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“Top Ten in Five Categories” – Even Michael Jordan Accepted the Greatness of This Legendary NBA Player

Published 09/10/2021, 2:16 PM EDT

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NBA2K games are one of the most awaited games for all basketball lovers. Significantly, during the release of NBA2k 14, Michael Jordan sat down for an interview to reflect on different topics, including the top five starters he would play with. Unsurprisingly, he selected Scottie Pippen and Magic Johnson.

James Worthy made the list as well. The last name on that list was Hakeem Olajuwon. Jordan, being an outstanding basketball player, was in awe when speaking about Olajuwon. He put forward some noteworthy points regarding the center.

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Michael Jordan loved The Dream!

The Bulls legend sat down to throw some limelight on Olajuwon’s skill set and the performances he displayed on the court.

“Olajuwon using the top ten in five categories. Steals, rebounds, blocked shots, scoring, and shooting percentage. You know, to have a big guy of his size to be in the top ten in steals. Now you can assume that he would be in blocks which to me shows versatility whatever guy he really was,” said Jordan.

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After MJ left to play baseball for a short time, Hakeem dominated the league and won two NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. During his era, he dominated big centers like David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, and other strong big men in the league. The question will be, how was he better than the rest of them?

Why was he so special?

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Hakeem Olajuwon could do it all

The ability of Hakeem is incredible. Being one of the best centers in the league during his era, the pure dominance he showcased is incredible. Like Jordan mentioned, he could do it all. A center who could steal the ball is quite rare. Hakeem did it with ease. The famous Dream Shake was his trademark move inside the paint.

During the 1989-90 season, the big center fetched video game-like numbers with his averages. He scored 24.3 points, 2.9 assists, and grabbed 14 rebounds a game. Moreover, the center averaged 2.1 steals and 4.6 blocks per game to contribute to the defensive side of the game. All this was done by playing 82 games and shooting an effective field goal percentage of 50.1%. Those are just monstrous numbers.

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Jordan is right. The Houston Rockets legend could do everything on the basketball court. But the question remains. Would he have won the title if Jordan played in the league during those two seasons?

WATCH THIS STORY- The Most Expensive Michael Jordan Memorabilia Ever Sold

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Written by:

Jacob Gijy

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Jacob Gijy is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Gijy finished his Masters in Counselling Psychology and worked in a hospital for 2 years before his passion for sports compelled him to find his way to sports journalism. A fan of the great Tim Duncan, he is always ready to pick up a debate with anyone who does not offer the centre the respect he deserves.
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