Today, I would like to take the time to wish a happy 50th birthday to NBA legend Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon. After playing soccer & handball in Nigeria, Hakeem caught on to the game of basketball at 16. The world class balance, and footwork from those sports helped him even more when he made the transition to basketball. Olajuwon was certainly a world class athlete. After taking the game by storm in his home country, University of Houston coach Guy Lewis flew to Nigeria to watch Hakeem play, and to recruit him. When coming to America (no relation to the movie), Hakeem was able to quickly adapt to the style of the United States. During his freshman year, he would lead the Houston Cougars to the Final Four, only to fall to the eventual champion North Carolina Tar Heels. During the summer, Olajuwon would improve his offensive post game at the Houston Recreational Center. The perfect mentor/opponent to push him to the next level, was reigning NBA MVP Moses Malone. Malone's relentless, physical style strengthened Olajuwon and fueled his drive to become the best that he could be. During the final session of the summer, Hakeem took his lessons, and applied them against his mentor. Soon afterwards, Hakeem would take his brand new skills and put the NCAA on notice. His offensive game progressed to match his defensive game, which made him a one-man machine. As the anchor of the team on both ends, Hakeem led the Cougars to 22 straight wins. With their stylish, in your face, above the rim style, the Cougars were named "Phi Slama Jama". One of Olajuwon's teammates would be fellow Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler. Hakeem's blocks would lead to tremendous fastbreaks. Houston would later reach the Finals of the NCAA Tournament, only to fall to the North Carolina State Wolfpack. After the bitter upset, Drexler would turn pro. The Cougars would regroup for the next season, as Hakeem carried them to another NCAA Finals Appearance. This time, they would fall to the Georgetown Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing. After the loss, Olajuwon would announce his decision to enter the NBA Draft. After tanking the 1983 season to draft Ralph Sampson 1st overall, the Houston Rockets would bomb the 1984 season as well. After those disappointing seasons, the Rockets would draft hometown hero Hakeem Olajuwon as the 1st overall pick of the 1984 NBA Draft. The rest as they say, is history. In his rookie season, Olajuwon's impact was felt immediately. In his rookie season, he made his 1st All-Star appearance. That season, he averaged 20.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg, and 2.7 bpg, which earned him 1st Team All-Rookie Honors. During this season, he shot a career high field goal percentage of 54%. He finished 2nd for NBA Rookie of the Year, behind Michael Jordan. The following season, Hakeem would average (23.5 ppg/11.5 rpg/3.4 bpg) leading the Rockets to the NBA Finals. After a monumental upset of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Rockets would face the legendary 1986 Celtics, led by MVP Larry Bird, along with McHale, Parrish, etc. Boston would eventually capture their 16th title in that series, but it was a great lesson for Olajuwon. In 1986-87, Hakeem would make his 1st appearance on the All-NBA 1st Team (23.4/11.4/3.4). That would be his second season averaging 3 blocks per game. In 1987-88, Olajuwon averaged 22.8/12.1/2.7. In the 1988-89 season, Olajuwon averaged at that time a career high 24.8/13.5/3.4. That was the first of two straight seasons leading the league in rebounds. He also recorded a career-high 213 steals, along with 282 blocks, which made him the first player in NBA history to record 200 blocks and steals each. In 1989-90, Hakeem surpassed his career-high in rebounds, averaging 14 rpg, to match his 24.3 ppg/4.6 rpg. (career-high) '91-'92 would be two of the most down years for Olajuwon in his prime. However, he still managed to lead in blocks (3.9 in '91). If he had become a U.S. Citizen sooner, he would have made the 1992 Dream Team, without question. Going into the '92-'93 season, Hakeem would enter the best 3-year run of his career. In '93, he averaged 26.1/13.0/4.2, earning him his first of two straight Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Olajuwon also finished 2nd in MVP Voting to Phoenix Suns Star Charles Barkley. In the playoffs, he would lead the Rockets to the Western Conference Semis, to fall short to the Sonics in Seven Games. In 1993-94, Hakeem would finally put the icing on his cake of his 10-year career. Olajuwon averaged 27.3/11.9/3.7, which earned him both NBA MVP & DPOY. After leading the Rockets to their first of two straight championships, Olajuwon was named Finals MVP. The following season, Hakeem led the 6th seeded Rockets back to the title, becoming one of the lowest seeded teams in history to achieve that goal. Mid-way through the season, Houston traded Otis Thorpe to Portland for Hakeem's college teammate, Clyde Drexler. As Hakeem added to his legacy, he helped to reshape Drexler's along the way. Dream's dominance against the premier Centers of his time (Robinson, Shaq, Ewing) further cemented his place among the all-time greats. In '96, Hakeem would stay relevant, averaging 26.9/10.9/3.4, while finally winning an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Unfortunately, Hakeem does not receive the proper credit & recognition that he deserves for being the first International star in NBA history, because of his later citizenship. If it were not for players like him and Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), there would be no Arvydas Sabonis, Drazen Petrovic, Dirk Nowitzki, etc. Now, Olajuwon is mentoring others on their post game, the same way that Moses Malone mentored him.(minus the brutal physicality) Just ask Kobe, LeBron, Dwight and now Amare. Kobe's low post game improved to help lead the Lakers to back-to-back titles. LeBron's training with Hakeem was incredible. His field goal percentage increased (53%), as he became much more of a low post presence. LeBron's new arsenal would help him lead the Heat to an NBA title, while winning his first ring and Finals MVP. Hakeem is now 10th in Career Total Points (26,946), 12th in Total Rebounds (13,748), 1st in Blocks (3,830), and 9th in Steals (2,162). During the time of his retirement, he was among the Top 10 in all four categories. He is also the only big man ranked in the top 10 in steals. His amazing hand speed, coordination and guard like footwork helped him reach these feats. If it were not for Michael Air Jordan's monstrous dominance devouring the NBA, Olajuwon would have been the defining player of his era. He was already the best Center of that time. During the playoffs, he raised his level of play to greater heights, averaging 25.9/11.2/3.2, FG% (52%). The Dream is one of only three players to reach this feat, along with Pettit, and Nowitzki. Hakeem Olajuwon's legacy is often overlooked, but can never be duplicated, especially by today's players. He was a nightmare to his opponents, but when looking at what he did was beautiful to watch. As Biggie would say "It was all a Dream". Long live the Dr34m.
I had to add this. Sorry Admiral, lol:
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