Images

Hakeem Olajuwon

By Joe Borcia

  • Born

    Born
    Hakeem Olajuwon was born Lagos, Nigeria. Olajuwon did not pick up a basketball until the age of 15. He grew up playing what all the other kids played wich is soccer and handball. Olajuwon is one of the most captivating players to ever come through the NBA. A 3 time defensive player of the year, most valuable player, and 2 time NBA Champion wich in both victories he won MVP of the finals. He captivated fans with his absolotuely unrivaled majestic moves that captivated the whole league.

  • Moved to United States

    Moved to United States
    Mistakenly enrolled as "Akeem Olajuwon" at first, Olajuwon was in unfamiliar territory. Growing up from humble beginnings in Nigeria, Houston Texas was a shell shock at first for him. The game was taught to him after coach Richard Mills saw him playing soccer and introuduced the young 15 year old man to basketball. He fell in love with the game even though it was not popular in Nigeria. This drove him to the United States as a scholarship for Univeristy of Houston , reshirted his freshman year.

  • Drafted

    Drafted
    After losing twice in the NCAA championship game, Olajuwon decied to take his talents to the NBA.The 1984 draft was considered to be by many to be the most talented draft in the history of the league. It produced 4 hall of fame players with guys like Charles Bakley and Michael Jordan. Hakeem at the time was full of more portential than few had seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfejFdqLJyI

  • "Dream Season"

    "Dream Season"
    http://articles.philly.com/1994-05-25/sports/25827980_1_mvp-voting-hakeem-olajuwon-moses-malone
    Using usual defensive dominance and "Dream Shake" he achieved the Most Valuable Player (MVP). He also led the Rockets past the New York Knicks in the NBA finals and Olajuwon took home finals MVP. The only player ever to win mvp, defensive player of the year, and finals MVP in one season. The following season he lead the Rockets past the Orlando Magic to win his second championship.

  • Olympics/ 50 greatest players

    Olympics/ 50 greatest players
    http://articles.philly.com/1995-07-22/sports/25676108_1_fiba-borislav-stankovic-olympics
    Olajuwon joined the USA men's olympic basketball team in 1996 and won a gold medal with the team. The U.S. team is allowed to have one player born in foregin land but he has to be in American for a good amount of years wich Olajuwon had. He was very proud to be an American and represented everyone welll. That year he achieved the honor of being named a top 50 player of all time in a ceremony the NBA held.

  • Retirement

    Retirement
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29WpgU0pqN8
    After 18 years in the NBA, Olajuwon retired from the league after playing a season with Toronto Raptors in 2002. He was named to the All-NBA First Team six times, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times. He finished with impressive averages of 21.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, and a record 3,830 total blocks and 2 NBA championships and 2 finals MVP's and on regular season MVP.

  • Hall of Fame

    Hall of Fame
    The highest honor a retired player cna achieve is being one of the select few to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. For Olajuwon, there was no question he would be their. A first ballot hall of famer all the way. He faced fierce competition through his career, http://www.sikids.com/sites/default/files/multimedia/photo_gallery/0903/david.robinson/images/robinson-olajuwon.jpg