Hakeem Olajuwon 1992: 28/13/7/4/5 vs. Chicago Bulls 

Hakeem was the complete package; offensive skills, defensive tenacity, and clutch.

Hakeem's guard skills were the most amazing thing I have ever seen in basketball. No big man in the history of time could ever crossover and j people up from the perimeter like that. Truly incredible

If the Rockets were in the same Conference with the Bulls, the 91-93 three-peat would have never happened.

Crazy how there still hasnt been a player in the NBA that has the skillset that Hakeem had. He was so far ahead of his time. Easily the most skilled center of all time and its not even close.

Olajuwon had so many post counters you never knew what was coming at you. You just could not stop Hakeem, he was dominate!

Hakeem in the post...Jordan on the wing...the Chicago Stadium organ grinding away...Calvin on the mike...the golden era of the NBA.

“It’s a good thing they can’t ever get outta the west. Bcuz we got no answer for that big monster. I don’t know that we can beat em.” -Michael Jordan 1992

people rarely mention that Olajuwon had a winning percentage more than .500 against Jordan's team

Its quite obvious Hakeem's all-around prowess was more of a problem for "da Bulls" than Jordan ever was for the Rockets.

Jordan scorless in the final quarter? WHAT

Hakeem is always my best and favorite player !

I miss hakeem in NBA ...

I love the crowd's reaction after the move at 2:45, It's almost like they are thinking "Oh No"

Other notables were Robert Horry finishing with 18 points and Kenny Smith hitting 6 3 pointers.

This is one of the reasons why the Dream may be the best 1 on 1 player - incredibly quick, has million post moves, with super quick foot work, steals the ball, blacks shots, and if he's not up and under after crazy post up move, than he hits those impossible fade away shots... everyone's talking about Kobe vs MJ and who would win 1 on 1, and I'd say actually both Kobe and MJ would have to play their best game (i.e., hit every shot) to beat Hakeem 1 on 1... but it is a team sport after all, so kind of pointless talking about it... still, got to love the Dream - one of the greatest, among most underrated, certainly personally humble guy... but his game spoke for itself... That's why MJ would put him in his starting line up, the one where there's "now way we'd lose" with Magic, Pippen, James Worthy (? guess UNC connection), Hakeem and MJ... :-)

My top two teams and two favorite

Hakeem WAS the Bulls kryptonite. Too bad this series never happened!

best centre of all time

doing my sports homework !

Hakeem’s defensive prowess was in full force throughout the 1994 postseason. He grounded some of the best frontcourt players of the 90s into dust. Here’s a breakdown: During the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers, Hakeem helped hold Clifford Robinson to 41.2% shooting from the field. In the second round versus the Phoenix Suns, The Dream helped hold superstar Charles Barkley to a 45.7% mark from the field. During the Western Conference Finals, he helped stymie another superstar, Karl Malone, into hitting only 43.3% of his attempts. In the penultimate round against the New York Knicks, Hakeem ruined superstar Patrick Ewing’s life, forcing him into a measly 36.3% shooting clip from the field. _________________________________________________ Hakeem did play in the burgeoning soon to be best conference Western Conference from 87-88 to 91-92 when on top of Los Angeles, West Teams on the rise despues Eastern Conference dominance of Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Detroit, were Dallas, Denver, Utah, Portland, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix. LeBron played in the East during the 00's Pistons, 00's Pacers, 00's Nets, 00's Celtics, 00's Bulls, 00's HeaT eras ☘️... None of those teams were the 87-88 to 90-91 Lakers, the 87-88 to 91-92 Jazz were every bit as great if not greater than the 00's Pistons, Celtics and HeaT and those are the 3 best franchises of the 00's East and only Detroit of those franchises won consistently thru-out the decade. Utah was flirting with a championship from 88 to 2000. The 88-92 Blazers were better than any of those 00's East franchises and went to two titles and lost to two dynasties the Bad Boy Pistons of 59 wins and the 67 win back to back champion of 6 total championships Chicago Bulls 🐂.... Who did the Nets lose to in 02 and 03? 58 and 56 win Lakers and Spurs teams that were lucky to break 100 pts per game in the muddy 00's era NBA. Dallas of 1988 and Denver of Alex English had more skilled teams than the 00's Baby Bulls and 00's Pacers. The 88 Mavericks were as deep 1-12 as the 03-05 Pacers. San Antonio and Phoenix won from 88-89 for Phoenix and 89-90 for San Antonio like 55 wins per season for 5-10 years minus like two seasons in transition in 96 for Phoenix and 97 for San Antonio.... Only the 00's Pistons were that steadily excellent for 5-10 years in the 00's East and the late 80's early 90's West had five teams like that in Utah, Portland, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix. Not even counting the Sonics from 92-98 or the Lakers from 87-93 and 95-03... LeBron isnt even greater than Hakeem Olajuwon.... Its only a travesty the Hakeem Rockets 🚀 didnt compile a skilled team of gunners around Hakeem like Boston could afford to do for Bill Russell in a 8 team league in the 1960's... Otherwise Hakeem Olajuwon is the #1 basketball player of all time and the Nigerian only played basketball 🏀🧺 from 17 years old forward ⏩.... And im a native Chicagoan and proud annoyingly Puerto Rican loud 🔊📢 Jordan Jocker from a people that make New Yorkers seem like people from Kansas .... And i say Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kareem, SHAQ, Duncan are all so very lucky the 88-92 Rockets squandered half of Hakeem's 84-97 prime.... Because with a healthy Sampson, or simply just a less war on drugs afflited 1986-87 roster even if Sampson has to still be traded for Sleepy Floyd and the Rockets 🚀 attain or replace Sampson with Otis Thorpe @ PF with Floyd, Lloyd, Reid, McCray, Wiggins then the Hakeem Rockets spend 88-92 winning or living in the conference finals and nba finals and Hakeem dents the legacies of Jordan, Magic, Isiah, etc... And the balance of rings goes from Jordan 6 Magic 5 Bird 3 Isiah 2 Hakeem 2 To more like Hakeem 5 Magic 3 Bird 3 Jordan 3 Isiah 1 And we have a whole different NBA historic timeline and Hakeem with 5 rings vs 2 is now incomparable to olayers like Duncan and SHAQ. Duncan was not Olajuwon defensively. David Robinson was closer to Olajuwon than Duncan was. Duncan is fortunate he played in the SHAQ Ben Wallace Jermaine O'Neal Arvydas Sabonis Rik Smits era And not the Kareem, Moses, Ewing, Robinson, SHAQ, Mourning, Mutombo era.... Back when Divac and Smits could hardly crack top 10 with Daugherty Mutombo and Mourning instead of battling in Conference Finals and NBA Finals with SHAQ in the early 00's as top 5 Centers.... Look at Robinson's steals + blocks per season. He is the only one that sniffs Olajuwon... They used to give DPOYs to olayers like Draymond Green because they only played defense not offense and were special teamers and everyone gets a trophy type guys. From 86 onwards Olajuwon deserved the DPOY award. He deserved closer to 5, 6, 7 or 8 DPOY awards. Hakeem was a magnet 🧲 to the ball defensively and could guard all 5 positions. Screw that hokey phrase. Hakeem could guard Jordan 94 feet and stifle him, and fold up SHAQ and Wilt in the post. Hakeem is that kind of unicorn 🦄... A #1 all time diamond 💎 in rough unicorn 🦄....

Hakeem Olajuwon's Basketball IQ

Great upload. I think Hakeem is around his physical peak here, 90-92.

If only we had a center like him now

LOL 4:55... "he is eating Scott Williams... alive..." we miss you dream!!

One thing I thougth about during MJ's retirement was that in the first 3 championships he won without playing in the post. Retired and watched Hakeem dominate in the post. Came back from retirement and that's when they started running the Triangle offense and having Jordan more in the post.

Too bad Rockets' front office was a mess and failed to assemble a supporting cast for Dream until 92.

Hakeem had the greatest skills of any center in NBA history

Glad I found this stuff

I always wondered what would the finals be of the two teams. Now I know

nobody tossed jordan shit into the 3rd row more than hakeem.

Man I miss these good old days of the NBA. I won’t touch today’s NBA with a ten foot pole.

Even though the Magic got sweep in 95' against Hakeem and the Rockets Shaq still did good against Hakeem for the most part 1 on 1. I live in Houston and my Fav player is Hakeem but I can still admit Shaq was just getting started. Don't down Shaq so much he held it together well with Hakeem but Hakeem was just more seasoned.

Reasons why Houston owned Chicago in head to head matchups: 1) Bulls had NOBODY that could come close to containing Hakeem 2) Hakeem blocked Jordan several times and scared Jordan from taking it at him in the paint 3) Vernon Maxwell frustrated the heck out of Jordan Why do you think Jordan said Hakeem is the best center of all time? hmmm gee I wonder!

spin move,fade away...simply the best

People tend to forget before he was Big Shot Bob, Robert Horry was a utility man. He could do a lil bit of everything for you. Rebound, Run the floor, play the lanes, shoot the 3. A taller Scottie Pippen.

Hakeen led Rockets to 3 NBA FInals playing against Kareen, Robinson, Ewing and Shaq. He was quickest, had better shooting at any place of the court and was all around player like anyother center in history. Which Center you can also say that about?

Between 91-93 the Rockets were 5-1 against the Bulls.

Insane upload man. Do you have this game on tape or did you download it from somewhere? I've been looking for this game for ages. This one and the one Bulls played @ Houston in 1992 when Hakeem blocked Jordan's three at the buzzer. Great upload.

Estos si eran partidos duelazo!

@FuShengAlex I'm from Baytown, actually.. Live in Austin, now.. I must be getting confused as to what injury Olajuwon suffered in the 92-93 campaign, cause I do remember, now, the orbital bone injury was the 90-91 season, with Olajuwon, of course, coming back wearing the goggles (lol).. Do you remember what the injury was, cause it was in Olajuwon's absence, in 92-93, that the team really gelled, with Larry Smith, and when Olajuwon came back, the team really took off..

The Rockets would have swept the bulls easily in 1994 and especially in 1995

Vernon Maxwell deserved at least 1 all star game appearance

I love it when the Finals MVP somehow held back their team.

Sounds about right, Alex. Then they took the the playoffs by storm. Easily one of the best stories of the Rockets journey through all those 55-or-more win teams of the entire decade.

Ugh? What point was that?

Air who?

@FuShengAlex But all in all I really do enjoy these debates we have!Man NFL football is great but aint nothin like NBA basketball!

My dad was right about Hakeem owning the bulls. Hakeem probably would of been the goat if he had a couple star player's around him. I've never seen a center move like that! It had to take the whole team to TRY and stop him! Jordan was my favorite but I've seen player's come close to matching his skills. The most underated player in NBA history! SMH #12

In all fairness, Dream out for a few games dealing with his anemia and Maxwell missed some time as well. Clyde was having to carry his new team offenively. Once they got everyone back, then they got hot going into the playoffs and rode the momentum to title number 2.

con't offensively he shot from everywhere, could read defences, and drive the ball at the Bulls big men. In 92 season he perfected his passing and he had shooters to make people pay 4 double teaming him. This was imo his finest career year although he didn't win the title (those refs robbed us in Sea!). 4th in scoring, led the NBA in blocks, 2nd in rebounding and was 7th in steals. Nobody else in modern NBA history ever finished top10 in 4 categories in a season.

hakeem the dream!!!

The Bulls were a half court team the Rockets usually played well against those teams that played at that pace because that's the style they played too. The Suns and Sonics played small which gave the Rockets more problems Seattle had better defense which was why they were a tougher matchup but Houston did matchup better with them before they traded Thorpe. Herrera and Maxwell also left the team not long afterwards which were also factors in why Houston looked so overmatched playing Seattle.

Are those the sounds of Jim Durham and Calvin Murphy?

Damn..They really didn't have an answer for Hakeem..This was like Jordan's kryptonite

@FuShengAlex No.. This was Rudy's first season, 92-93, that I'm talking about, and the Rockets went on a tear after Olajuwon went down.. I know he had a multitude of injuries, throughout his career..

And he still Dominated

Lol ))))) Lucky to Chicago Bulls, that they haven`t met Rockets at the Finals)))) They would have had big troubles and maybe Michael would have had less rings

Based on the highlights, I though the Bulls played great defense. You noticed they took away most of his dunks and close to the basked jump hooks. They made him make those tough fade away 11 for jumpers and 13 to 16 feet spot up shots. I thinks as an opposing player or coach, from a great player like him, I can live with that.

Wilt Chamberlain, March 18, 1968 vs Lakers 53 points 32 rebounds 24 blocks 13 assists 11 steals. How about that, QUINTUPLE DOUBLE

Hakeem is the greatest in my opinion at the center position

Some teams matchup well with others. I thought the rockets matchup well with the bulls man to man. I always wanted to see a final between them but it didn't manifest.

costcordero2 ...thanks for the correction. DRob I shouldn't have been surprised, they were =s before Hakeems first title. I didn't know that about Bird. It's good to watch footage of a game like this. The Jordan media wants to portray him as someone that bullied every superstar he ever faced on the court. Hakeem was just as much a problem for his Bulls team, if not moreso.

Agent, we had to make the trade, Dream couldn't do it all (he led the 93-94 playoff rox in all 5 categories, only time in history) again. Thing is that people don't recall, the Rockets were still mediocre after the trade, they went 15-14 in the regular season, the Bulls were on fire heading into the playoffs And Jockers like to cry about "chemistry" issues the Bulls faced, what about the Rockets that year? I really didn't see that 2nd title run coming, what a rollercoaster ride,lol.

Jordan WHO? Hakeem was is the TRUE GOAT! Bulls never stood a chance with Hakeem on the court

Best centre Dream shake win four tittles in one year mj never did that neither did another player in the nba . We all know mj fly but hakeem over dance him than anyone played the game he's number one we all know that he's the best dancer in game . This man should get the respect that he deserves !

If you ran for president, I would vote for you. Because that's how right you are

Funny how Pippen and the so-called "greatest ever" don't have the legendary highlight reel dunks on Hakeem like they did on all the other Centers of that era. When your team is anchored by the GOAT shotblocker, you aren't bothered by the prospect of MJs scoring prowess like the rest of the NBA is. :)

Para una final hubiera sido Genial!

Imagine dream and Jordan playing together.

Hakeem owned Shaq in the finals!! look who out played who! Hakeem DOMINATED Shaq and the Rockets swept the sorry Magic

Every team has their Achilles . Rockets proved 5/6 times during the Bulls reign that they would’ve beaten then the Bulls in probably 6 at worst. Vernon was supremely underrated and not remembered correctly. Played just like a poor mans Jordan, was a defensive freak, and explosive scorer and 3 point streak shooter. And Hakeem was even more dominant against them. Everyone knows it’s true, Jordan admitted he was only intimidated by one player, Hakeem

@hangtime23ful @hangtime23ful Irrelevant sir but Rockets were 6th seed and only won 47 games in the reg. season. What's ur point again? I said the Rockets owned The Bulls and that is true. Now if u have some facts on that , please lmk.

More Carnage FuSheng were art thou my brother?

You can't be serious. Do you think Ewing would have prefered that NCAA championship or the NBA title?

Robert Horry was the difference he shut Dow Pippen and Maxwell gave gits to Jordan. Good matchup for Rockets.

It's hysterical that so many idiots think Wilt was better than Hakeem. It's not even close. The Rockets really matched up well with Chicago; amazing they couldn't make it out of the West before 93-94.

2:56 commentator : Hakeem got so many moves that bulls can’t catch up with the double team.

If they are on opposite conferences, the most they'll ever play is 2 games per season, genius.

Agent....well once the Bulls got Rodman, I don't think there was anyway you could hurt them. There wasnt anywhere you could consistenty exploit the 96-98 Bulls. I do say if Shaq had stayed in Orl, they could've stopped 98 Bulls. I don't think Grant was enough vs (92-95) Hakeem in a playoff series. He didn't stop Dream from doing anything in the Finals. I remember 93, the Bulls struggled vs. every Center led team that year. MJ even had a 64 pt game and lost to Orlando because of Shaq.

Unsurprisingly Pippen and the so-called "greatest ever" don't have the highlight reel dunks on Hakeem that they do vs. all the other Centers of that era? I guess when your franchise is led the by the greatest shotblocker ever, you don't find the Bulls to be the problem everyone else found them to be.

got em coach

@shaqpopcorn34 i'm secure in my understanding of this sport. it would take to much of my time

I'd imagine how could be the finals that year if the Bulls would face not the trail Blazers but the Rockets. The outcome could be different?

the 95 finals was largely a 1 on 1 between hakeem and shaq and Hakeem schooled that donut boy

If only the Rockets had got by the Sonics in the WCSF in '93, would have been Rockets-Bulls Finals, because the Rockets would have beat the Suns in the WCF. They just didn't match up well against the Sonics, but certainly did against the Suns, who they ended up beating in both '94 and '95.

Hakeem was better than Jordan but referees helped Jordan much more

Don't know why people have to argue with you, your username says it all. =)

there's this thing called a free throw percentage. Maybe u should look up what it means. "lmaoooooo" that's how u say it right?

Hakeem.was small as hell Dammmm

Anybody who says houston wouldn't have beaten the bulls is kidding themselves

So let me just understand this, had your god Shaq won in 95 with the Magic, it still would not have counted since the Bulls didn't win?

Just tell kenny Smith whos the Goat of all time. But not only for one in a half year!

roo7227..thought you said you were from H-Town? That game took place in Hou during the 90-91 season which resulted in Dream getting stretchered off the floor. Not the 1st time Bill hurt Dream. This was the game MJ cried to the media after getting run off his home floor about not having his way with Hakeem. Only player before age/injuries kicked in that caused Dream problems was Jabbar, I'll say he was greater not MJ.. Hakeem caused "da Bulls" more problems than MJ caused the Rockets..

Pippen used to superstars? Aside from Jordan, name a single superstar he played with. He sure didn't step up in 99 either. Dream and Barkley were close to retiring. They were not going to be as effective as the championship year teams. You're so proud of your boy that I'm sure you approve of the way he got punked around that time by Barkley. And commited the heist of the century against the '02 Kings.

Even shaq admitted hakeem is one guy he couldnt crack and hakeem had different weapons to score he said the only defense was to put up his hands and hope he missed but shaq was bigger and stronger

@FuShengAlex Another excuse,..Damn are you Hakeem Olajuwan?

Hakeem was 37. You remember what 37 year old Shaq was like don't you?

Is this the famous "orbital bone" game?.. Didn't Cartwright KO Olajuwon with a vicious elbow, at the end, that broke his orbital bone (eye)?.. I believe the Rockets won, like, 18 out of their next 20 games, with Larry "Mr Mean" Smith playing for Olajuwon..

AgentCirrus....indeed my friend regular season is no indicator of anything. After this defeat MJ uttered: "We just have no answer for this guy" Contrary to the MJ media, (and I'm not being a homer when I say this) Hakeem was more of a matchup woe for the Bulls than Jordan was for the Rockets. Bill was on his last legs, and Grant wasn't strong enough to matchup with Dream. Dream did things vs. CHI that other C's didn't, he blocked aplenty on D and got steals in passing lanes. On offen..

Does anyone else notice Horry going off? Might sound crazy but I think Horry coulda been a star with a different team