On the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal was asked to name the most underrated and overrated player he played against in his 19-year NBA career. O’Neal declined to give his pick for overrated, but went with one of the all-time greats for underrated.
“Underrated is Hakeem Olajuwon,” O’Neal said. “He don’t get the credit he should. You always talk about these great big men, and I love that my name is brought up… You gotta put him in there, he was an animal.
“He was the only guy that I really couldn’t check,” O’Neal added. “I really couldn’t understand him. So, he was underrated because he didn’t get a lot of props.”
Hakeem Olajuwon is recognized as an incredible player even today, but he tends to be left out when you talk about the very best big men of all time. The names that get brought up are O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Shaq wants Olajuwon to be mentioned in that group, too.
Olajuwon averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game in his 18-year career after the Houston Rockets selected him with the first pick of the 1984 NBA Draft. He won two titles, two Finals MVPs, an MVP, two DPOYs, two rebounding titles, and three blocks titles.
To go along with all that, Olajuwon made 12 All-Star teams, 12 All-NBA teams, and nine All-Defensive teams. He is the NBA’s all-time leader for blocks (3,830) and ranks 10th in steals (2,162). He is the only player in the top 10 in both categories.
Olajuwon’s 1993-94 campaign is one of the greatest in NBA history. He became the first player ever to win MVP, Finals MVP, and DPOY in the same season. Only two others have managed to win all three awards in their career: Michael Jordan and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While Olajuwon’s 1993-94 season was the greatest of his career, you’d argue he was at his absolute best in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. The Rockets were looking to win back-to-back titles heading into that postseason but weren’t given much of a chance to pull that off, as they were the sixth seed.
Olajuwon proved the doubters wrong in some style, though. He averaged 33.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.8 blocks per game in that postseason, dominating against one all-time great after another.
The Rockets dispatched Karl Malone’s Utah Jazz in the first round and then Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns in the Conference Semifinals. That set up a clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who had that year’s MVP David Robinson among their ranks.
Olajuwon thoroughly outplayed Robinson in that series by averaging 35.3 points to help the Rockets win in six games. The only thing standing between him and another title was the Orlando Magic, led by one Shaquille O’Neal.
The Magic were the favorites heading into that series, but Olajuwon’s play led to the Rockets sweeping them. He averaged 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game to win another title and Finals MVP. It was a magical playoff run and solidified Olajuwon’s status as one of the all-time greats.
It also speaks to Olajuwon’s greatness that O’Neal has spoken glowingly of him over the years. The big man isn’t someone known to shower praise on anybody, but O’Neal went as far as to say Olajuwon was a better center than him in the 1990s. He admits he just could not figure out the Rockets icon, but to be fair to him, no one else could either.
