Why Shaquille O'Neal Calls Hakeem Olajuwon the Most Underrated Player He Ever Faced

I have spent more late nights than I care to count watching old NBA film, and in 2026 one name still echoes around the corners of those grainy Finals tapes: Hakeem Olajuwon. When I first heard Shaquille O'Neal talk about him in April 2025, I had to pause the podcast and just sit there for a second. You know, Shaq is not exactly the type of legend who throws compliments around like confetti. On Inside the NBA, he often looks like a professor grading papers written by players he is not ready to praise. So when he says someone is special, the basketball world tends to lean in. 🏀

That night on The Big Podcast, Shaq admitted that the most underrated player he ever came up against was Hakeem Olajuwon, the Houston Rockets legend. I mean, let's be real — when a four-time champion and one of the most physically dominant forces in history says a player was overlooked, my ears perk up. Shaq did not throw that statement out casually. He spoke about it the way someone talks about a rival who taught them hard lessons.

The history between them runs deeper than a regular-season matchup. Olajuwon retired in 2002, while Shaq entered the league in 1992, so their careers overlapped for a full decade. During that stretch, they shared the floor, traded elbows, and even met in the NBA Finals when Shaq was leading the Orlando Magic. I still joke with my friends that the 1995 Finals felt less like a championship series and more like Hakeem taking a young giant to basketball school. The rim used to tremble whenever either man entered the paint, but Hakeem's footwork was its own kind of quiet thunder. He did not need to scream for attention.

And here is the part that always gets me. People sometimes forget that Olajuwon was selected ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft. That is not a small detail. The Rockets took him first overall, and even today, most fans do not treat that choice as complete blasphemy. Think about how absurdly talented you have to be for the world to say, 'Okay, picking this man before Michael Jordan was actually defensible.' That alone tells you everything about his brilliance.

Yet for years, Olajuwon's star was partially hidden by Jordan's blinding glow. He won two NBA titles with the Rockets during a 17-year stint in Texas. He was named the league's MVP in 1994 for his exploits on the court. But because he played in the same era as the greatest player of all time, some of his achievements never received the full spotlight they deserved. Hearing Shaq call him underrated felt like watching a curtain get pulled back, just enough to let the light hit a legend who had been standing in the shadows.

Let me put some of those achievements side by side, because spacing them out can help:

I am not saying Olajuwon is forgotten. Far from it. He is still regarded as one of the greatest centers in NBA history. But there is a difference between being respected and being truly seen. Shaq's words remind me that some legends are so smooth and so skilled that their greatness can quietly slip past the loudest conversations. Olajuwon was overshadowed by Jordan's excellence, but that never erased how impressive he was on both ends of the floor. He remains one of the greatest defenders the game has ever seen.

Looking back now, I understand why Shaq used the word 'underrated.' It was not that Olajuwon lacked trophies or respect. It was that the conversation always seemed to race past him, toward bigger personalities and louder highlights. But put on those old Rockets games, watch the Dream Shake leave defenders frozen, and you can see exactly why Shaq, of all people, stood up to say that Olajuwon deserves more. When the most intimidating giant in NBA history says you were the most underrated battle he ever had, that is not just praise. That is basketball immortality.