Michael Jordan’s Son Chose Hakeem Olajuwon Over LeBron James as the Second-Best NBA Player of All-Time Behind His Dad
While the NBA GOAT debate has gone on for years, itās undoubtedly ramped up since Michael Jordan allowed The Last Dance documentary to happen, wouldnāt you say? And make no mistake about it. He held that thing up for close to two decades before letting that footage see the light of day. But I digress.
Now, the NBA GOAT conversation typically revolves around Michael Jordan and LeBron James. I, for one, have long believed that this is a pointless exercise as the two are entirely different types of players who played in entirely different eras.
Truthfully, Iām also of the opinion that the NBA GOAT conversation as a whole is a pointless one. At least when youāre taking it seriously anyway. Sure, sit me at a bar with a cocktail where I can have some laughs with some friends, and Iām cool. I can throw in Kobe or Wilt or Russell and not get worked up, and itās great.
But way too often, these conversations turn way too serious way too quickly. Although it is fun sometimes to watch the talking heads on ESPN or Fox Sports or wherever else get some veins popping when attempting to give an argument that they can ultimately never prove.
Thankfully, weāre not getting into any of that today. Well, not really anyway. Seeing as how weāre looking at an old quote from Michael Jordanās son, Marcus, we know who heās got in the NBA GOAT debate. Whatās entertaining is his choice for the second-best player in NBA history. And itās not LeBron James.
Michael Jordanās son picked Hakeem Olajuwon as the second-best NBA player of all time
In an interview on NBC Sports Chicagoās Bulls Talk Podcast, Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordanās youngest son, obviously picked his father as the greatest player in NBA history. But his pick for No. 2 often isnāt included in the GOAT conversation.
āUntil LeBronās journey is over, I canāt put him there. Iām probably going Hakeem [Olajuwon]. Iām just thinking of guys that really changed the game.ā
Marcus Jordan
Hakeem Olajuwon is never a bad choice for anything and may just be the greatest center in NBA history ā yeah, I went there.
During the same interview, Marcus stated how hard he thought it was to ātake somebody from this era and put them in that ā90s era,ā so Iām certainly digging his logic there. And I honestly donāt think heās saying LeBron couldnāt survive in Jordanās era, which is an argument at which I just laugh so hard when I hear it. Yeah, the 6-foot-9, 260-pound freight train couldnāt handle Bill Laimbeer. Please. But, again, I digress.
Olajuwon is an incredible choice for a No. 2 behind Jordan. The Nigerian-born superstar, of course, was selected with the first overall pick of the famed 1984 NBA Draft, two spots ahead of MJ.
āThe Dreamā played 18 NBA seasons, the first 17 with the Houston Rockets and his last with the Toronto Raptors. That last year is kinda like Jordanās two seasons with the Washington Wizards ā I like to pretend they never happened.
Olajuwon was a 12-time All-Star, a 12-time All-Pro selection, a nine-time All-Defensive selection, a three-time blocks leader, and a two-time rebounding leader.
He was also named NBA MVP for the 1993-94 season, which was one of the greatest individual seasons of all time. That year, Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3.7 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game. Not only did Olajuwon win MVP, but he was also named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. He also led the Rockets to the first of two consecutive NBA championships and was named NBA Finals MVP, an honor he received again the following year.
Essentially, Hakeem Olajuwon was the most decorated player in the NBA during the 1990s who didnāt play for the Chicago Bulls. So if Marcus was going to pick someone from his fatherās era to be No. 2 on his all-time list, he really couldnāt have made a better choice.
But Iām betting Scottie Pippen would say something different, wouldnāt he? But we wonāt open that can of worms as Pip did that himself long ago.
Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference
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