Olajuwon Vs. O'Neal
Although both centers played well, Olajuwon is generally considered to have outplayed O'Neal. Olajuwon outscored O'Neal in every game of the series and became one of the few players in NBA history to score at least 30 points in every game of an NBA Finals series:
| 1995 NBA Finals | Gm 1 | Gm 2 | Gm 3 | Gm 4 | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 31 | 34 | 31 | 35 | 32.8 ppg |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26 | 33 | 28 | 25 | 28.0 ppg |
By winning his second straight NBA Finals MVP award, Hakeem Olajuwon became the sixth player to win the award on multiple occasions, joining Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan. Later Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant would join this group. Jordan and Olajuwon at the time were the only players to win the award consecutively. Later, O'Neal himself would go on to win the award in three consecutive seasons with the Lakers (2000–02). Kobe Bryant later won two NBA Finals MVP awards consecutively (2009–10).
Read more about this topic: 1995 NBA Finals