The Tape
Was Hakeem Olajuwon better than Michael Jordan?
Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002, against Michael Jordan, 1984-2003. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, Michael Jordan is the bigger scorer: 36.9 a game in 1987-88 against 30.7 for Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94. That is a real gap of 6.2 points, not an era illusion — Michael Jordan's league averaged 108.2 and Hakeem Olajuwon's averaged 101.5.
Hakeem Olajuwon wins the glass by 6.4 rebounds a game (11.9 to 5.5), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
Michael Jordan is the passer: 5.9 assists a game to 3.6, and that is the difference between running an offense and finishing one.
Hakeem Olajuwon: The only player to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in one season, and the all-time leader in blocks. Michael Jordan: The highest career scoring average ever, 6 titles in 6 Finals, and a Defensive Player of the Year award in the middle of it.
The numbers are free. The verdict is in the Vault.
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