Chapter 74: Celestial Immortal Descending from the Heavens

"Hakeem Olajuwon is a hybrid of a barbarian and a ballerina, a center so agile, so strong that he can effortlessly defeat you or crudely and savagely kill you."

Defending champions? Since Bill Russell retired in 1969, no defending champion has succeeded, it's been a full 17 years, and the once rulers could not last two years.

Magic Johnson, "In terms of raw athletic ability, Akeem is the best I've ever seen."

Morris Lucas, "A bigger Moses Malone has been reborn in Houston."

Mickey Kupchak, "I can compare him to Alvin Robertson, which says something, because Robertson is a guard. I've never seen someone so strong, so agile, so ruthless, and also seven feet tall."

Actually, Olajuwon's height is more like 6 feet 11 inches, but no one's going to measure him with a ruler during a game.

The exact height isn't the point, the key is that the Lakers, with a superior average height, are at a huge disadvantage in rebounds (the rebound comparison for the first four games was 186:145).