Michael Jordan, who has an unblemished NBA Finals record, once doubted if he could beat Rockets legend

Michael Jordan won six NBA championships in the 1990s but was never matched up against the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets. Jordan even doubted if the Chicago Bulls could have beaten them in the NBA Finals.

In an interview with The Athletic in Apr. 2020, legendary Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich shared the story of his encounter with MJ after his second retirement. Tomjanovich explained that Jordan praised Olajuwon and the Rockets, and he even thought that they would have given the Bulls a tough time.

"He gave our team great respect," Tomjanovich said. "He didn't feel that they could contain Hakeem. They just didn't have the personnel to do it. And he said he thought we were the team that gave them the most trouble."

Hakeem Olajuwon was the lone superstar who won an NBA championship among Michael Jordan's contemporaries in the 1990s. Olajuwon won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 when Jordan was busy playing professional baseball in the minor leagues.

The Houston Rockets won a hard-fought NBA Finals in 1994 against the New York Knicks before a comfortable sweep of the Orlando Magic a year later. Jordan returned to basketball full time the next season and led the Chicago Bulls to three straight NBA championships again.

It should be noted that from 1991 to 1993, the Rockets were 5-1 against the Bulls in the regular season. While the playoffs are different from the regular season, the Rockets dominated the Bulls during that period. However, the Bulls owned the Rockets from 1996 to 1998 with a 5-1 record.

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Who else thought the Rockets would have beaten Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the NBA Finals?

Who would have won between Michael Jordan's Bulls and Hakeem Olajuwon's Rockets?

A few members of the Houston Rockets championship teams were confident about their chances of beating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. One of these players was Robert Horry, who was a starter in 1994 and 1995. He explained why they could have beaten the Bulls, at least in 1995.

"I think you should go back and look at that and understand that I know MJ is the GOAT, and I played for Phil (Jackson), and I know how Phil coaches," Horry said on the 'Parkins & Spiegel Show' last year. "There's no way the Chicago Bulls would've beat the '94 or the '95 Rockets. So take that.

"I think, sometimes, people realize Michael Jordan is the GOAT, but the GOATs can be beat. You forget in '95, he was back. … He wasn't in shape? You just dropped a double nickel (55 points) in New York, and you're trying to say you wasn't ready? Your team wasn't good in '95?"

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