Isn't it weird how Hakeem suddenly revealed himself and rose to top when MJ retired

[AussieSteve]

2 things happened that allowed hakeem to take the rockets to the finals...

1. Barkley was injured in 94
2. Clyde moved to the rockets in 95

Otherwise hakeem was no better in 94 than he was in 93

94 was the start of the decline of the NBA, which peaked in 97-99, before it's resurgence in the early 00s

[mehyaM24]

this thread proves my point. again, how did mj prevent houston from making the finals? in 95, jordan came back and lost to the magic - who houston swept.

[3ball]

this thread proves my point. again, how did mj prevent the rockets from making the finals? in 95, jordan came back and lost the the magic - who houston swept.

Rockets weren't for real in 94' because they were almost beaten by Ewing's 18 on 35%, who was almost beaten by pippen's 21 on 40%.

So Jordan's 30 ppg beats everyone that year in pippen's place with the deepest and most prime cast he's ever had..

And obviously, MJ/Pippen together would dominate in 94' and be overwhelming favorites heading into 95'.. so it would be completely different.

[AussieSteve]

If the suns were healthy they win at least one out of 94 and 95

[3ball]

If the suns were healthy they win at least one out of 94 and 95

They probably would've won in 93' if KJ and Ceballos was healthy because I don't think Jordan could've averaged the 50 required to win in that scenario.

his 41 basically drew a stalemate because both the Bulls/Suns averaged exactly 106.7 ppg and 113.0.ortg for the series.. the Suns ' 3rd and 4th options (Majerle/Dumas) destroyed Grant, while Pippen shot 45% true shooting and stunk it up with hobbled KJ..

In the 93' Playoffs, Pippen had a 2.0 BPM with lower PER, WS/48 and pace-adjusted scoring than 14' Wade - he was carried in the 1st Round against Dominique/Willis and again in the Finals.. So the Bulls were tired from the 3-peat and the suns should've won

[Real Men Wear Green]

Jaylen Brown is MJ with 3 point range.

[SouBeachTalents]

Jaylen Brown is MJ with 3 point range.

Even he's done better than 1-9 in the first round

[chocolatethunder]

No warning - before 1994, no one was saying "hakeem is #2 behind MJ".. it naturally revealed itself after the top dog was gone.

But how did that transition/realization take place?

It's almost like his teammates and others in the league started looking around as the season wore on, and it eventually dawned on everyone - "with no Michael around, that tall Nigerian man looks like the best player".. once this realization happened, Hakeem started to assume the role - he started playing at a level we'd never seen before - a confidence - that we'd never seen... It's almost like a lion that realizes he's now king.

It raises an interesting question - would lebron similarly "disappear" into the background like Hakeem if MJ was still around?.. in reality, people rarely debate who is #2, so it shouldn't be a surprise that no one really saw it coming with Hakeem

Stephen A. talks about this "king of the hill" effect:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dtsA3L3p49w

Idk how old you are or if you were around when this happened or not. I was in my 20s. Not sure what SAS is talking about but Hakeems rise to the top happened when Rudy T became the coach and decided to run the offense through Hakeem. This was not happening before Rudy got there. Actually the first year Rudy was there was a nightmare and Hakeem was pissed etc. The regrouped and Rudy had the idea of running everything through Hakeem and that’s when Hakeem became championship Hakeem. This SAS stuff is total garbage

[Gohan]

Jaylen Brown is MJ with 3 point range.

[SATAN]

Idk how old you are or if you were around when this happened or not. I was in my 20s. Not sure what SAS is talking about but Hakeems rise to the top happened when Rudy T became the coach and decided to run the offense through Hakeem. This was not happening before Rudy got there. Actually the first year Rudy was there was a nightmare and Hakeem was pissed etc. The regrouped and Rudy had the idea of running everything through Hakeem and that’s when Hakeem became championship Hakeem. This SAS stuff is total garbage

100%.

CasualBall destroyed by facts and logic again.

[sdot_thadon]

Idk how old you are or if you were around when this happened or not. I was in my 20s. Not sure what SAS is talking about but Hakeems rise to the top happened when Rudy T became the coach and decided to run the offense through Hakeem. This was not happening before Rudy got there. Actually the first year Rudy was there was a nightmare and Hakeem was pissed etc. The regrouped and Rudy had the idea of running everything through Hakeem and that’s when Hakeem became championship Hakeem. This SAS stuff is total garbage

Exactly this, there was actually turmoil in the organization the few years prior with Hakeem. He wanted to be traded, but people were who weren't there have no clue that his title seasons weren't even his best....

[FKAri]

Isn't it weird how MJ suddenly retired when Hakeem revealed himself?

[Hey Yo]

Exactly this, there was actually turmoil in the organization the few years prior with Hakeem. He wanted to be traded, but people were who weren't there have no clue that his title seasons weren't even his best....

A combination of him wanting to renegotiate his contract (which was rejected), to being suspended by the team for allegedly faking an injury (due to no contract extension) and 4 straight first round exits is enough for a superstar to ask for a trade.

[light]

It wasn't sudden.

Olajuwan had already been in the Finals in 1985-86 where he averaged 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals.

Olajuwan was already an All-NBA player by that time (1 of only 10 players), the only Houston Rocket on an All-NBA or All-Defensive team, and he finished 4th in MVP voting between Magic and Kareem.

Elite.

But it was harder to win in 1986 having to go through both the Magic/Kareem/Worthy Lakers AND the Bird/McHale/Parish Celtics - two absolute powerhouses of talent.

Consider what Olajuwon was up against in 1986:

1986 Rockets Honors and Awards:

Olajuwon - 2nd All-NBA

1986 Lakers Honors and Awards:

Magic - 1st All-NBA
Kareem - 1st All-NBA
Cooper - 2nd All-Defensive

1986 Celtics Honors and Awards:

Bird - 1st All-NBA, MVP
McHale - 1st All-Defensive
Johnson - 2nd All-Defensive
Walton - Sixth Man of the Year

It was incredible that Olajuwon obliterated the Lakers and carried the Rockets to the Finals in 1986 and not surprising that he lost to the loaded Celtics, but he was firmly on the map by the late 80's.

So Olajuwon winning was considered only a matter of time and he didn’t come out of nowhere in 1994 - the issue was that he was not getting the kind of help that other stars (like MJ) were getting, for example:

1993 Bulls Awards and Honors:

Jordan - 1st All-NBA, 1st All-Defensive
Pippen - 3rd All-NBA, 1st All-Defensive
Grant - 2nd All-Defensive

1993 Rockets Awards and Honors:

Olajuwan - 1st All-NBA, 1st All-Defensive, DPOY

[eliteballer]

Michael Jordan: I would pick Hakeem Olajuwon before anyone in NBA History

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvN...ture=emb_title

4 minutes 53 seconds.