Top 5 emphatic blocks of all time

#2: One closer to the 'Dream'

Hakeem Olajuwon -

With Michael Jordan retired, the door was open for a new team to take place at the top of the NBA food chain. With that at stake, the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks battled it out for the 1994 NBA Championship which pitted two of the game's greatest players, Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing locking horns.

Leading 3-2, the Knicks arrived in Houston for Game 6 and 7 to try to win their 1st championship ever.

And the stage was perfectly set, trailing 84-86, the ball was given to the Knicks' shooting guard, John Starks, who had been the star of the evening for them, to take them home and provide the perfect ending.

But it was not to be. The all-around defensive brilliance of Hakeem came to the forefront as the nimble-footed giant made the play of the series as he blocked a potential championship-winning shot and deflected the ball with a finger (a finger!) to secure the win for the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets won game 7, 90-84 to give them their first of two successive NBA championship and sending The Dream towards basketball immortality.

As for John Starks, he never recovered as he shot a paltry 2 out of 18 shots and scoring just 8 points in Game 7.