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Ranking the 50 greatest NBA players of all time

By Gerald Bourguet

The Last Dance, Michael Jordan, LeBron James (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
The Last Dance, Michael Jordan, LeBron James (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images /

11. Hakeem Olajuwon

  • Resume: 18 seasons, 2 NBA championships, 2 NBA Finals MVP Awards, 1 regular season MVP Award, 12-time All-NBA selection, 12-time NBA All-Star, 9-time NBA All-Defensive Team, 2 Defensive Player of the Year Awards, 2-time NBA leader in rebounds, 3-time NBA leader in blocks, Houston Rockets’ all-time leading scorer, NBA’s all-time blocks leader, Hall-of-Famer
  • Stats: 21.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 3.1 BPG, 2.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, .512/—/.712 shooting splits, 23.6 career PER, 162.8 win shares

With the No. 1 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets chose Akeem Olajuwon, two picks ahead of the guy who would become the greatest basketball player of all time. And you know what? The Rockets still probably did the right thing taking Olajuwon.

People remember Hakeem as one of the greatest centers to ever play the game, but the truth is his skills would’ve made him dominant even if he hadn’t been 7’0″. Hakeem grew up in Nigeria and played soccer, which taught him the footwork and agility that would make him a basketball natural when he started playing the sport…at age 15.

That’s right folks, one of the top 15 players of all time didn’t start playing basketball until he was pubescent! To top it all off, Hakeem was mentored by none other than Moses Malone during his college years in Houston. Make no mistake, if you were building a team to win titles, you’d be foolish to not consider Hakeem Olajuwon for the starting center spot.

He never found historic levels of success like Russell, Wilt or Kareem did, but the only player with better post moves and footwork in the history of the association was Kevin McHale. The “Dream Shake” remains one of the most unguardable moves in basketball, right up there with Kareem’s sky hook, Steph Curry’s step-back and any time Michael Jordan caught the ball. Not only was Hakeem unstoppable in the paint, but when it came to defending the basket, he treated the basketball like Gandalf the Grey treated the Balrog.

Just take a look at his career statistics if you don’t understand why a guy whose two titles came during Jordan’s baseball sabbatical is ranked so high. The Dream damn near put up 21 and 12 in his rookie season and never dipped below 21 and 10 for the next 11 years. To be an all-time great, you have to be unique, you have to win titles and you have to have longevity. Hakeem had all of those. Consider it an added bonus he just so happened to eviscerate Shaq, David Robinson AND Patrick Ewing on his path to consecutive championships.