HAKEEM OLAJUWON
Hakeem Abdul "The Dream" Olajuwon (Lagos, January 21, 1963) is a former Nigerian-American basketball player who served for the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was drafted in first position by the Houston Rockets in the 1984 NBA Draft, in what is considered by many to be the best draft in history, and leaving in third position none other than Michael Jordan.
Early life
Hakeem Olajuwon is the son of Salim and Abike Olajuwon, who own a cement business in Lagos. He was the third of eight
children. Hakeem credits his parents with instilling virtues of hard work and discipline for him and his brothers;
"They taught us to be honest, to work hard, to respect our elders and to believe in ourselves." Olajuwon expressed
discontent with his childhood in Nigeria, being characterized as backward. "Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city ...
There are many ethnic groups. I grew up in an environment where there were different types of people."
During his youth, Olajuwon was a soccer goalkeeper, which helped give him leg work and agility to balance his size and
strength in basketball and also contributed to his ability to make stumps. He did not play basketball until 17 years old,
when he entered a local tournament.
Despite the initial difficulties, Olajuwon said: "Basketball is something that is so unique. That I immediately start
playing and, you know, I realize that this is my life. All other sports have become obsolete."
College career
Olajuwon emigrated from Nigeria to play basketball at the University of Houston under Guy Lewis. Olajuwon was not highly
recruited and was only offered a visit to the university to work on the technical team, based on the recommendation of a
friend of Lewis who had seen Olajuwon play.
After not playing in his freshman year in 1980-81, because he still had no NCAA clearance, Olajuwon played in the 1981-82
season and the Cougars were eliminated in the Final Four by the eventual NCAA champion, University of North Carolina .
Olajuwon sought guidance from the coaching staff on how to increase his playing time and was advised to work with NBA
player Moses Malone. Malone, who at the time played for the NBA's Houston Rockets, trained when he had no games at the
Fonde Recreation Center. Olajuwon joined training and faced Malone in several games over the summer.
Olajuwon returned from that summer as a different player. He and his teammates (including Clyde Drexler) formed what
has been dubbed "Phi Slama Jama", the first "fraternity" to be buried, so named because of his dexterity in the air.
He helped the Cougars advance to consecutive NCAA finals, where they lost to the University of North Carolina in 1983
and Patrick Ewing's Georgetown in 1984. Olajuwon won the NCAA MVP award in 1983, despite playing for the losing team
in the last game. He is, to date, the last losing player to receive this honor. Drexler left for the NBA in 1983,
leaving Olajuwon as the team's lone star.
After the 1983-84 season, Olajuwon debated whether to stay in college or declare himself for the NBA Draft. At that
time, the first choice was decided by a coin toss. Olajuwon recalled: "I really believed Houston was going to win and
take 1st choice, and I really wanted to play in Houston, so I had to make that decision (leave early)."
His intuition proved to be correct and a lucky move put Houston ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers. Olajuwon was
named the best Draft player in the summer of 1984, among fellow and future NBA stars, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley
and John Stockton.
In her autobiography, Living the Dream, Olajuwon mentions an intriguing exchange offered to the Rockets that would
have sent Clyde Drexler and second choice in Portland's 1984 NBA Draft in exchange for Ralph Sampson. The Rockets
chosen by Michael Jordan with the second choice and play alongside Olajuwon and Drexler, who emerged from chemistry
during their Phi Slama Jama days in college. Sports journalist Sam Smith speculates that such an exchange "would
have changed the history of the league and perhaps the entire legend of Michael Jordan". From 1991 to 1998, all
teams that reached an NBA final included Jordan or Olajuwon; In addition, Drexler, Jordan and Olajuwon are happening
in all NBA finals from 1990 to 1998.
NBA career
Houston Rockers
The Rockets had immediate success during Olajuwon's debut season, as their record of wins and losses improved from
29-53 in 1983-84 to 48-34 in 1984-85. He joined the 1984 Newbie of the Year, Ralph Sampson, 2.24 m, to form the duo
called: "Twin Towers". Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.68 blocks in his debut season. He finished
as runner-up to Michael Jordan at the Newbie of the Year award in 1985, they were the only newcomers to receive votes.
Titles
Olajuwon gained fame as a clutch and also as one of the main centers of history, based on his performances in the 1993–94
and 1994–95 seasons. He overcame centers like Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal and Dikembe Mutombo, and
other great defenders like Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone. Many of his battles were with his rival David Robinson of the
San Antonio Spurs.
Olajuwon led the Rockets to the NBA title in 1994 in a series of seven games against the New York Knicks. In Game 7,
Olajuwon scored 25 points and 10 rebounds, which helped to defeat the Knicks, bringing Houston's first professional
title since the Houston Oilers won the American football championship in 1961. For his efforts, Olajuwon was elected
the MVP NBA Finals.
Olajuwon was at the height of his career. In 1994, he became the only player in NBA history to win the MVP, Final MVP
and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. He was also the first foreign-born player to win the league's
MVP award.
Despite the team's slow start and Olajuwon not playing eight games with anemia, the Rockets won two championships in
1995. The San Antonio Spurs center, David Robinson, recently crowned MVP, was overtaken by Olajuwon in the Conference
Finals. When asked later what a team needed to do to "score" Olajuwon, Robinson told LIFE magazine: "Hakeem? You don't
score Hakeem". The Rockets have won all away games in this series.
In the NBA finals, the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic, which was led by a young Shaquille O'Neal. Olajuwon overcame
O'Neal in every game. Olajuwon was again named MVP of the Finals.
Toronto Raptors
Houston began to rebuild, bringing in young Cuttino Mobley and co-rookie from 2000, Steve Francis. On August 2, 2001,
after declining a $ 13 million deal with the Rockets, Olajuwon was traded to the Toronto Raptors for draft picks (the
highest was used by Houston to select Boštjan Nachbar as the 15th choice in the NBA Draft 2002). having a three-year
contract that would give him $ 18 million.
Olajuwon averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in the NBA's final season, when he decided to retire in the fall
of 2002 due to a back injury.
Olajuwon retired as the league leader of all time in total blocks with 3,830, although the blocks did not become an
official statistic until the 1973-74 NBA season. Shortly after his retirement, his shirt # 34 was retired by the Rockets.
