“Hakeem Olajuwon schooled Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal at 37 years old”: How ‘The Dream’ had a vintage performance against the two Lakers legends

Hakeem Olajuwon blocked Kobe Bryant on one end of the floor and hot Shaquille O’Neal with his signature ‘Dream shake’ on the other end. 

Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon are two centers who, for the most part, dominated the 1990s. Well, it was hard to be dominant during this decade because of Michael Jordan putting the league on lock but when it comes to frontcourt players, there was no one better than ‘The Dream’ and ‘The Big Aristotle’. 

Hakeem Olajuwon, after making the 1986 NBA Finals in his sophomore season with the Houston Rockets, had a relatively unfruitful postseason career for the next 8 years. Things would turn around the second MJ left the league as the next two years saw the Rockets legend win an MVP, two Finals MVPs, and a DPOY as well. 

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Shaquille O’Neal on the other hand, was the man who Hakeem eliminated to win one of his two rings. It’s safe to say that their mid-90s rivalry ran deep. 

Hakeem Olajuwon pulls out vintage moves on Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. 

As Hakeem Olajuwon was on his way out of the league, Shaquille O’Neal was finally carving out his own legacy in it, with Kobe Bryant by his side. It was clear by 2000 that the Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley tandem on the Houston Rockets wasn’t going to pan out. 

Chuck even retired altogether this year but it didn’t stop the 2x FMVP from showing some flashes of his prime self in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000. During this bout, Hakeem, at 37 years of age, blocked a young Kobe Bryant’s shot and took Shaquille O’Neal in the post and hit him with his signature ‘Dream shake’ before draining his fadeaway.

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It’s safe to say that the Rockets legend still had some left in the tank before making his way to the Toronto Raptors a while later.