did they beat them multiple times during that time, but nearly crushed them every time. In 95 that had Drexler so that would have elevated them more, but a lot of people forgot the impact Vernon "Mad Max" Maxwell had on Jordan's game/mentality. Dude was crazy

Think of the Warriors/Mavs match up from a few years back. Thats how big of a lop side it was.


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## Luke (Dec 7, 2008)

At a certain point a 5-1 regular season record isn't really a deal breaker to me. The Mavs beat the Heat both times in '06 and we saw how that turned out. The Cavs killed the Spurs both times in '07 and that was a sweep.

The Rockets would have probably won in '95 because four straight title runs would have been tough and that Bulls team was depleted. Not to mention Drexler was there to somewhat offset MJ and Hakeem was in peak form.

But in '94? That team was mediocre outside of Olajuwon.


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