“Hakeem Olajuwon Wasn’t Human”: NBA Analyst Says the Rockets Star Was Not Far Behind Michael Jordan

ESPN’s sports analyst Jalen Rose felt Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon wasn’t far behind Michael Jordan among the best players in the NBA.

After Jordan came into the NBA in 1984, he quickly earned a reputation of being able to do the unimaginable. He had the nickname “Black Jesus” for doing great things on the court. While talking on the Get Up, Rose believed, while Jordan’s feats were truly unhuman, Olajuwon could also achieve similar things.

“We talk about Michael Jordan not being human, but for those that haven’t been paying attention to the NBA, Hakeem Olajuwon wasn’t human either,” he said. “He could play with his back to the basket. He had quick hands and quick feet.”

Michael Jordan had respect for Hakeem Olajuwon and

Both Jordan and Olajuwon were a part of the 1984 draft class. Both went on to be players around whom two great teams would be built. While Jordan initially won a three-peat and retired in 1993, Olajuwon led the Rockets to two consecutive titles in 1994 and 1995. Jordan then came back and, quite incredibly, won another three-peat.

The way Jordan and the Bulls dominated the NBA during that time, there weren’t very few, if there were any, teams that could beat them. But Rockets was one of the teams that Jordan respected according to their former coach Rudy Tomjanovich. And the reason, according to him, was Hakeem Olajuwon.

“Jordan gave our team great respect,” he told The Athletic last month. “He didn’t feel that they could contain Hakeem. They just didn’t have the personnel to do it. And he said he thought we were the team that gave them the most trouble.”

Jordan and Olajuwon might not have been involved in any high-intensity clash, but it would certainly have been a great sight to watch to great players get at each other.

“It was a great rivalry. It was too bad that we didn’t get [to the Finals] when they got there,” Tomjanovich said. “We would have to go and play. We could all talk about it and stuff, but we’ll never know. It would’ve been a great series.”