Houston Rockets: 15 greatest playoff moments of all-time

12. Hakeem Olajuwon records a career-high 10 blocks

One of Hakeem Olajuwon’s biggest assets on defense was his ability to protect the rim. By the time his career ended, he would go down as one of the best shot-blockers in Rockets’ franchise history.

Other than his patented “Dream Shake”, Hakeem took an added pride in his defense. After all, he took home two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards and earned nine All-Defensive team selections during his career.

Olajuwon’s rim-protection came to a head during the 1990 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2. The Rockets would go on to lose the game 104-100, but it certainly set a tone for the rest of the series, as Olajuwon blocked a franchise-best and career-best 10 shots in the loss.

Andrew Bynum is the only other player to record at least 10 blocks since then. Bynum did that in 2012. Not to be outdone, Olajuwon also had 11 points and 11 rebounds to secure a triple-double in the game. It was the only playoff triple-double of his career.

Through just three playoff games, Olajuwon averaged 5.8 blocks per contest thanks to his big game under the rim. In Game 1, he had seven blocks, which also helped. Although he was a lethal rim protector during that postseason, the Rockets would go on to lose the series.

For his career, Hakeem blocked a franchise-best 3,740 blocks. In just his fifth season, he showed why he was so highly regarded coming out of college. In the postseason, his blocks per game average was 3.3 per contest. He currently remains the career leader in blocks in the NBA with 3,830.