Hakeem Olajuwon assumed he'd return to in the NBA Finals soon enough after a loss to Larry Bird and the mighty Boston Celtics in 1986. The then 23-year-old big man was a bit naive in his assessment.
Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets endured a period of extended frustration in the interceding years between their '86 Finals appearance and the franchise's first championship in 1994. Olajuwon stood as the leading big man in basketball as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar exited his prime. Houston reached the playoffs in six of seven years, but regular-season success preceded a slew of painful playoff exits.