Why they rank here
The most skilled defensive center ever and the owner of one of the sport's great individual peaks. In 1993–94 Olajuwon became the only player in NBA history to win regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season, then defended the title in 1995 as a sixth seed by beating four consecutive teams that had won at least 55 games, out-dueling David Robinson, Karl Malone and a young Shaquille O'Neal along the way. He is the all-time leader in blocked shots with 3,830, added a second Defensive Player of the Year award and nine All-Defensive selections, and paired that rim protection with the Dream Shake — the most refined post footwork the game has seen, so coveted that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James later sought his tutelage. Career figures of 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 1.7 steals describe a two-way completeness no center has matched. A Nigerian who did not play organized basketball until age 15, he stands as both a global pioneer and, at his 1994–95 apex, briefly the best player alive.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.