Kyrie Irving Praises Rockets Legend Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon isn't just a Houston legend. He's an NBA legend.

He's easily one of the greatest to ever play the sport, irrespective of position. He's also become one of the most underrated players, in part because he won both of his championships during Michael Jordan's first retirement (although Jordan returned during the 1994-95 season -- the Rockets' second title).

The slight is odd, as Jordan himself admitted that the Chicago Bulls didn't have an answer for The Dream. 

Olajuwon is quite regularly left out of the greatest of all time conversations. In fact, many don't even view him as the greatest center of all time. Bleacher Report recently released their top 100 all-time rankings and Olajuwon wasn't even in the top 10, as he came in at number 12.

Dallas Mavericks center Kyrie Irving took to social media to give Olajuwon his flowers and to put some respect on The Dream's name.

"Hakeem Olajuwon, y’all. Salams to my big brother, man," Irving said. "Salams to Hakeem. We’re not gonna let people pretend like Hakeem was not that. Before there was a Tim Duncan, there was a Hakeem Olajuwon."

"Now, I’m not comparing the two, I’m not. Irving continued. But I’m saying: before there was a Kobe, there was a Mike. Before there was a Mike, there was a Julius Erving. You know what I’m saying?"