Before Olajuwon landed in Houston, the team already had a 1983 No. 1 pick, 221 cm tall, also at the center position, Ralph Sampson, who averaged 21 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his rookie season, shooting 52.3% from the field! He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1983, but the Rockets' record that year was still poor, with a measly 29 wins in one season, but the arrival of Olajuwon changed all that.

When Olajuwon first arrived at the Rockets, the head coach was the league's first "Thousand Defeats Coach" Bill Feige, who was stunned by happiness, he didn't even know who to put in the starting lineup, because both of them were equally good, but there was only one center position, and the coaching staff discussed this matter for many days without results, and finally Feige adopted an unprecedented "double center tactic", Olajuwon and Thompson both stayed on the court, it didn't matter if the four or five positions, or they played the five positions on the court, The benefits of this tactic were on full display during the game!

At that time, the NBA was not as popular as the current small-ball tactics, most teams were in order, playing with a board and a glance, the protection of the two centers for their own inside restricted area, the lethality of the opponent's restricted area was very huge, and the rebounding ball almost became the bag of these two people, Olajuwon's rookie season, he averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, this data was second only to Jordan in the best rookie evaluation after the end of the season - in all votes, Only Jordan and Olajuwon have their names, and no third name appears.

Olajuwon entered his second season in the NBA, and his Rockets went all the way to the Western Conference Finals, against the Los Angeles Lakers, no one believed that the Rockets would win, and the Lakers that year were extremely strong, they had Abdul-Jabbar who averaged 23 points per game and Worthy, who averaged 20 points per game. There is also Magic Johnson, who can average 18.8 points and 12.6 assists per game, and of course, the current Lakers head coach Byron Scott, who can average 15.4 points per game, and a very good role player, such as the current Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, Michael Cooper, Mike McGee, etc., in the previous season, they followed the Finals to avenge the Celtics and won the championship, this season they won 62 wins in the regular season, the record is high in the league, facing strong opponents, the Rockets have no way to qualify.

In the first game of the Western Conference finals, the Lakers won the game without surprise, but from the second game, the Rockets' twin towers began to exert force, and the aging Abdul-Jabbar simply could not withstand the impact of the two tall centers, and finally the Rockets magically won three games in a row, and in the crucial fifth game, Olajuwon, who had been playing well, did not control his anger and fell into the trap of the Lakers - Kupchak as cannon fodder, successfully clashed with Olajuwon, and both were sent off, In the final moments of the game, Olajuwon wrapped his head in a towel and watched helplessly as his teammates on the court fell into a predicament, and the score was almost reduced little by little until it was tied at 112:112, and the last attack was the Rockets' ball.

And this scene of Olajuwon's extreme loss is the most bookworthy moment of Kupchak, who was not successful in his career!

It was Thompson who saved the team at the moment of truth! He jumped straight with his back to Abdul-Jabbar, caught the ball in the air and turned in the air, and then threw the ball out with an unconventional move! I saw that the basketball bounced several times on the hoop and finally fell into the net, and Sampson beat the Lakers! The Rockets beat the Lakers to reach the Finals!

This is the second time in the history of the Rockets that they have reached the Finals! The Los Angeles Lakers were behind Olajuwon's victory, and this game was also the last NBA game for Lakers general manager Kupchak, after which Kupchak announced his retirement and embarked on a career as a general manager far greater than his playing days.

In the finals, the Rockets' opponent is the Boston Celtics, Houston and Boston fought for six games, and in the entire series, Olajuwon is an insurmountable mountain for Bostonians, Olajuwon averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds per game, 3.4 blocks, and shot as high as 53%, while his opponent, Robert Parish, nicknamed "The Chief", averaged only 15 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, and shot only 47.1% from the field, but on the outside, Rally Bird beat John Lucas II, averaging 25.9 points and 9.3 assists per game, as a guard, shooting a whopping 51.7% from the field and 41.1% from three-point range! In the first five games, the Rockets, who were 2-3 behind, had no way back, and the whole team was united to lead the Celtics, but at this moment, the scene of the Western Conference Finals was repeated, a fringe player named Jerry Schitting clashed with Thompson, and both were sent off, this time, Lady Luck did not favor the Rockets, 2-4, the Celtics defeated the Rockets and won the championship that year.

But there is no doubt that the future of the Rockets with the twin towers is very, very bright, and Olajuwon is on his way to becoming a superstar, and this is only Olajuwon's second season! It is worth mentioning that in the fifth game of the Finals, Olajuwon gave his opponent eight big hats alone, breaking the NBA Finals block record! (This record was broken by Howard in 2009).

In the 1987-1988 season, misfortune happened, Thompson was injured and only played 19 games, Olajuwon single-handedly brought the team into the playoffs, but was eliminated by the SuperSonics in the first round, and the following year, the Rockets quickly traded Thompson, completely announcing the end of the Twin Towers era, and also indicating that the Rockets officially became Olajuwon's one-man team, and Olajuwon broke out in full swing this year. In the regular season, he averaged 24.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, beating Barkley as the rebounding king, and in the playoffs, Olajuwon turned into a Super Saiyan, averaging 37.5 points and 16.8 rebounds per game, and the opponent of the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs was the Dallas Mavericks, who had just been established for eight years, and the Mavericks this season were strong and even, with 11 players scoring 5+, 8 scoring 9+, and six scoring 15+, Olajuwon was like a lone lion king facing a pack of hungry wolves from the Mavericks, and the Rockets eventually lost 4-1.

In the 1989-1990 season, Olajuwon's statistics ushered in a blowout growth again, he was once again the rebounding king with an average of 14.5 rebounds per game, and he was also called the block king with an average of 4.5 blocks per game, he was the first interior monster in history to have 14+ rebounds + blocks and 4.5+ quarters in a season, and he also became the third player after Abdul-Jabbar and Wharton to set the rebounding king and block king in one season, on March 4, 1990, Olajuwon contributed an incredible 29 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists and 11 blocks against the Warriors, earning flowers and applause with a "quadruple-double". However, after rewatching the game footage, the league canceled one assist from Olajuwon in that game. But Olajuwon didn't keep fans waiting, and just 25 days later, the Rockets played the Bucks, and Olajuwon scored 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting in 40 minutes, plus 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and a staggering 11 blocks (the Bucks only had five on the team). With the only standard "quadruple-double" in his career, he gave a wonderful performance to the NBA.

In this season, Olajuwon's performance can only be described as a miracle, but the Rockets' record is only 41 wins, 41 losses, and the Rockets' No. 2 man at that time was Otis Thorpe, who averaged 17.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season, and the data looks quite good, but in fact, he played the position of power forward, in that era, the No. 4 position was full of talent, Barkley, Rodman, Carl Malone, McHale, Lucas, etc., in a word, now the interior player has scored 20+10 is known as the top inside, in that era the 20+10 inside line is just a high-quality inside, history has positioned Thorpe as an excellent role player and interior blue-collar line, and his average of 17.5 points per game is a lot of Olajuwon's score after the bag, making him the second-in-command is obviously a bit of a seedling.

The team's three-in-command name is Mitchell Wiggins, who averaged 15 points per game that year, he is a very good shooter, but he also needs Olajuwon to draw him into a gap, and almost no one recognizes him now, but his son shined in the 2014 draft, his son is called Andrew Wiggins.

The Rockets struggled to get a playoff spot, and faced the powerful Los Angeles Lakers led by Johnson again in the first round, and the hard support throughout the season made Olajuwon tired from entering the playoffs, and the average shooting rate of 18.5 points and 44.3% per game in the playoffs was Olajuwon except for the worst season in the playoffs in the last two seasons, Olajuwon performed poorly, and other players were of course difficult to help, and the Rockets were finally eliminated 1:3.

In the 1990-1991 season, in order to share the pressure on Olajuwon, the Rockets brought in a heavyweight player, he is Kenny Smith, yes, this person is now sitting in the American TNT studio, laughing and scolding with Barkley's ace partner, Barkley kissed the donkey's ass because of Yao Ming, everyone is familiar with it, in fact, Barkley's bet at that time was not the donkey's ass, but Kenny Smith's ass, but because the latter did not want to untie his clothes in public, this task was done by the donkey, because in English "Ass" can be said to be either an ass or a donkey.

Closer to home, Kenny Smith is a very good shooter and passer, averaging 17.7 points and 7.1 assists per game in his first season with the Rockets, shooting 52% from the field! He is the originator of Richard Hamilton's style of play - as long as he is on the court, he runs tirelessly to make opponents tired, and as long as he is on the court, opponents will not dare to wrap up Olajuwon wantonly, because Smith's three-point shot is even more destructive than Olajuwon's interior attack!

The Rockets' inside and outside duo worked well and went all the way, but Olajuwon was injured in the eye by Bill Cartwright's elbow and missed 26 games all season! Obviously, the Rockets without Olajuwon are not even able to make the playoffs, let alone the championship, but at this moment, Mike Maxwell broke out without warning!

Mike Maxwell was kicked to the Rockets by the Spurs last season, averaging only 9 points per game and shooting only 27% from three-point range. Averaged 17 points per game, and the three-point shooting percentage increased to 34%! In addition, his defense is fierce and fearless, and he is nicknamed "Mad Max". He and Smith's three-point shots were one left and one right, like two hooks, which made the opponent's eyes dizzy, and finally with Olajuwon's stick, he directly knocked out the opponent, and this rhythm of the game has been tried and tested for the Rockets.

This season, the Rockets have a history-high 52 wins, head coach Che Downey won the best head coach trophy, and Olajuwon's average of 13.8 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game is still the highest in the league, but in the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets still can't get past the Lakers.

In the 1991-1992 season, the Rockets only achieved a 42-40 record, although Olajuwon's personal data still shines, but the team failed to enter the playoffs, for which Olajuwon was furious, thinking that it was the management's inaction that led to this situation, not paying attention to the introduction of other excellent helpers, all day long knowing to make money, make money, make money, make money and don't share the money with me, as the league's top insider, I only got $3.17 million, look at the Celtics' Larry Bird, salary of $7 million! I'm worse than him! Happy Fighting!

Next season, the Rockets hired Rudy Tomjanovic as head coach, and the Rockets still had some people, Olajuwon, Kenny Smith, Maxwell, Odis Thorpe, but in the same year's draft, the Rockets used the No. 11 in the first round to draft one of the biggest heart players in NBA history, the most NB role player in history, Robert Horry. In his rookie season, Horry averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds per game, and the next year, the Rockets wanted to trade him for Sean Eolit of the Pistons, and Horry had already entered the starting list of the Pistons, put on the Pistons' jersey and was ready to play, but was notified that Aolit did not pass the physical examination, and the transaction was invalidated. (More on that in the next chapter.) 1992 was an extremely turbulent year for the NBA and world basketball, and at the Barcelona Olympics that year, the Dream Team was born, Jordan, Barkley, Bird, Drexler, Johnson, Stockton, Malone, these people turned the Olympic basketball game into their exhibition game, winning all eight games, With an average of 43.8 points per game, the medal was picked up in the arms, which made fans all over the world see the charm of the NBA, and also made the NBA really go to the world, this year, the Celtics' meritorious veteran Larry Bird retired, a tall fat man named Shaquille Rashane O'Neal became the top pick in that year's draft and was drafted by the Magic, a short fat man named Charles Barkley came to the Phoenix Suns from the 76ers, and the Rockets, who achieved a historic 54 wins and reached the second round of the playoffs under Olajuwon, their opponent was Ricky Pearce, Gary Payton and Sean Kemp's Seattle SuperSonics. The two teams battled seven games, and finally, in the final round of the seventh, the SuperSonics had the last laugh.

At the end of the 1993 season, Michael Jordan announced his retirement, after winning the NBA championship three times in a row, the shadow of Jordan and the Bulls "suppressed" the entire NBA, and the other teams were all sparring partners, David Robinson of the Spurs, Wilkins of the Los Angeles Clippers, everyone wanted to rely on this opportunity to win a championship ring, but never thought that in the end, the first to win the championship after Jordan's abdication was Olajuwon of the Rockets.

And it's two! You say it's not annoying!

Next, Olajuwon won two championships, and the peak duel with Ewing in the finals, and finally went to another country in despair, comrades, the excitement is coming! Don't miss it tomorrow night!