I would like to call your attention to something you already knew about Hakeem.

[Biddy77]

i know there were some timely (clutch) contributions from a couple guys on that first championship team, but i can't think of another championship team since i've been watching the NBA (1988) where taking the superstar off the roster left so bleak a picture.

without hakeem, i am completely confident that that team would have been *garbage*.

here's a link, and i want guys to take a look at something... their number 2 option on offense *wasn't* otis thorpe. he just managed to average the 2nd most points, thanks to being pretty efficient. no, unfortuneately for that Rockets squad, the guy they actually designated as their number 2 scoring option was Vernon Maxwell. other than hakeem, he took 4 more shots than anyone else on the team, and from his 13.0 shots per game, he managed to average just 13.6 points. that's 1.04 points per shot.

Vernon, my friends... was a chucker.

seeing that guy in action was frustrating, because any time i ever saw hakeem, i couldn't help but respect the work he put in, and the class with which he carried himself. he was an unbelieveably humble and dignified human being, and... he had to drag Vernon Maxwell to a ring.

luckily, that team had very strong supporting contributions from Mario Elie, Robert Horry, and Sam Cassell--but the younger guys here need to understand that Big Shot Rob *wasn't* Big Shot Rob before this season, and Sam Cassell and his swagger were fresh out of FSU and hadn't yet made a rep for himself. before the playoffs that year, those guys were just guys who were considered role players.


seeing Clyde and Hakeem reunited the following year was bittersweet for me. on the one hand, i'm a blazer fan. i was really bummed about seeing Clyde leave us, but i was thrilled to see Hakeem and Clyde both so happy, and having a close friend who was also a star player for the other to count on.

[Kblaze8855]

I always thought D-Rob was the better player. Hakeem's just better when they meet head to head but against other teams, D-Rob was better.

Drob was a more consistient shooter from 15-18 feet but didnt have Hakeems post moves(not hat he needed a lot of variety to score around the basket). He was a similar faceup player. He wasnt better at anything that id want a center to be better at though. And he didnt step up as much.

[Odomize]

Drob was a more consistient shooter from 15-18 feet but didnt have Hakeems post moves(not hat he needed a lot of variety to score around the basket). He was a similar faceup player. He wasnt better at anything that id want a center to be better at though. And he didnt step up as much.

to each his own

[HisJoeness]

It gets what little point I do have across. That point being...Hakeem is a bad mother****er. Maybe we should let some of these modern guys catch Hakeem before we even start talking about catching Jordan. None of them are even that close to Dream in his prime. I think you should prove greater than the apostles before you are in the running for next Jesus....

Great job what a great quote to end that piece. You pretty much summed why Hakeem is my favorite center of all-time and even though his numbers may not be as gaudy as Kareem's, Shaq's or Wilt's. I'd take him over any of those guys.

[eliteballer]

It gets what little point I do have across. that point being...Hakeem is a bad mother****er. Maybe we should let some of these modern guys catch Hakeem before we even start talking about catching Jordan

.

Prime Dream is on Jordan's level...he outplayed other superstars in the playoffs just as badly as Jordan did.

[lilojmayo]

.

Prime Dream is on Jordan's level...

kobe fans

[eliteballer]

You weren't even concieved when Hakeem was in his prime, STFU

[Stacey King]

You weren't even concieved when Hakeem was in his prime, STFU

Although, I'll have to disagree. While Hakeem is an all-time great, I think he's a notch below Jordan...... but there's no shame in that. Top 10-12 all time IMO.

[Kblaze8855]

I dont know about that. Jordan outplayed say...Drexler(the only player at or near his position ever considered a real rival...though it was brief)...by more than Hakeem outplayed Drob or Shaq. But its not that irrational to say that Hakeem at his peak was as good as Jordan from 96-98. 94 Hakeem is as good as Jordan was in his 30s. But 88-93 Jordan is probably the greatest to ever play and if not....just as good as anyone ever. Hakeem is as good as the slightly declined Jordan of the second run.

[eliteballer]

Hakeem at his peak has the DEFENSIVE impact Jordan doesn't, just by virtue of being a paint patrolling C. Im also talking about stars in general. I.E. Jordan vs Drexler, Barkley in 93, Kemp, Ewing etc. Doesn't have to be the same position.

[Stacey King]

Hakeem at his peak has the DEFENSIVE impact Jordan doesn't, just by virtue of being a paint patrolling C.

True, but Jordan also had much greater OFFENSIVE impact than Hakeem

[Kblaze8855]

That he does. But Jordan was just too close to unstoppable on offense and added to that...was maybe the best defender ever at his potision. He makes up for the positional difference more than most could. His total dominance is a notch above Hakeems id say but im not offended by the idea that someone might think otherwise. And I say that being nearly sure you dont.

[starks]

you see Hakeem was in retrospect either given a 10th assist in the game vs the warriors on march 3rd or denied the 10th he was given to begin with. The NBA doesnt consider it an "official" quadruple double since it took a review and is questionable. But they in fact list it in his game logs. go check. Any site featuring game logs from 1990 includes Hakeem getting 2 quadruple doubles in March.

But the thing is I cant find proof of if he was given 10 and the 10th was taken on later revierw or given 9 and the 10th was added on review. Ive read stories suggesting both. Not having seen the official record on paper for the night....I just call it a quadruple double because the records show it as one. But its not often acknowledged. But lets say he didnt...

.

He had 9 assists in the statsheet that was given out after the game. Then Houston officials reviewed the tape and claimed there was an assist which was not credited so they changed it. But the league reviewed it and took it away.

Olajuwon's quadruple-double voided after NBA reviews tape
6 March 1990
The Dallas Morning News
(Copyright 1990)

Houston center Akeem Olajuwon said he considered his quadruple-double in Saturday's victory over Golden State "a big accomplishment.'

It turned out not to be as big as Olajuwon and the Rockets' staff thought.

The NBA office stripped Olajuwon of his quadruple-double after reviewing the film of Houston's 129-120 victory over the Warriors. The discrepancy involved an assist in the first quarter.

The box score distributed after the game gave Olajuwon credit for nine assists. But the Houston statistical crew reviewed the tape after the game and came up with another assist giving Olajuwon 10.

The league office looked at that play Monday -- a kickout pass to Buck Johnson in the first quarter -- and took away the assist.

"A box score should not be changed after the fact for the purpose of achieving a statistical milestone,' said Rod Thorn, the league's vice president of operations. "If an appreciable statistical change needs to be made after the box score is distributed, the league office is responsible for making a change if deemed necessary.'

Olajuwon's final line: 29 points, 18 rebounds, 11 blocked shots and nine assists.

"I'm just a little disappointed,' Olajuwon said. "I was disappointed because I thought it was a big accomplishment. I had it for a day, then they took it off. That gives me something to shoot for.'

There have only been two recorded quadruple-doubles in NBA history

Nate Thurmond of Chicago was the first to accomplish a quadruple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots on Oct. 18, 1974. Alvin Robertson, then of San Antonio, had 20 points, 10 assists, 11 rebounds and 10 steals on Feb. 18, 1986 against Phoenix.

Late in the fourth quarter of the runaway victory, Olajuwon had only nine blocks and was sitting on the Rockets bench.

"Coach (Don) Chaney asked me if I wanted to go back into the game to get that block,' he said.

The 7-footer rejected two shots in the final 4:02. He also had five steals.

Olajuwon, who has been criticized for not passing the ball enough, never before had more than seven assists in an NBA game.

"Now that I know how it feels to get that many assists, I might dish it out more often,' Olajuwon joked.

SPORTS
Akeem's quad-double disallowed by league
EDDIE SEFKO
6 March 1990
Houston Chronicle

SAN ANTONIO - As far as the NBA is concerned, Akeem Olajuwon's remarkable quadruple-double was indeed a great individual performance.

What it wasn't, however, was a quadrupledouble.

After dissecting film from Saturday's game between the Rockets and Golden State, league officials disallowed the rare quad-double with which Olajuwon had been credited.

Rod Thorn, the NBA's vice president for operations, said Monday the league could not locate a 10th assist for Olajuwon, who had 29 points, 18 rebounds and 11 blocked shots against the Warriors.

The Rockets originally credited Olajuwon with nine assists. But Coach Don Chaney and media-relations director Jay Goldberg viewed the game film immediately after the buzzer and thought they had found an assist that was not credited to Olajuwon.

A revised statistical summary was issued, awarding Olajuwon the quad-double.

The league not only nullified the quad-double, which would have been only the third in NBA history, but they sent a message to the Rockets and other teams that amended statistics from games will not be allowed.

``A box score should not be changed after the fact for the purpose of achieving a statistical milestone,'' Thorn said. ``If an appreciable statistical change needs to be made after the box score is distributed, the league office is responsible for making the change if it is deemed necessary.' Thorn added the action was ``not intended to diminish in any way what was obviously a tremendous performance by one of the NBA's great players.' Olajuwon, who said after the game he thought he had achieved ``a big accomplishment'' said he didn't think the league's reversal was a slap at him or the Rockets. He said he thought his feat was legitimate.

``There were 10 assists,'' he said. ``They just said you can't change the number after the game.

``It bothers me a little, but what can you do?' In this case, nothing. Especially because the NBA went to great lengths to overrule on the accomplishment.

After reviewing the game film, the league called Goldberg and had a teleconference to clarify the ruling.

``As far as we're concerned, he did it,'' Rockets General Manager Steve Patterson said.

Said Goldberg: ``I agree with Steve. I stand by it being 10 assists.' But Olajuwon will not join Nate Thurmond and Alvin Robertson in the NBA archives as the only people to get a quad-double.

[eliteballer]

No. I do. At his peak he was just as dominant as guys like Bird and Magic as well as Jordan to me. He had everything offensively except for the 3 point shot. Could pass the ball. Defensively his impact>>all of them. Destroying legends left and right. He was just a beast.

[jinsanity]

Hakeem is great! Man I miss that dream shake. What a sick move =).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc02Z4-0wDM



On a slight OT, Kevin Johnson...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifx_gRF-ouU

I read about this dunk recently. KJ had managed to get by Kenny Smith constantly and then pass it off to Barkley/another teammate , only to get blocked by Hakeem. They did that a few times and Hakeem blocked all of them. So KJ decided he had enough and decided to score himself =).