Houston Rockets: Argument for Hakeem Olajuwon as best center all-time

He did it mostly by himself

It’s interesting to think about how Hakeem Olajuwon’s career would have turned out had he had a Kobe Bryant, a Scottie Pippen or a Magic Johnson by his side. At the beginning of Olajuwon’s career it seemed like he had a tag team partner in Ralph Sampson that could really go places.

In 1986, the Rockets defeated the Kareem Abdul-Jabar/Magic Johnson-led previous year’s NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in five games. They went on to play perennial Eastern conference NBA Finals foes the Boston Celtics and took it to six games, entering their name into a team to be reckoned with for years to come.

Instead Ralph Sampson was traded away mid-way through the following season and Hakeem Olajuwon was left to fend for himself on some pretty terrible teams. Even in the championship years, while we all have fond memories of Vernon “Mad Max” Maxwell and Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Hakeem was clearly more short handed as the only all-star on this championship team.

By comparison, their NBA finals opponents later on that year had three all-stars in Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and John Starks. Yet Hakeem was just that good he was able to win with less. His unique skill set is what set him apart from the rest of the centers of his day.

Which brings us to the final point…