Hakeem Olajuwon
| Position: Center |
Olympic #: 15 |
| Born: 1/21/63 (Lagos, Nigeria) |
College: Univ. of Houston |
| Height: 7’0” |
Weight: 250 lbs. |
Nigerian-born Hakeem "the Dream" Olajuwon has staked his claim as one of the greatest players in NBA history. Long considered to be a physical marvel, his efforts in the Houston Rockets’ back-to-back NBA Championships have earned him a place among the game’s best. In 1993-94, he had a storybook season, becoming the first player to be named NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and NBA Finals MVP in the same season as Houston won its first NBA Championship. The following season he rallied the Rockets from a sixth seed in the playoffs to their second straight NBA crown, making Houston one of only five NBA franchises ever to win back-to-back titles.
Olajuwon, whose name translates into "always being on top," began playing basketball at age 15 in Nigeria. Two years later he enrolled at the University of Houston and quickly became a dominating player. His training as a soccer and handball player helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his overpowering strength and size. He played three seasons and pushed the Cougars’ "Phi Slamma Jamma" squad into the Final Four each year. In 1983-84, he averaged 16.8 points and led the NCAA in rebounding (13.5 rpg), blocked shots (5.6 per game), and field goal percentage (.675). He was a First Team All-America selection that season.
The Houston Rockets claimed the 7-0 Olajuwon with the number one overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. He joined 1983 top draft pick Ralph Sampson (74) to form Houston’s "Twin Towers." In his rookie year, 1984-85, Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds while shooting .538 from the field. (He has maintained those averages throughout his career.) That same year he and Sampson became the first teammates since Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor in 1970 to both average better than 20 points and 10 rebounds. Olajuwon finished second to Michael Jordan in Rookie of the Year balloting.
The next year, 1985-86, Olajuwon and Sampson powered the Rockets into the NBA Finals, in which they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. In 1986-87, Sampson began to suffer from injuries, and Olajuwon developed into one of the game’s top big men. He was an All-NBA First Team selection for three straight years from 1987 to 1989; an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection in 1987, 1988, and 1990; and the starting center for the Western Conference All-Stars in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990.
Olajuwon regularly placed among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and steals. He won rebounding titles in 1989 and 1990, averaging 13.5 and 14.0 rebounds, respectively. In 1989 he became the first player to finish among the league’s top 10 in scoring (24.8 ppg, 10th), rebounding (13.5 rpg, first), steals (2.60 spg, sixth), and blocked shots (3.44 per game, fourth) for two straight seasons. He led the NBA in blocked shots in 1990 with 4.59 per game and in 1991 at 3.95 per contest.
Despite Olajuwon’s play, the Rockets had settled into mediocrity since the team’s trip to the NBA Finals in 1986--Houston didn’t win a playoff series from 1988 through 1992. Beginning in 1992-93, Olajuwon got even better, taking himself and the Rockets to new levels of success. With a new line of spins, fadeaway shots and jump shots, he became virtually unstoppable on offense while continuing to mature both on defense and as a team leader. In the next three seasons he averaged 26.1 points, 27.3 points, and 27.8 points, respectively. In 1993 he was NBA Defensive Player of the Year and runner-up for league MVP as the Rockets won 55 games and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals.
In 1993-94, Olajuwon attained the pinnacle of achievement when he won both the league and NBA Finals MVP Awards while leading Houston to its first-ever NBA crown. The Rockets entered the 1994-95 postseason seeded sixth in the Western Conference, but Olajuwon averaged 33.0 points on .531 shooting from the field in the playoffs to help Houston capture its second consecutive NBA Championship. His transcendent performance throughout the postseason earned him mention among the greatest winners in recent history--players such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Isiah Thomas.
Following another strong showing in which he finished the 1995-96 season ranked second in scoring (26.9 ppg.), sixth in rebounding (10.9 rpg.) and fourth in blocked shots (2.88 bpg.), Olajuwon today lists as the NBA's all-time blocked shot leader with 3,190 and ranks as the Rockets all-time scoring leader with 21,840 points.
Sworn in as a United States citizen on April 2, 1993, Hakeem's dream of playing in the Olympics became possible on July 21, 1995, when FIBA Secretary General Borislav Stankovic, after consulting with the FIBA Commission for Legal Matters and Eligibility, ruled him eligible for the U.S. team.
