NBA Playoffs: The 30 most unforgettable individual playoff runs

NBA: The 30 most unforgettable individual playoff runs: 11. Hakeem Olajuwon (1994)

There was perhaps no bigger benefactor from Michael Jordan’s dalliance in baseball than Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. They were a contender waiting to blossom and Olujawon took advantage of the absence of his fellow 1984 draftee. He had made a run to the NBA Finals in 1986, his second season in the league. This time was going to be different.

Over the postseason, he averaged 28.9 points (best in the league), 11.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 4.0 blocks and 1.7 steals per game. He put 46 points on the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round on the way to a four-game series win. It took seven games to dispatch the Suns in the second round but Olajuwon was no less stunning, averaging 28.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game.

The Jazz had no answer for the Rockets in the Conference Finals, especially in Game 2 when he put up 41 points and 13 rebounds. The Finals featured a clash of the titanic big men as Olajuwon battled against Patrick Ewing in a seven-game series. Ewing was good (18.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.3 blocks) but not enough to overcome Olajuwon. This would be the first of back-to-back titles for the Rockets, but more on that later.