Michael Jordan’s Bulls couldn’t beat Hakeem Olajuwon’s Rockets in ’94 or ’95 Finals, says Robert Horry

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Robert Horry

Robert Horry checked in with Scoop B Radio’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Press Play Below To Listen!

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their first three championships in ‘91, ‘92 and ‘93. Then, MJ retired from hoops, played baseball and the Houston Rockets won championships in ‘94 and ‘95.

Million dollar question: Would the Houston Rockets have beaten the Bulls had MJ not retired?

“Oh we would’ve beat them,” former Houston Rocket and current TNT analyst, Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith told me last year on the Scoop B Radio podcast.

“And actually everyone forgets he was playing the second year, he was wearing number 45 and the team they lost to the Orlando Magic,we swept them. We were that much better than them that year, they lost to them.”

Former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippen vehemently disagreed last year, telling ESPN The Jump’s Rachel Nichols: “He forgot what my role was: “I cut the head off of snakes; and I’m calling him the snake of that team.”

Well, another former Houston Rocket has weighed in: Robert Horry!

“Michael and Scottie have their own opinions,” Robert Horry told me on this week’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.

“But I truly believe the way that we were playing and that big dominant force, Hakeem Olajuwon; that we had down there was too much.”

Horry, Smith, Olajuwon, Otis Thorpe, Mario Elie, Sam Cassell and head coach, Rudy Tomjanovich rummaged through the NBA’s Western Conference and gave the Eastern Conference elites: New York Knicks and Orlando Magic, a piece of their minds in the NBA Finals.

“I played for Phil and he doesn’t like to double team and you had to double Hakeem or he would have had 50 on you,” said Horry.

“So I think we would have won. It would have been a good game. Everybody has their own opinion and it would be stupid of me to say: ‘no we wouldn’t have won.’ I know everybody thinks that Michael Jordan is the greatest to ever play the game, but Dream isn’t too shabby.”

When asked on where he’d draw the line of comparison between Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan, Horry was more than honest. “It’s hard to compare them because one is a guard and one is a big and everybody wants to compare players nowadays,” he said.

“I think there’s a best player at every position. I think ‘Dream’ is the best center to ever play the game and I think Michael is the best two guard to ever play the game. But you can’t compare them; it just wouldn’t be a good matchup. Dream must go against who they had at center and Mike would have had to go against Vernon Maxwell, who is a good defender. So I think in that sense, we would have had the edge.”

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