“There’s a Lot of Girls in LA”: When Rocket Legends Hakeem Olajuwon Teased a Move to Lakers

Magic Johnson was the biggest name on the Lakers after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989. Just three years later, Johnson left the world shocked as he came out as HIV positive and was retiring from the game. The lack of a superstar hurt the Lakers and sent them on a championship drought. So when Hakeem Olajuwon demanded a trade in 1992, the Lakers were among one of the teams who were hoping to get him on board.

The Lakers had been already flirting with the idea of snagging Hakeem from the Rockets. A 1990 pregame interview of Olajuwon with legendary Lakers’ announcer Chick Hearn shows how hard Hearn tried to get Hakeem to the City of Angels.

Hakeem replied “Oh it’s true, there is a possibility,” when Hearn asked if there was a possibility of him moving away. The ever-playful Hearn then was trying to get Los Angeles into Hakeem’s head. “There’s a lot of girls in LA when they saw this in the paper they called me and said hey bring him out there.” The soft-spoken 7-footer just blushed and laughed it off saying “I don’t know what to say about that.”

How would the Lakers have been with Hakeem Olajuwon?

The Lakers were not good without Magic and Kareem. They were the 8seed in the two seasons without Magic and could not go past the first round of the playoffs. Their starting center was Vlade Divac, a Serbian who was drafted 26 overall in the 1989 draft. They needed a star to propel them and carry them in the big games.

When Hakeem demanded a trade in 1992, the Lakers were of the many teams that desperately needed him. But unlike their competition, they didn’t have the best trade package. They would have had to part with Divac and another experienced vet like James Worthy or A.C Green to get a shot at landing The Dream.

Had the Lakers got Olajuwon, who despite entering his 30s was just finding his prime form, they could’ve been a powerhouse. They possibly could have won a title before 2000, which was a 12-year wait since their last one. A lineup of youngsters Nick van Exel, Doug Christie, Anthony Peeler, Elden Campbell, and Hakeem would have been solid. They would have challenged for the title without a doubt.

But things don’t always happen the way we want it to. Hakeem went on to stay and won the Houston Rockets their first-ever NBA championship in the following season. Along with that he became the first-ever player to win MVP, DPOY, and Finals MVP in the same season. As for the Lakers, Divac was how the LakeShow got Kobe Bryant. After trading Divac to the Hornets for a 13 pick, they drafted Kobe, and the rest was history.