Olajuwan in his prime vs Shaq in his prime? Hakeem would have made him look big, slow and foolish.
You gotta remember that Hakeem’s Rockets beat Shaq’s Magic 4-0 to win the 1995 NBA Finals...I was thrilled about it ‘cuz Clyde Drexler got his ring!
Agreed, Olajuwon was the best I have seen in my lifetime. I think he is top 3, along with Russell and Wilt.
Wilt was an amazing athlete, period. He was a fast 100M sprinter, and then after retiring from the NBA, ran SUPER-marathons (100 miles).
His scoring avg is legendery, both on and off the court.
After that, Kareem, Robinson, and Shaq should all be in there.
“Olajuwan in his prime vs Shaq in his prime? Hakeem would have made him look big, slow and foolish.”
We had that matchup in the 1995 NBA finals, and young Shaq played almost as well as Olajuwan at his peak. The rest of the Orlando Magic stunk. On the whole I’d agree that Olajuwan was a bit better player than Shaq.
Which makes the 1983 NCAA championship of NC State over Houston (featuring Olajuwan and Clyde Drexler) all the more miraculous.