Hakeem Olajuwon vs. James Worthy Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Worthy and Hakeem Olajuwon, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Hakeem Olajuwon played 18 years in the NBA, 6 more than James Worthy, who played 12. Hakeem Olajuwon had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while James Worthy had his rookie season in 1982-83. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1984-85	1982-83
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	35.5	20.6	5.4	6.5	11.9	1.4	1.2	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.3	15.3	.538	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.7	.613
difference:	+5	+9.9	+7.2	+3.4	+3.4	+6.7	+0.3		+1.9	-0.6	-1.3	+2.5	+5.3	+.041		+0.1		+2.3	+3.8	+.011
James Worthy	77	25.6	13.4	2.0	3.1	5.2	1.7	1.2	0.8	2.3	2.9	5.8	10.0	.579	0.0	0.1	.250	1.8	2.9	.624
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	37.4	21.2	6.6	6.4	13.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.2	4.4	8.4	17.6	.477	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	9.2	.478
James Worthy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1985-86	1983-84
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	68	36.3	23.5	4.9	6.6	11.5	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.9	4.0	9.2	17.5	.526	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.9	.645
difference:	+14	+6.8	+9.0	+3.0	+2.2	+5.2	+0.5	+1.1	+2.5	-0.7	-1.0	+3.2	+6.6	+.030		+0.1		+2.7	+4.8	+.114
James Worthy	82	29.5	14.5	1.9	4.4	6.3	2.5	0.9	0.9	2.2	3.0	6.0	10.9	.556	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.759
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	20	38.3	26.9	5.1	6.8	11.8	2.0	2.0	3.5	2.2	4.4	10.3	19.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	6.4	10.0	.638
difference:	+1	+4.6	+9.2	+3.4	+3.5	+6.8	+0.7	+0.7	+3.0	-0.3	-1.7	+2.5	+6.4	+.069			+.500	+4.4	+6.7	+.029
James Worthy	21	33.7	17.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	2.7	1.3	0.5	1.9	2.7	7.8	13.0	.599	0.0	0.1	.500	2.0	3.3	.609

Season 3
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1986-87	1984-85
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	75	36.8	23.4	4.2	7.2	11.4	2.9	1.9	3.4	3.0	3.9	9.0	17.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	5.3	7.6	.702
difference:	+5	+3.1	+5.8	+2.1	+2.9	+5.0	+0.4	+0.8	+2.6	-0.5	-1.4	+1.4	+4.5	+.064			+.200	+2.9	+4.5	+.074
James Worthy	80	33.7	17.6	2.1	4.3	6.4	2.5	1.1	0.8	2.5	2.5	7.6	13.3	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.776
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	10	38.9	29.2	3.9	7.4	11.3	2.5	1.3	4.3	3.6	4.4	11.0	17.9	.615	0.0	0.1	.000	7.2	9.7	.742
difference:	+9	+6.0	+7.7	+2.1	+4.2	+6.2	+0.3	+0.4	+3.6	-2.2	-1.6	+2.3	+3.8	+.007	+0.1		+.500	+3.3	+3.9	+.066
James Worthy	19	32.9	21.5	1.8	3.2	5.1	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	2.8	8.7	14.1	.622	0.1	0.1	.500	3.9	5.8	.676

Season 4
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1987-88	1985-86
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	79	35.8	22.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.1	9.0	17.5	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.9	.695
difference:	+4	+3.1	+2.8	+2.0	+5.0	+6.9	+0.6	+1.0	+1.7	-1.1	-1.5	+0.6	+3.0	+.065		+0.1		+1.6	+2.7	+.076
James Worthy	75	32.7	20.0	1.8	3.3	5.2	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.0	2.6	8.4	14.5	.579	0.0	0.2	.000	3.2	4.2	.771
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	37.5	5.0	11.8	16.8	1.8	2.3	2.8	2.3	3.5	14.0	24.5	.571	0.0	0.3	.000	9.5	10.8	.884
difference:	+10	+2.0	+17.9	+3.4	+8.7	+12.2	+1.4	+1.2	+2.1	-0.3	-0.4	+5.4	+9.0	+.013				+7.2	+7.4	+.203
James Worthy	14	38.5	19.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	3.2	1.1	0.7	2.6	3.1	8.6	15.5	.558	0.0	0.3	.000	2.3	3.4	.681

Season 5
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1988-89	1986-87
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	36.9	24.8	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.8	2.6	3.4	3.4	4.0	9.6	19.0	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.0	.696
difference:		+2.5	+5.4	+2.2	+5.6	+7.8	+1.0	+1.3	+2.4	-1.4	-1.5	+1.7	+4.3	+.031		+0.1		+1.9	+3.3	+.055
James Worthy	82	34.4	19.4	1.9	3.8	5.7	2.8	1.3	1.0	2.0	2.5	7.9	14.7	.539	0.0	0.2	.000	3.6	4.7	.751
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	25.3	3.5	9.5	13.0	3.0	2.5	2.8	2.5	4.3	10.5	20.3	.519	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.3	.680
difference:	+14	+2.7	+1.7	+1.8	+5.6	+7.4	+0.5	+0.9	+1.6	-0.3	-2.0	+0.7	+3.7	+.072		+0.1		+0.2	+0.9	+.073
James Worthy	18	37.8	23.6	1.7	3.9	5.6	3.5	1.6	1.2	2.2	2.3	9.8	16.6	.591	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.4	.753

Season 6
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1989-90	1987-88
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	38.1	24.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	3.9	3.8	9.8	19.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	6.5	.713
difference:	+7	+2.7	+4.6	+1.9	+7.1	+9.0	+1.0	+1.1	+3.9	-1.8	-1.5	+1.6	+4.1	+.030		+0.1	+.042	+1.5	+2.4	+.083
James Worthy	75	35.4	19.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	3.9	1.0	0.7	2.1	2.3	8.2	15.5	.531	0.0	0.2	.125	3.2	4.1	.796
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.3	18.5	3.8	7.8	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	2.8	4.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.706
difference:	+20	+3.0	+2.6	+1.6	+4.2	+5.7	+2.4	+1.1	+5.0	-0.5	-2.4	+0.7	+1.2	+.080		+0.4		+1.0	+1.0	+.052
James Worthy	24	37.3	21.1	2.2	3.6	5.8	4.4	1.4	0.8	2.3	2.4	8.5	16.3	.523	0.0	0.4	.111	4.0	5.3	.758

Season 7
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1990-91	1988-89
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	56	36.8	21.2	3.9	9.8	13.8	2.3	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.9	8.7	17.1	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	4.9	.769
difference:	+25	+0.3	+0.7	+1.8	+5.8	+7.8	+1.3	+0.9	+3.2	-0.9	-1.7		+1.3	+.040		+0.2	+.087	+0.7	+0.9	+.013
James Worthy	81	36.5	20.5	2.1	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.3	0.7	2.2	2.2	8.7	15.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.087	3.1	4.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	3	43.0	22.0	4.0	10.7	14.7	2.0	1.3	2.7	2.7	3.7	8.7	15.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.7	.824
difference:	+12	+3.0	+2.8	+1.5	+6.4	+8.0	+0.8	+0.1	+1.6	-0.5	-1.3	+1.5	+3.0	+.011	+0.2	+0.2	+.375	+0.5	+0.4	+.036
James Worthy	15	40.0	24.8	2.5	4.3	6.7	2.8	1.2	1.1	2.2	2.4	10.2	18.0	.567	0.2	0.5	.375	4.2	5.3	.788

Season 8
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1991-92	1989-90
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	37.7	21.6	3.5	8.6	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	2.7	3.8	8.4	16.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.1	.766
difference:	+10	+0.7	+0.5	+1.5	+4.6	+6.1	+1.4	+0.6	+3.7	-0.7	-1.4	+0.5	+0.6	+.046	+0.2	+0.6		+1.6	+2.1	+.016
James Worthy	80	37.0	21.1	2.0	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.2	0.6	2.0	2.4	8.9	16.2	.548	0.2	0.6	.306	3.1	4.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	9	40.7	24.2	1.2	4.3	5.6	3.0	1.6	0.3	2.4	2.0	10.0	20.1	.497	0.2	0.9	.250	4.0	4.8	.837

Season 9
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1992-93	1990-91
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	39.5	26.1	3.5	9.6	13.0	3.5	1.8	4.2	3.2	3.7	10.3	19.5	.529	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	7.0	.779
difference:	+4	+0.9	+4.7	+2.1	+6.4	+8.4		+0.5	+3.8	-1.6	-2.2	+1.1	+0.8	+.037	+0.3	+1.1	+.289	+2.7	+3.6	+.018
James Worthy	78	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.2	4.6	3.5	1.3	0.4	1.6	1.5	9.2	18.7	.492	0.3	1.2	.289	2.7	3.4	.797
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	12	43.2	25.7	4.3	9.7	14.0	4.8	1.8	4.9	3.8	3.1	10.3	19.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.3	.827
difference:	+6	+2.5	+4.6	+2.9	+7.0	+9.9	+0.9	+0.7	+4.8	-1.6	-1.2	+1.4	+0.6	+.052	+0.2	+1.2	+.167	+2.3	+2.3	+.091
James Worthy	18	40.7	21.1	1.4	2.7	4.1	3.9	1.1	0.1	2.2	1.9	8.9	19.2	.465	0.2	1.3	.167	2.9	4.0	.736

Season 10
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1993-94	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	80	41.0	27.3	2.9	9.1	11.9	3.6	1.6	3.7	3.4	3.6	11.2	21.2	.528	0.1	0.2	.421	4.9	6.8	.716
difference:	+26	+2.0	+7.4	+1.1	+5.3	+6.3	+1.1	+0.2	+3.3	-1.0	-2.0	+2.9	+2.6	+.081	+0.1	+0.6	+.212	+1.8	+3.0	+.098
James Worthy	54	39.0	19.9	1.8	3.8	5.6	4.7	1.4	0.4	2.4	1.6	8.3	18.6	.447	0.2	0.8	.209	3.1	3.8	.814
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	23	43.0	28.9	2.4	8.7	11.0	4.3	1.7	4.0	3.6	3.6	11.6	22.3	.519	0.1	0.2	.500	5.6	7.0	.795
James Worthy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1994-95	1992-93
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	72	39.6	27.8	2.4	8.4	10.8	3.5	1.8	3.4	3.3	3.5	11.1	21.5	.517	0.0	0.2	.188	5.6	7.5	.756
difference:	+10	+10.8	+12.9	+1.5	+6.3	+7.8	+0.1	+0.7	+3.1	-1.6	-2.4	+4.9	+7.6	+.070	+0.4	+1.2	+.082	+3.5	+4.9	+.054
James Worthy	82	28.8	14.9	0.9	2.1	3.0	3.4	1.1	0.3	1.7	1.1	6.2	13.9	.447	0.4	1.4	.270	2.1	2.6	.810
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	22	42.2	33.0	2.0	8.3	10.3	4.5	1.2	2.8	3.1	4.3	13.9	26.2	.531	0.1	0.2	.500	5.0	7.4	.681
difference:	+17	+12.6	+19.2	+0.6	+6.3	+6.9	+1.9	+0.2	+2.8	-1.7	-2.1	+7.5	+9.0	+.159	+0.3	+1.4	+.250	+4.4	+6.4	+.081
James Worthy	5	29.6	13.8	1.4	2.0	3.4	2.6	1.0	0.0	1.4	2.2	6.4	17.2	.372	0.4	1.6	.250	0.6	1.0	.600

Season 12
	Hakeem Olajuwon	James Worthy
Season	1995-96	1993-94
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	72	38.8	26.9	2.4	8.4	10.9	3.6	1.6	2.9	3.4	3.4	10.7	20.8	.514	0.0	0.2	.214	5.5	7.6	.724
difference:	+8	+18.8	+16.7	+1.8	+6.7	+8.6	+1.7	+1.0	+2.7	-2.2	-2.4	+6.4	+10.3	+.108	+0.4	+1.2	+.074	+4.2	+5.9	+.017
James Worthy	80	20.0	10.2	0.6	1.7	2.3	1.9	0.6	0.2	1.2	1.0	4.3	10.5	.406	0.4	1.4	.288	1.3	1.7	.741
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	8	41.1	22.4	2.1	7.0	9.1	3.9	1.9	2.1	3.6	3.5	9.4	18.4	.510	0.0	0.1	.000	3.6	5.0	.725
James Worthy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 6 seasons more than James Worthy in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 18, from 1997 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 4 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over James Worthy, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 All-Star Game