Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995.
76 Facts About Hakeem Olajuwon
2.
Hakeem Olajuwon is widely considered to be one of the greatest centers, as well as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
3.
Hakeem Olajuwon was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA draft, a draft that included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.
4.
Hakeem Olajuwon combined with the 7-foot-4-inch Ralph Sampson to form a duo dubbed the "Twin Towers".
5.
Hakeem Olajuwon led the league in rebounding twice and blocks three times.
6.
The Rockets' 1994 championship against the New York Knicks was the first in franchise history, with Hakeem Olajuwon avenging his college championship loss to Patrick Ewing.
7.
In 1996, Hakeem Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold medal-winning United States national basketball team, and he was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
8.
Hakeem Olajuwon ended his career as the league's all-time leader in blocks and is one of four NBA players to record a quadruple-double.
9.
Hakeem Olajuwon was born to Salim and Abike Hakeem Olajuwon, working-class Yoruba owners of a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria.
10.
Hakeem Olajuwon did not play basketball until the age of 15 in high school, when he entered a local tournament while at the Muslim Teachers College in Lagos, Nigeria.
11.
Hakeem Olajuwon emigrated from Nigeria to play basketball at the University of Houston under Cougars coach Guy Lewis.
12.
Hakeem Olajuwon was not highly recruited and was merely offered a visit to the university to work out for the coaching staff, based on a recommendation from a friend of Lewis who had seen Hakeem Olajuwon play.
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Hakeem Olajuwon later recalled that when he originally arrived at the airport in 1980 for the visit, no representative of the school was there to greet him.
14.
Hakeem Olajuwon sought advice from the coaching staff about how to increase his playing time, and they advised him to work out with local Houston resident and multiple NBA MVP winner, Moses Malone.
15.
Hakeem Olajuwon joined the workouts and went head to head with Malone in several games throughout the summer.
16.
Hakeem Olajuwon was the best center in the NBA at the time, so I was trying to improve my game against the best.
17.
Hakeem Olajuwon was voted the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1983, when he was named the Helms Foundation Player of the Year.
18.
Hakeem Olajuwon was selected first overall by the Rockets in the 1984 NBA draft.
19.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.68 blocks in his rookie season.
20.
Hakeem Olajuwon finished as runner-up to Michael Jordan in the 1985 Rookie of the Year voting, and was the only other rookie to receive any votes.
21.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game during his second pro season.
22.
Hakeem Olajuwon posted exceptional playoff numbers of 37.5 ppg and 16.8 rpg, plus a record for points in a four-game playoff series.
23.
Hakeem Olajuwon put up one of the most productive defensive seasons by an interior player in the history of the NBA.
24.
Hakeem Olajuwon won the NBA rebounding crown again, this time by an even larger margin; a full two rebounds per game over David Robinson, and led the league in blocks by averaging 4.6 per game.
25.
Hakeem Olajuwon recorded a quadruple-double during the season, becoming only the third player in NBA history to do so.
26.
Hakeem Olajuwon missed two weeks early in the season due to an accelerated heartbeat.
27.
Hakeem Olajuwon expressed displeasure with the organization's efforts to surround him with quality players.
28.
Hakeem Olajuwon felt the Rockets had cut corners at every turn, and were more concerned with the bottom line than winning.
29.
Hakeem Olajuwon's agent cited his differences with the organization as being "irreconcilable", and Olajuwon publicly insulted owner Charlie Thomas and the team's front office.
30.
Hakeem Olajuwon set a new career-high with 26.1 points per game.
31.
Hakeem Olajuwon finished second in the MVP race to Charles Barkley with 22 votes to Barkley's 59.
32.
Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets to a championship in the 1994 NBA Finals in a seven-game series against the New York Knicks, the team of one of Hakeem Olajuwon's perennial rivals since his collegiate days, Patrick Ewing.
33.
Hakeem Olajuwon pulled off a clutch play by blocking the shot as time expired.
34.
Hakeem Olajuwon was the first foreign-born player to win the league's MVP award.
35.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game during the regular season.
36.
Hakeem Olajuwon displayed perhaps the most impressive moments of his career during the playoffs.
37.
Hakeem Olajuwon outscored O'Neal in every game, scoring more than 30 points in each and raising his regular-season rate by five while O'Neal's production dropped by one.
38.
Hakeem Olajuwon's scoring production rose to 18.9 points per game, and he made his twelfth and final All-NBA Team.
39.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged career lows of 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in what would be his final season in the NBA, as he decided to retire in the fall of 2002, due to a back injury.
40.
In 1980, before arriving in the US, Hakeem Olajuwon played for a Nigerian junior team in the All-Africa Games.
41.
Hakeem Olajuwon was ineligible for selection to the "Dream Team" as he hadn't become a US citizen.
42.
Hakeem Olajuwon became a naturalized American citizen on April 2,1993.
43.
Hakeem Olajuwon played 7 out of the 8 games and started 2.
44.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 5 points and 3.1 rebounds and had 8 assists and 6 steals in seven games.
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Hakeem Olajuwon was highly skilled as both an offensive and defensive player.
46.
Hakeem Olajuwon was noted for both his outstanding shot-blocking ability and his unique talent for stealing the ball.
47.
Hakeem Olajuwon is the only player in NBA history to record more than 200 blocks and 200 steals in the same season.
48.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 3.09 blocks and 1.75 steals per game for his career.
49.
Hakeem Olajuwon is the only center to rank among the top ten all-time in steals.
50.
Hakeem Olajuwon was an outstanding rebounder, with a career average of 11.1 rebounds per game.
51.
Hakeem Olajuwon led the NBA in rebounding twice, during the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
52.
Hakeem Olajuwon was twice named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and was a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection.
53.
On offense, Hakeem Olajuwon was famous for his deft shooting touch around the basket and his nimble footwork in the low post.
54.
Hakeem Olajuwon was a prolific scorer, averaging 21.8 points per game for his career, and an above-average offensive rebounder, averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds per game.
55.
Additionally, Hakeem Olajuwon became a skilled dribbler with an ability to score in "face-up" situations like a perimeter player.
56.
Hakeem Olajuwon established himself as an unusually skilled offensive player for a big man, perfecting a set of fakes and spin moves that became known as his trademark Dream Shake.
57.
Robinson, an excellent defender, kept up with Hakeem Olajuwon and remained planted.
58.
Hakeem Olajuwon doesn't know where you're gonna turn and when.
59.
Hakeem Olajuwon married Dalia Asafi on August 8,1996, in Houston.
60.
Hakeem Olajuwon has an older daughter, Abisola from a previous relationship with Lita Spencer, whom he met in college.
61.
Hakeem Olajuwon wrote his autobiography, Living the Dream, with co-author Peter Knobler in 1996.
62.
At the University of Houston, Hakeem Olajuwon was a physical education major.
63.
Later, Hakeem Olajuwon took an active interest in spirituality, becoming a more devout Muslim.
64.
On March 9,1991, he altered his name from Akeem to the more conventional spelling of Hakeem Olajuwon, saying, "I'm not changing the spelling of my name, I'm correcting it".
65.
Hakeem Olajuwon was noted as sometimes playing better during the month of Ramadan, and in 1995 he was named NBA Player of the Month in February, even though Ramadan began on February 1 of that year.
66.
Hakeem Olajuwon played for 20 consecutive seasons in Houston, first collegiately for the University of Houston Cougars and then professionally with the Houston Rockets.
67.
Hakeem Olajuwon is considered a Houston icon and one of the city's most beloved citizens.
68.
Hakeem Olajuwon has had great success in the Houston real estate market, with his estimated profits exceeding $100 million.
69.
Hakeem Olajuwon buys in cash-only purchases, as it is against Islamic law to pay interest.
70.
Hakeem Olajuwon can add so much, make it easier for the entire team.
71.
Hakeem Olajuwon has worked with several NBA players, including power forward Emeka Okafor, and center Yao Ming.
72.
In 2010, Hakeem Olajuwon worked with Dwight Howard, helping him diversify his post moves and encouraging more mental focus.
73.
Hakeem Olajuwon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2008.
74.
Hakeem Olajuwon attended the 2013 NBA draft to bid farewell to retiring commissioner David Stern as Stern made his announcement for the final pick of the first round.
75.
Hakeem Olajuwon was the first pick announced by Stern back in 1984.
76.
Hakeem Olajuwon became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016.