Did Colin Cowherd just disrespect Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon?

If you know anything about Colin Cowherd, you know that he's a hot take artist. It's how he got his platform. (actually, I don't know how he got his platform or why he even has one).

Everywhere Cowherd has been, it's been his schtick, if you will. Cowherd has been in the media long enough to know that if he says something outlandish enough, it'll generate enough buzz and get enough clicks. Very similar to what we tend to see from some of the largest accounts on Twitter.

It's very clear that Cowherd doesn't actually watch the games in their entirety, because he'd have much different takes if he did. Let's not forget that Cowherd predicted a Russell Westbrook-James Harden-led Rockets team would miss the 2020 playoffs altogether.

It gets worse. Cowherd was on his daily show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and the topic of the NBA's all-time greats came up and he gave the following list of the "7 wonders of the sport":
-LeBron James
-Michael Jordan 
-Stephen Curry
-Magic Johnson 
-Larry Bird
-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 
-Shaquille O'Neal

Did Colin Cowherd just disrespect Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon?

Cowherd made it a point to note that he was referring to all-timers who played the game in a way that's never been duplicated and had never been imitated before the got to the league. My usual approach when I stumble upon lists such as these is to question the cut off number.

For example, why does the list stop at 7? Why can't it go to 8? Or 9?

Then we must note that it's that specific person's list, in other words, their personal opinion. Once we have that out of the way, let's note how ridiculous it is for Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon to not be in such a category, regardless of whose opinion it is.

Olajuwon had an elite and unprecedented combination of offensive versatility and dominance in the post along with an elite and superior ability to defend. Not to mention the dominance on the glass, as he averaged double-digit rebounds in his first 12 consecutive seasons.

Olajuwon ranks first in blocks in league history, while finishing in the top 15 in steals, rebounds, and points, not to mention being one of only four players in league history to record a quadruple-double, which he nearly pulled off multiple times in the same calendar month.

Olajuwon is still the only player on league history to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, NBA Finals MVP, and an NBA title all in the same year. Let's also not forget that Olajuwon played in an era that was marred by elite center play, as David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, and O'Neal.

Keep in mind that O'Neal made Cowherd's list, which is interesting when you consider that Shaq himself admitted that he was dominated by The Dream. Even Michael Jordan, who also made Cowherd's list, couldn't help but marvel at Olajuwon's greatness on the hardwood.

"If I had to pick a center [for an all-time best team], I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. It leaves out a lot of people. And the reason I would take Olajuwon is very simple: he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It's not just his scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots. People don't realize he was in the top seven [in NBA history] in steals. He always made great decisions on the court."

So this take from Cowherd is an abomination and an embarrassment, even for someone who has a history of exposing themselves, like Cowherd. Cowherd is better than this. Well maybe he's not, but he should do better than this.