Ewing, Olajuwon linked again, this time in Hall; Dantley speaks of validation

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Hakeem Olajuwon was asked Friday about the friendly rivalry he and Patrick Ewing shared during their careers as two of the greatest centers in basketball history.

"Who said it was friendly?" Olajuwon replied.

The 7-footers, who met for an NCAA title in 1984 and an NBA championship 10 years later, are both being enshrined in the Hall of Fame, part of a star-studded class that includes Adrian Dantley, former NBA coach Pat Riley, broadcaster Dick Vitale, Detroit Pistons and Shock owner Bill Davidson, and former Immaculata University coach Cathy Rush.

Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas beat Olajuwon and the Houston Cougars in that NCAA championship game. But Olajuwon earned two NBA rings in Houston, the first after beating Ewing's New York Knicks in a classic seven-game series in 1994.

"I could not picture my career without Patrick," Olajuwon said while speaking to reporters hours before the induction ceremony. "We are so intertwined from college. We play alike in so many ways. We are blocking shots, steals, intimidation. When Patrick is at the other end of the floor, you know you are playing against your toughest opponent."

Ewing, who was 12 when he came to the U.S. from Jamaica, said he felt a kinship with Olajuwon, who grew up playing team handball in Nigeria. Both, he said, found their identity while playing basketball in their new country.

"When I played against Hakeem, I definitely wanted to be at my best," Ewing said. "I think he feels the same way. We both know what each other brings to the table — intensity, energy, effort. You would have to put out 110 percent to play against each other."

Olajuwon led the Houston Cougars to three Final Fours in college. During his NBA career he scored almost 27,000 points, grabbed 13,747 rebounds and blocked 3,830 shots.

Ewing also went to three Final Fours. He scored just under 25,000 points and pulled down 11,607 rebounds in the NBA, becoming the New York Knicks' career leader in points, rebounds, blocked shots and steals. He earned two Olympic gold medals, but never got an NBA title.

"That still bothers me," said Riley, who coached Ewing's 1994 Knicks team.

Riley, after winning championships as a player and assistant, won five more as a coach — four with the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s, and another with the Miami Heat in 2006. It took that final title, Riley said, to convince a lot of people that he really was a good coach.

"I truly believe that what happened in Miami validated what probably a lot of people felt that I might not be able to do, and that what I did in New York and what I did in L.A. maybe was because there was just a lot of good players," said Riley, now president of the Heat.