Known by the nickname “The Dream,” Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon was born on January 21, 1963. The Nigerian-born basketball player made history in the NBA with the Houston Rockets.
In 1994 and 1995, he led his team to championships and has been regarded as one of the greatest centers (5s) in NBA history.
Born in Lagos, Hakeem is the third of eight children of Yoruba parents Salim and Abike Olajuwon. He has expressed his respect for his family, crediting them with instilling in him values such as hard work, honesty, respect for elders, and self-confidence.
In his youth, Olajuwon played football as a goalkeeper before discovering basketball at the age of 15 during a tournament at the Muslim Teachers College in Lagos.
According to reports, a coach at the school asked him to perform a slam dunk and even tried to demonstrate it by standing on a chair. Although Olajuwon couldn’t complete the dunk at that moment, he would go on to use that technique frequently during his professional basketball career.
From the moment he first encountered the sport, Olajuwon fell in love with basketball. He described his introduction to the game as follows:
“Basketball was such a different thing that when I first held the ball, I said, ‘This is my life.’ All other sports lost their meaning to me.”
The Rise of The Dream
Olajuwon moved from Nigeria to the United States to play college basketball under Guy Lewis at the University of Houston.
At the time, not many universities were interested in recruiting him. In fact, no one was there to meet him at the airport. However, through determination and resilience, he overcame these early challenges.
During the 1980–81 season, he was not allowed to play by the NCAA and spent the year as a redshirt, watching from the sidelines.
In the 1981–82 season, he played as the sixth man, averaging 8.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. That season, Houston made it to the Final Four but was eliminated after a loss to North Carolina.
Seeking more playing time, Olajuwon was advised to train with Moses Malone. Taking this advice seriously, he trained hard and made significant progress.
“Moses helped me a lot by playing against me and pushing me to the highest level. At that time, he was the best center in the NBA, and I tried to improve by competing with him,” he later said.
From that point on, Olajuwon’s career gained tremendous momentum. His dunks were so graceful that his coach gave him the nickname “The Dream.”
In both 1983 and 1984, he led his team to the NCAA Finals, although they lost to North Carolina State and Georgetown, respectively. During the 1982–83 season, he averaged 13.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 5.1 blocks per game. In 1983–84, he posted averages of 16.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 5.6 blocks.
He was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the 1983 NCAA Tournament. Following his successful college career, Olajuwon declared early for the NBA Draft and was selected as the number one overall pick.
Championships, MVPs, and Legacy
In his rookie season, Olajuwon helped improve his team from 29 wins to 48 wins. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Michael Jordan, posting an impressive stat line of 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.68 blocks per game.
Just one year later, he led his team to the NBA Finals, but they lost 4-2 to the legendary Boston Celtics.
Over the next six seasons, things were turbulent for the Houston Rockets. However, between 1993 and 1995, Olajuwon delivered such outstanding performances that he was later considered one of the greatest centers in history.
In 1994, the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks in a seven-game Finals series to win the championship. Thanks to his dominant display, Olajuwon earned the Finals MVP award.
That same year, he also won the regular season MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year award — becoming the first player in NBA history to claim all three honors in a single season.
The following year, although he suffered from anemia, the arrival of his former college teammate Clyde Drexler greatly strengthened the Rockets.
They went on to sweep the Orlando Magic 4-0 in the Finals. Olajuwon scored over 30 points in every game of the series and was once again named Finals MVP.
The Rockets’ championship run came to an end in 1996, when they were eliminated by Seattle in the Western Conference semifinals.
Michael Jordan had returned to the league in 1995, and the Chicago Bulls went on to dominate the next three years.
The Rockets and Bulls never faced each other in the playoffs. Between 1991 and 1998, these two legendary teams claimed every NBA championship.
Defense, Dominance, and the Dream Shake
Before moving to the United States, Olajuwon played for the Nigerian national team.
After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1993, he also represented the United States national team. Known for his strength and excellence on both offense and defense, Olajuwon remains the only player in NBA history to record at least 200 blocks and 200 steals in a single season.
He is also the only center among the top 10 all-time leaders in steals in NBA history. With a career average of 11.1 rebounds per game, he was the NBA rebounding leader in both 1989 and 1990.
He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice and was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team five times. In fact, in 2022, the NBA renamed the Defensive Player of the Year award the “Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy.”
On offense, he was famous for his iconic “Dream Shake” move. He is one of only four players in NBA history to record a quadruple-double. In The Athletic’s list commemorating the NBA’s 75th anniversary, Olajuwon was ranked as the 11th greatest player of all time.
Beyond Basketball: Olajuwon’s Life of Faith and Values
On August 8, 1996, Hakeem married Dalia Asafi in Houston, and the couple has four children. He is fluent in English, French, Arabic, and Yoruba.
Rather than working with high-end brands like Nike and Reebok, Hakeem has chosen to support more affordable shoes. He explained his reasoning by saying,
“It’s impossible for a mother with three children and limited resources to buy a $120 pair of Nike or Reebok shoes. That’s why the kids steal these shoes, and sometimes they even kill for them.”
Although Hakeem could sometimes be aggressive on the court, over time, he became more religious and developed a more balanced character through Islam.
He has admitted to deepening his faith by reading the Quran every day. During the Ramadan fasting period, he continued to observe the fast and, despite fasting, was named the NBA Player of the Month.
Hakeem Olajuwon became a heroic figure in Houston and earned over 100 million dollars throughout his career. All of his investments were in cash, as Islam prohibits interest, and he strictly adhered to the principles of his faith.
Later, he moved to Jordan, where he dedicated himself to studying Islamic sciences.