Hakeem Olajuwon dominated the 1990s at the center position, he won two championships with the Houston Rockets. Shaquille O’Neal was the next big man to take the mantle from him when he won a three-peat with the Lakers, and a young O’Neal had his share of tussles with Olajuwon.
Hakeem Olajuwon famously beat Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals. And following the series, the two legendary big men almost played a 1-on-1 match for $1 million. The event never took place, but a promo shot for it is still around.
Shaquille O’Neal has been a proud man his whole life, so he likely wanted to get his brand of revenge for how Hakeem Olajuwon dominated him in that series. Hakeem Olajuwon played a perfect series for a center, averaging 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a sweep for the Magic.
As shared by The Sports Rush, O’Neal even wrote Olajuwon a letter with his challenge/ It read, “Hakeem- The series may be a done deal, but it ain’t over between you and me. Sure, you’re pretty good with your team behind you, but I want you one-on-one.”
This would have been an incredible event if it had taken place, but it never did due to injury issues with Olajuwon. There was also speculation that David Stern had shut the idea down, which would also make sense. Ideally, it would have been amazing for fans to see and could have resulted in a lot of narrative changes.
Shaquille O’Neal Has Since Admitted Hakeem Olajuwon Was Better Than Him In The 90s
Hakeem Olajuwon was at his peak when Shaquille O’Neal was still a youngster trying to figure the league out. O’Neal may have won more once he got into his prime in the early 2000s, but even he admitted that Olajuwon was better than him during the 1990s.
“At the 5 spot, Imma go Hakeem Olajuwon. I know I was coming in and emerging/already emerged. He’s the only guy I couldn’t figure out. He’s the only guy I couldn’t intimidate.”
Fans love debating about hypothetical 1-on-1 matchups between the greatest players of all time, but this was close to happening. It would have impacted how both players are talked about today if it had gone through, and all things considered, maybe it is for the best that it never did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iKU6SObZQQ
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