Back in the mid-1990s, Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon had a short, but very exciting rivalry going. The two big men were among the best in the NBA, and both on contending teams. So, when they met in the 1995 NBA Finals, fans were anticipating an all-time great series. Unfortunately, the Rockets blew the Orlando Magic out of the water with a record of 4-0, to win the title. Given how competitive he is, one would think it’d be hard to put it past Shaq to be petty against Hakeem forever. However, during an appearance on ‘Open Court’ years after the series, Shaq not only gave the Rockets legend his props but also bestowed him with an incredible honor.
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O’Neal grew to admire Olajuwon a long time ago. During an ‘Inside the NBA’ segment, he even stated that Hakeem was a better player than Michael Jordan. However, the big man managed to recover before he got into too much trouble with the NBA community, saying that the former Houston center was better in the post than Jordan. He further stated that guards and centers shouldn’t be compared to one another.
Shaquille O’Neal gives Hakeem Olajuwon his props for being the only player he couldn’t intimidate
On the show ‘NBA Open Court’, Shaquille O’Neal was asked to comment on some of the greatest players from the 1990s. Immediately, the Lakers legend’s mind went to a certain old rival of his. Here is what he said on the matter, as seen in the Instagram post by ‘_clutchtime’.
“At the five spot, Imma go with Hakeem Olajuwon. For me, I was coming in, I was emerging/already emerged. He was the only guy I couldn’t figure out. And he was the only guy I couldn’t intimidate.”
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Shaq pointed out that Olajuwon had an elite offensive arsenal, unlike other centers in the league. Therefore, the Diesel found him a difficult puzzle to solve.
Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal faced off against each other on 28 separate occasions, with Shaq winning with a tally of 17-11. However, the Rockets star does beat him in the postseason wins, with a record of 5-3 between the two of them. During their matchups, the former Lakers big man averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Hakeem averaged 19.7 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Going by the numbers, O’Neal got the better of Olajuwon in the end. However, the fact that someone as competitive as ‘the Big Diesel’ is still giving him such high praise, is a testament to how great the Houston big man was during his career.
Shaq admitted to being humiliated by ‘sorry guys’
Despite Shaq’s greatness, he wasn’t perfect. While only three guys ever dunked on him during his 19-year NBA career, there were many who humiliated him in other ways. Many of the names who did so are fellow NBA greats. However, there were some ‘sorry guys’ who edged out Shaq during NBA games. Here is what he said on the matter.
“A lot of people bust my a** but I take pride in playing 19 years, and only being dunked on three times. First person to dunk on me was Derrick Coleman… (Patrick) Ewing bust my a**, (David) Robinson) busted my a**, Hakeem (Olajuwon) busted my a**. Like all the big guys bust my a**. And then, a couple of sorry guys bust my a**. Like I couldn’t stop Big Country (Bryant Reeves) for some reason. I don’t know what it was. He used to eat my a** up every game. Him and Michael Doleac.”
‘The Big Aristotle’ deserves all the credit in the world for being as candid as he was in his response. After all, it is very likely that the incidents eat at him to this day.
