Even though the Lakers lost last night at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, there was a small bit of celebration for Los Angeles and their fans. Midway through the first quarter, Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant connected on a one-handed dunk that gave him 26,947 points in his illustrious career, one more than Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon.
As Bryant continues to move up the ranks of the NBA’s All-Time scorers, it is important to take a look back at the players he’s passing along the way.
Olajuwon was drafted with the top overall pick in the fabled 1984 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. He would go on to become one of the most legendary centers in league history. He helped revolutionize the center position with his trademarked ‘Dream Shake.’ Fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan called Olajuwon the best center of all-time, and he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History back in 1996.
Hakeem Olajuwon’s most well-known accomplishments came back in 1994 and 1995, when he led the Houston Rockets to back to back NBA Finals championships. Olajuwon was the catalyst for both teams, and won NBA Finals Most Valuable Player both times. He finished his career with two NBA championships, two Finals MVP awards, and a regular season MVP that he received in 1994. He was considered one of the best defensive centers of all time as well, and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award twice.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQijTpI3Xo