Hakeem Olajuwon is the only player to record 200+ blocks and steals in a single season, but he still lost DPOY that year.
Hakeem Olajuwon was first overall in 1984 and it wasn’t a no-brainer at the time. After the Rockets won their coin toss for the 1St. pick against the Blazers, it was set in stone that Hakeem (then Akeem) would become a Rocket given the fact that he played college baseball in the same city.
However, regardless of who got the No. 1 overall pick, Hakeem Olajuwon was the consensus first pick of that draft even though Michael Jordan was in it. Back in ’84, passing up a potential superstar big man for a potential superstar guard just wasn’t the way front offices behaved like them.
Of course, while Jordan turned out to be the greatest player of all time, the Rockets also enjoyed quite a bit of success with their pick. The two years MJ was out of the league for the most part in the mid-’90s, the No. 34 led the Rockets to two straight championships and won Finals MVP in both series.
Hakeem’s 1994 season with him winning MVP, DPOY and the Finals is perhaps the greatest singles season of all time, further solidifying why he’s currently worth $300 million. While this was his first DPOY, it certainly shouldn’t have been, as he could have easily snagged it 5 years ago.
Also read: “Michael Jordan would jump first and decide in the air”: 7-foot Hakeem Olajuwon’s candid confessions about the Bulls legend
Hakeem Olajuwon had a historic defensive season but still lost DPOY.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are the only two non-core players in league history to record 200+ steals and 100+ blocks in a single season. MJ did it in ’87 and ’88 Y Pippen followed him in 1989-90.
The only other player to post such stats in a single season is Hakeem Olajuwon. Only he didn’t just have a 200+ steal, 100+ block season like the aforementioned two Bulls legends. He surpassed them by having the first and only 200+ block and steal season in 1988-89 (282 and 213, respectively).
Despite this display of sheer defensive madness, Hakeem lost Defensive Player of the Year honors to Utah Jazz big man Mark Eaton. To be fair, Eaton was a 7’4 giant who played like he was 8’4. Blocking people without jumping, crushing multiple shot attempts in a single possession; Eaton was a terror inside (average 5.6 BPG in 1985).
However, as versatile as Olajuwon was with his defense; he could defend on the perimeter, had quick hands in the passing lanes and had an otherworldly jump second, he should have won that DPOY that year.
Also read: Hakeem Olajuwon, who charged LeBron James $50,000 a week for subsequent lessons, never wanted to be a Center
