Best: Houston Rockets — Hakeem Olajuwon
James Harden may be on his way to a second straight MVP, but he can’t even sniff Hakeem Olajuwon. The Dream helped the Rockets to back to back NBA titles in the mid-90s, winning Finals MVP both years.
He was league MVP one of the years as well and was one of the best defensive players in league history and probably the game’s best international player of all time. Olajuwon leads the Rockets all-time in blocks and steals, along with points and rebounds of course, and he was a true ambassador for the game.
Worst: Houston Rockets — Kelvin Cato
A textbook example of the NBA era in which teams throw staggering amounts of money at anyone who stood close to seven-feet tall and could simply walk in a straight line while chewing on a piece of gum, without hurting themselves. The 6-foot-11 Kelvin Cato hailed from tiny Lithonia, Georgia, and averaged a rather pedestrian 11 points and 8 rebounds (and four blocks) per game at Iowa State University.
Houston acquired Cato as part of the six guys they acquired when trading away Scottie Pippen, and in a classic “contract year” move, Cato averaged a career-high 8.7 points per game his first year with the Rockets. That led Houston to hand him a six-year, $42 million contract, but receiving an ROI in the form of 5.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game from Cato over the next four years.