Some NBA debates are meant to be hypothetical. They revolve around strictly hypothetical questions that can’t be answered.
Recently, we witnessed such a debate. Former Houston Rockets point guard Sam Cassell claimed that Nikola Jokic would have “no chance” against his legendary teammate Hakeem Olajuwon.
This debate can only be settled through time travel. Olajuwon continues to play on the basketball court to pass on his vast knowledge to younger players. When it comes to competitive basketball at the NBA level, his days are long behind him.
We are less interested in that debate here and more interested in some adjacent thoughts. What would Olajuwon look like in 2024? an MVP caliber playeror is his game too outdated?
The three-point shot seems to be the starting point here.
In Olajuwon’s day, big three-pointers were an anomaly. Today, it’s understood that to be a team’s first option, you have to space the floor — at least a little.
In reality, Olajuwon’s 2023-24 analogue isn’t Jokic. It’s Joel Embiid. Embiid is reminiscent of Olajuwon with his prodigious footwork around the basket. In 2023-24, Embiid has made just 16.3 percent of his three-pointers.
That volume still dwarfs Olajuwon. His highest three-point shooting percentage ever is 1.8 percent. At that level, it’s not even interesting to look at his percentages.
Interestingly, their shot profiles don’t differ too much in some areas. Olajuwon attempted 26.7 percent of his shots from 0-3 feet, and Embiid attempted 27.2 percent of his from the same distance. Olajuwon attempted 18.4 percent of his shots from 3-10 feet, while Embiid made 19.7 percent.
When we get to the 10- to 16-foot area, something jumps out. Olajuwon has shot 40.9 percent of his shots from that distance, while Embiid has shot just 12.4 percent from the same area. In other words, we’re seeing the three-point shooting revolution in action. If Olajuwon were to simply trade most of his two-point shots for three-pointers, he’d have a similar shooting profile to Embiid.
A similar trend emerges when looking at game type. NBA.com doesn’t track post-up frequency since Olajuwon’s prime, but Embiid was second in the NBA with 5.8 post-ups per game in 2023-24. A conservative estimate would indicate that Olajuwon posted up nearly three times as frequently.
So another adjustment might be in order. We wouldn’t want to take away Olajuwon’s post-up touches — he’s one of the all-time leading scorers in those plays. He might lead the league in post-up touches, but he’d still have to give up some to play the pick-and-roll.
With these adjustments, we are confident that Olajuwon will remain one of the best offensive big men in the league in the modern era. While his offensive style may be outdated, his defensive abilities were ahead of their time.
The biggest complaint about Bam Adebayo is that he’s not exactly a great defender. Adebayo is one of the best defenders in the NBA, but his ability to switch positions is his trademark. Adebayo can defend from the 1st to the 5th position, but he’s not one of the best in the league when it comes to stopping opponents at the rim.
Imagine if he were. There’s Hakeem Olajuwon in 2024. His ability to defend in space was special in the ’80s and ’90s, but in 2024, we recognize his value. He’d be a perennial contender for Defensive Player of the Year.
With all due respect to Nikola Jokic, this is not something he will ever get the chance to do.
