P · AlphaMalein30days.com

12d (edited) • Be cold & the killer instincts

Being great

Killing competition

They will talk about you later

put in the work

Chris Webber and Steve Kerr Both Tried to Explain What Made Hakeem Olajuwon Unguardable. Neither of Them Could Fully Do It.

Every center in NBA history had a tendency. A favorite shoulder. A go-to move. Something you could scout and prepare for.

Hakeem Olajuwon had none of that.

Chris Webber described the problem:

"He can hit you with the basic move. You have to be really good basically first to add everything else. Then, when he hits you with the left shoulder or the right turn… You know, you got an idea of what type of move a guy likes, like he goes 40 percent over this shoulder. Hakeem was nothing, but he may go left, he may go right."

Then the layer that made it worse:

"He would get you at the free throw line, give you that stutter step dribble and you wouldn't know what to do as a big guy. You look to the guards for help. And Hakeem wasn't that big… But every time he blocked shots, his elbow over the rim… His game to me, it was just so versatile."

Steve Kerr described what happened when the guards tried to help:

"I thought it was easier to help down on Patrick (Ewing) because he was a little bit more mechanical offensively, so you could help, and the team kinda figure out the rotations. With Hakeem, it was impossible. As soon as you come down, he's spinning the other way. Now, your rotations are a mess. That guy was unguardable on the low block."

Hakeem described his own game simply:

"When I face up my opponent, at that time I'm a small forward, I'm not a center anymore."

He was 7 feet tall attacking the basket like a wing player.

Nobody in the history of the sport has figured out what to do with that.

3 comments