Austin Rivers will drop a comparison of Haikum Olajuwon for Anthony Edwards ahead of the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will lock the Oklahoma City Thunder and Horn in the conference finals to book a place in the 2025 NBA Finals.
It is expected to be a great series with Anthony Edwards leading the Timberwolves against Shy Gass Alexander’s lightning.
Ahead of the much-anticipated series, Austin Rivers recalls the battle between David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs and Haekum Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets.
All signs point to Thunder’s Gill Alexander, who won the 2025 NBA MVP. But even if he wins honor, he still has to pass Ali to reach the NBA Finals.
That being said, Rivers recalls the WCF battle between Robinson and Olajuwon in 1995, with the latter team registering a 4-2 series victory for the former.
“That’s what solidified Haekum as one of the greatest greats of all time. His talent, skills, and dreams shaking. He was fast, his legs lighter. We got it all,” Rivers said.
“I think that David Robinson, who was so underrated, when he talks about Big’s history, that Heycombe took it to him and destroyed him.
“And that’s when it’s like people. This guy is really good,” he added.
For context, Robinson was named the 1995 NBA MVP, but thanks to Hakeem’s great series, his spur was eliminated in WCF.
So far, the Edwards-led Timberwolves have won back-to-back series against the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. In both series, the T-Wolves recorded a 4-1 victory.
It may not be easy to hand the gentleman to the first seed in the west, but Rivers still expects an Olajuwon-esque performance from Edwards.
“This is Hakeem Olajuwon, a David Robinson situation where we could be here. Anthony Edwards sees the MVP who says, “I hope I’m better than you.”
“He’s going to win. If I’m Ali, I’m ‘I’m coming to give you it because you’re much better than me, so I want to see. We’ll see how good you are,” Rivers said.
Edwards averages 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game so far in the postseason. Meanwhile, Shai has increased 29.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game.