Rockets Legend Hakeem Olajuwon Among Best No. 1 Picks

Hakeem Olajuwon was taken by the Houston Rockets with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft.

NBA Hall of Fame member Hakeem Olajuwon during the game between the Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets could have their turn on the clock by winning tonight's NBA Draft Lottery, where they hold the ninth-best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick.

The Rockets have only had the top selection once since 1984, when they selected Houston Cougars star Hakeem Olajuwon with the No. 1 overall pick.

Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley named Olajuwon the sixth-best No. 1 overall pick of all-time.

"You could never boil Olajuwon's historic career down to a single campaign. He was way too good for way too long to even think about it," Buckley wrote.

"If for some strange reason you had to, though, then the 1993-94 season would be the obvious choice for his gold standard. That's when he captured the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP all in the same season. That feat has never been matched in NBA history, and only two other players (Michael Jordan and Giannis Antetokounmpo) have collected all three awards at any point in their careers.

"Olajuwon, by the way, preceded that season with his first DPOY and followed it by steering the Rockets to a second consecutive championship. His accolades feel too numerous to detail, so we'll wrap here: He cracked the top-15 all-time in total points (14th), rebounds (14th) and blocks (first—by a comical margin)."

The players ahead of Olajuwon on the list were Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James.

The Rockets will participate in tonight's draft lottery at 6 p.m. CT.