“Michael Jordan really tried to put Hakeem Olajuwon on a poster!”: How the Rockets legend blocked the ‘GOAT’ on a monster dunk attempt

Michael Jordan tried to dunk all over Hakeem Olajuwon in 1996 but the latter simply wasn’t having it as he blocked his shot at the rim. 

It goes without question that Michael Jordan was one of, if not, the greatest offensive talents the league has ever seen. The Chicago Bulls legend averaged 28+ points in his rookie season and there was no turning back from that point on. Except for a reliable 3-point shot (which he claims to have never worked on, on purpose), Jordan had perhaps the deepest bag in NBA history. 

Hakeem Olajuwon on the other hand, for as talented as he was on the offensive end of the floor, he was just as talented on the defensive end. He has won everything from Finals MVPs to regular season MVPs to DPOYs, all while living up to the accolades that were bestowed upon him.

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The ‘93 to ‘95 Rockets continue to be one of the greatest blueprints for the way the game is played in the modern NBA: shooters and slashers surrounding a defensively potent/ post-polished center i.e., Hakeem. 

Michael Jordan tries to put Hakeem Olajuwon on a poster. 

The aforementioned ‘bag’ of Jordan’s consisted heavily of acrobatic finishes at the rim. The first 9 years of his career were riddled with monster dunks over nearly the entire league and it seems as though the Bulls legend tried to carry that forward in the season following his return from baseball.

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In 1996 in a game against the Houston Rockets, Michael Jordan curled across a screen within the arc and leaped into the air to put Hakeem Olajuwon on a poster. It’s not that Jordan wasn’t athletic enough to dunk on him. The 2x champ simply outplayed him, anticipating a dunk and moving into position to get just enough of his hand on the ball to swat it away.

Now, given how ballsy Michael Jordan is, fans knew he would try his hand at putting ‘The Dream’ on a poster again. What they couldn’t anticipate was that he would try to in the very same game. 

Stay tuned to see just how incredible ‘His Airness’ was in living up to that name while trying to redeem himself against his fellow 1984 Draftee.