The Tape
Was Moses Malone better than Hakeem Olajuwon?
Moses Malone, 1974-1995, against Hakeem Olajuwon, 1984-2002. 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, Moses Malone is the bigger scorer: 32.6 a game in 1981-82 against 30.7 for Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94. That is a real gap of 1.9 points, not an era illusion — Moses Malone's league averaged 108.6 and Hakeem Olajuwon's averaged 101.5.
Moses Malone wins the glass by 2.8 rebounds a game (14.7 to 11.9), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
Hakeem Olajuwon is the passer: 3.6 assists a game to 1.8, and that is the difference between running an offense and finishing one.
Moses Malone: Three MVPs built on offensive rebounds, and the man who said fo, fo, fo and nearly delivered it. 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.
The numbers are free. The verdict is in the Vault.
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