Background

Hakeem Olajuwon was born on January 21, 1963 in Lagos, Nigeria. He was the third of six children born to Salim and Abike Olajuwon, middle-class Muslims who owned a thriving cement business in Lagos.

Education

A gifted athlete, Hakeem was a soccer goalkeeper from an early age before learning to play team handball as a junior at Muslim Teachers College, a high school in Lagos. Olajuwon did not play basketball until late 1978 when, at the age of fifteen, he joined the school's basketball team coached by Ganiyu Otenigbade, who taught him to play the center position.

Richard Mills, a United States coach who was head of the Nigerian National Sports Coaching Institute, spotted Olajuwon playing in a pick-up game in Lagos and invited him to play with the Nigerian National Team. The other players were older, bigger, and stronger than Olajuwon, who was still in high school, and he saw limited action. Mills then selected the seventeen-year-old Olajuwon for the Nigerian Junior National Team and, just two years after he began playing basketball, Olajuwon starred in the All-Africa games in Luanda, Angola. The Nigerians lost in the semifinals to the Central African Republic, but Olajuwon impressed the opposing team's United States-born coach, Chris Pond, with his size and quickness. Pond called various basketball contacts in the United States and arranged for Olajuwon to visit six schools, including St. John's University and the University of Houston.

Olajuwon arrived in New York City in October 1980. Shocked by the hustle and bustle of the airport and New York's cold weather, he cancelled his trip to St. John's and flew straight to Houston, where he asked a taxi driver to take him to the "University of Austin." The driver figured that Olajuwon meant the University of Houston, and when Olajuwon arrived on campus, the coaching staff immediately knew that they had struck gold. The six-foot, eleven-inch Nigerian was offered a full scholarship.

At the suggestion of head coach Guy Lewis, Olajuwon, who weighed barely 190 pounds in 1980, "red-shirted," or sat out, his first year to mature physically and learn the fundamentals of basketball. Olajuwon spent the summer after his freshman year playing basketball at Houston's Fonde Recreation Center, where he gained toughness in frequent match-ups against the bruising Moses Malone, who was then playing for the Houston Rockets.

In his first year of college basketball, Olajuwon played a minimal role in the Houston Cougars run to the 1982 Final Four, where they lost to the University of North Carolina. In 1983 Olajuwon blossomed as a player, leading Houston on a twenty-two-game winning streak while averaging over twenty points and twenty rebounds per game. He led Houston to victory over a potent Louisville team in the national semifinals, but the heavily favored Cougars lost to North Carolina State in the title game.

In 1984, with Clyde Drexler gone to the NBA's Portland Trailblazers, Olajuwon became the focal point of the Houston team, leading the nation in rebounding, averaging 13.5 per game, and field-goal accuracy with 67.5 percent, while earning Player of the Year honors. He led the Cougars to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship game, but Houston lost again, this time to the Georgetown Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing. After the 1984 season, Olajuwon opted to turn professional.

Career

Foregoing his final year of college eligibility, Olajuwon was selected as the number one overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. Olajuwon, paired with Ralph Sampson in the front court, had a stellar rookie year, averaging 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, and finished second to Jordan in the Rookie of Year voting. During the 1985-86 season Olajuwon averaged 23.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game and led his team to face the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals, but lost the series four games to two.

The next several years of Olajuwon's career proved frustrating. Although his personal statistics remained impressive, Olajuwon struggled with injuries and an overall weak team that failed to produce playoff wins. By the end of the 1991-92 season, Olajuwon was demanding that Houston management trade him. Instead, Houston brought in a new coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, who worked to keep Olajuwon in a Rockets uniform. The year proved to be a turning point for Olajuwon and the Rockets. Under Tomjanovich the team began to once again post wins, making it into the second round of the NBA playoffs before losing to the Seattle Supersonics in seven games.

By the 1993-94 season Olajuwon was at the peak of his career. His undefendable fade-away jump shot, combined with his powerful dunks and tenacious defense under the basket proved a nearly unstoppable combination. Posting a season average of 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game, Olajuwon was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Facing star center Ewing and the New York Knicks in the NBA finals, Olajuwon won his first NBA title, defeating the Knicks in seven games. The following season the Rockets, who were plagued by injuries throughout the regular season, surprised many by returning to the NBA finals, this time facing center Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic. Olajuwon dominated at both ends of the floor, and the Rockets took the seven-game series in four games. Olajuwon, once again named the NBA Finals MVP, ended the season with his second championship title.

As Olajuwon aged, his minutes on the court and statistics took a natural decline, and Houston management began planning a future beyond his presence on the court. During the 2000-01 season Olajuwon was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg and benched while he took a series of blood thinners. At the end of the season Olajuwon's contract expired, and Houston management decided to free themselves of Olajuwon's hefty salary and traded their premiere center to the Toronto Raptors. There he played only one season before retiring in 2002. At the time of his retirement, Olajuwon ranked 7th in career points scored in the NBA (26,946) and 11th in career rebounds (13,748); he was also the league's all-time leader in blocked shots (3,830).

After retirement, in the 2006 NBA offseason, Olajuwon opened his first Big Man Camp, where he teaches young frontcourt players the finer points of playing in the post.

Achievements

• Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He led the Cougars to three consecutive Final Four appearances from 1982 to 1984, and was named the Most Outstanding Player in 1983. He also led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 and was named Finals MVP both years. Selected to twelve NBA All Star games, Olajuwon holds the NBA record for blocked shots (3,830) and is the only player to record more than 3,000 blocked shots and 2,000 steals in a career. The 1994 NBA regular season Most Valuable Player recorded 26,946 points and 13,748 rebounds during his career.
  
  In 2008, Hakeem was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Living the Dream: My Life and Basketball

    (The star of the Houston Rockets chronicles the cross-cult...)

    1996

Religion

Some time after graduation from college, Olajuwon became a devout Muslim. On March 9, 1991, he altered his name from Akeem to the more conventional spelling of Hakeem. Hakeem is a strict observer of Ramadan (he abstains from food and drink during daylight hours for about a month).

Views

In 2005, Hakeem Olajuwon's Islamic Da'Wah Center of Houston donated more than $80,000 to charities.

Quotations: "I don't think Michael had to retire for us to get the spotlight, because when you win, it commands attention."

"I've now been in this country for thirteen years, since I was seventeen. So this is my second home."

"Being from Africa is the best thing that could have ever, ever happened to me. I cannot see it any other way. All of my fundamental principles that were instilled in me in my home, from my childhood, are still with me."

"When I look at the system here and look at my position - not just as a basketball player, but when I look around me at the values of the people and the culture and compare them with the values of where I came from - I feel so blessed to be from Africa."

"All these boundaries - Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America - are set by men. But you don't have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man - at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower, or are you a leader?"

"When you get to that level, it's not a matter of talent anymore - because all the players are so talented - it's about preparation, about playing smart and making good decisions."

"I always keep a ball in the car. You never know."

"My background playing soccer gave me a natural advantage over many of the American-born players."

"Basketball is in my blood. It is my obligation to try."

"I'm shy, but sometimes my voice is so clear and strong. Your tongue moves, and the Arabic language is so beautiful."

"I remember at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Shaq always wanted me to show him steps over and over."

"I was successful materially, but I know life is much more than worldly success. I saw all these blessings God had given me. The way to give thanks is obedience to God."

"The key to fashion is, you don't want to look like you're trying. You've gotta be natural."

Personality

Hakeem is shy and respectful.

Olajuwon is fluent in English, French, Arabic, and the Nigerian languages of Yoruba and Ekiti.

Physical Characteristics: Hakeem Olajuwon is 7 ft 0 in (213 cm) tall and weighs 255 lb (116 kg).

Quotes from others about the person

• James Harden: "I'm honored to be a part of it. Obviously, he's around our locker room very, very often so we have conversations. His play, the way he impacted the game on both ends of the floor, that's why he's one of the best ever."
  
  Ryan Anderson: "He's such a great guy. You run into him and he's such a nice guy. You don't run a lot of superstar talents like that that are genuinely good people. He's one of them. He deserves every honor, especially in this city and with this team. He's an awesome guy. I'm really happy for him to get acknowledged."

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  soccer

Connections

Hakeem had a relationship with Lita Spencer, with whom he has an older daughter, Abisola. Olajuwon married Dalia Asafi on August 8, 1996. Their marriage produced four children; two daughters - Rahmah and Aisha and two sons - Abdullah and Abdul.

Father:

Salim Olajuwon

Mother:

Abike Olajuwon

Spouse:

Dalia Asafi

(born 1978)

ex-partner:

Lita Spencer

(born November 24, 1964)

Daughter:

Rahmah Olajuwon

Daughter:

Aisha Olajuwon

Son:

Abdullah Olajuwon

Son:

Abdul Olajuwon

Daughter:

Abisola Olajuwon

(born July 6, 1988)

Abisola Olajuwon is a Nigerian-American basketball coach and former player.

colleague:

Kobe Bryant

References

• Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States A comprehensive reference work on the development of athletics in the United States; this encyclopedia examines the sporting experience of Native Americans, African Americans and the immigrant groups of the United States from Colonial times to the present. It includes entries on racial and ethnic groups, ethnic sports, mainstream sports, ethnic and racial institutions and famous sports figures.
  2000
• Big Men Who Shook the NBA Big Men Who Shook the NBA includes compelling and surprisingly frank profiles of the 25 best NBA centers ever. Each player's greatest games, moments, and achievements are captured dramatic photographs, detailed anecdotes, and statistical support.
  2003
• The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy Bill Simmons, the wildly opinionated and thoroughly entertaining basketball addict known to millions as ESPN's The Sports Guy, has written the definitive book on the past, present, and future of the NBA.
  2009
• Hakeem's Twitter
• Hakeem's Instagram