Hakeem Olajuwon was the first player to earn the titles of MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season, which was in 1993-94.
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Hakeem Olajuwon, who was born in Nigeria, solidified his standing as one of the NBA’s greatest players throughout his 18-year career. Since his time at the University of Houston, he was widely regarded as a physical phenomenon. His elegant and effective play, particularly his pivotal role in securing back-to-back NBA titles for the Houston Rockets, earned him a well-deserved spot among the best in the game.
He experienced a fairytale season in 1993-94, making history as the first player to earn the titles of NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and NBA Finals MVP all in the same season. In the next season, he led the Rockets to a comeback from being the sixth seed in the playoffs, securing their second consecutive NBA championship. This achievement positioned Houston as the fifth NBA team to ever win titles back-to-back.
Olajuwon, the third child among six siblings, got his fundamental values that drove him to success from his parents. They were middle-class and ran a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria.
Hakeem Olajuwon, who was selected for the All-NBA team twelve times and twice named Finals MVP, employed a combination of finesse and power to guide the Rockets to two championships in the mid-1990s.
“The NBA legend has said that we were taught to be honest, work hard, respect our elders, and believe in ourselves.”
Olajuwon, whose name means “always being on top,” didn’t start playing basketball until he was 15. Despite his high school, the Muslim Teachers College, participating in the basketball tournament at the All-Nigeria Teachers Sports Festival in Sokoto, Olajuwon was initially part of the handball team. However, a classmate appealed to the coach to allow Olajuwon to play basketball, which was approved. This gave birth to a basketball superstar.
He registered at the University of Houston two years later, using the name Akeem Abdul Olajuwon. Before joining the NBA, he stopped using “Abdul” and officially adopted “Hakeem” on March 9, 1991. As Shakespeare might say, a top-notch basketball player remains a top-notch basketball player, regardless of the name.
Despite starting his athletic career as a soccer goalkeeper and handball player, which significantly contributed to his agility and footwork in basketball, he swiftly rose to dominance as a player in Houston. His overpowering strength and size, balanced with the agility gained from his previous sports, made him a force on the court. During his three-season stint at Houston, he played a key role in propelling the Cougars into the Final Four annually.
Hakeem Olajuwon debuted for the Houston Rockets on October 27, 1984.
In 1982, a Houston team featuring Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler reached the NCAA semifinals, only to lose 68-63 to the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team spearheaded by James Worthy and Michael Jordan. The following year, the Cougars, now famously known as “Phi Slamma Jamma” for their dynamic aerial play, triumphed over a competent Louisville squad 94-81 in one of the most exhilarating NCAA Final Four games ever. Nevertheless, they were shockingly defeated 54-52 in an intense championship game by North Carolina State, a team that was largely considered an underdog, with the game-winning shot made as time expired.
During the 1983-84 season, Olajuwon scored an average of 16.8 points per game and topped the NCAA in rebounding with an average of 13.5 rebounds per game, blocked shots at an average of 5.6 per game, and had a field-goal percentage of .675. He was selected for the First Team All-America that season. Despite his efforts, his team, the Cougars, were defeated 84-75 by Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas in the championship game.
Following a coin flip victory against the Portland Trail Blazers for the first pick in the 1984 NBA Draft — a year prior to the implementation of the Draft Lottery — the Rockets chose Olajuwon. Despite the availability of the highly skilled Jordan (who would eventually be chosen as the third pick by the Chicago Bulls), the majority of the basketball community believed that Olujawon was the right number 1 selection.
A year prior, the Rockets had been victorious in a coin flip against the Indiana Pacers, granting them the opportunity to recruit Ralph Sampson from the University of Virginia. As a result of this fortuitous coin toss, they were able to form the “Twin Towers” with 7-foot Olajuwon and 7-foot-4 Sampson — two nimble behemoths.
During his first year as a professional, Olajuwon managed an average of 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds, shooting .538 from the field. He ended up second to Jordan in the Rookie of the Year voting. The Rockets improved their record from 29-53 to 48-34 following Olajuwon’s entry, however, they were knocked out in the first round of the 1985 NBA Playoffs by the Utah Jazz after five games.
Olajuwon took the fourth spot in the league for rebounding and was the runner-up for blocked shots with an average of 2.68 per game. In the 1985 NBA All-Star Game, he was a participant and earned a spot on both the NBA All-Rookie Team and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Alongside Sampson, they were the first pair of teammates to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game since Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor in 1970.
In the following year, Olajuwon and Sampson led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals. They beat the reigning champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, in a five-game Western Conference Finals on their journey. Olajuwon was instrumental in the series’ last three games, scoring 40, 35 and 30 points to propel the Rockets. However, they were defeated in six games by the Boston Celtics, who boasted a strong front line of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish and had previously won championships in 1981 and 1984.
Sampson began struggling with injuries in the 1986-87 season and was subsequently traded to the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, Olajuwon’s performance only improved, solidifying his position as one of the top big men in the game. He led the Rockets in 13 statistics, such as scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocked shots. From 1987 to 1989, Olajuwon was consistently selected for the All-NBA First Team. He also made it to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 1987, 1988, and 1990. Additionally, from 1987 to 1990, he was the starting center for the Western Conference All-Stars for four consecutive years.
Olajuwon consistently ranked among the top players in the league in terms of scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, and steals. He clinched the rebounding titles in 1989 and 1990, with averages of 13.5 and 14.0 rebounds, respectively. In 1989, he made history as the first player to rank in the league’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocked shots for two consecutive seasons. That same year, he scored 18 points, made 16 rebounds, blocked 11 shots, and had 10 assists against the Milwaukee Bucks, achieving the rare feat of a quadruple-double. Additionally, he led the NBA in blocked shots in the seasons 1989-90 with an average of 4.59 per game and in 1990-91 with 3.95 per game.
In the course of this run, Olajuwon overcame two major injuries. Midway through the 1990-91 season, he sustained a blowout fracture of the orbital bones surrounding his eye due to an elbow from Bill Cartwright of the Chicago Bulls. This injury resulted in Olajuwon being absent from the next 25 games with the Rockets. Then, in the 1991-92 season, he experienced atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat condition, causing him to miss seven games at the start of the season.
Even though Olajuwon performed well, the Rockets had fallen into mediocrity after their 1986 NBA Finals appearance, failing to secure a playoff series victory from 1988 to 1992. However, starting in the 1992-93 season, at the midpoint of his career, Olajuwon improved even more, propelling both himself and the Rockets to unprecedented levels of success.
Many believed that he had completed his final game for Houston at the close of the 1991-92 season due to stalled contract talks. However, on a trip to Japan for the Rockets’ opening two games of the 1992-93 season against the Seattle SuperSonics, Olajuwon and the Rockets’ owner, Charlie Thomas, resolved their disagreements. Over the following three seasons, he averaged 26.1, 27.3, and 27.8 points respectively.
It is uncertain if Olajuwon’s performance in the 1991-92 season was impacted by contractual disputes. However, for the first time in his career, he didn’t make it to the All-NBA Team or the NBA All-Defensive Team that year. There was a noticeable revival in his game during the 1992-93 season. This was when Coach Rudy Tomjanovich started his first full season with the Rockets, emphasizing on defense and encouraging the team to draw inspiration from Olajuwon’s energy.
The seasoned player, with eight years of experience under his belt, became a naturalized citizen of the United States later that season on April 2, 1993. His performance throughout the year was nothing short of spectacular, averaging 26.1 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 4.17 blocks. This feat made him the league-leader in blocked shots for the third time in four seasons. Most notably, he led the Rockets, who had a 42-40 record the previous year, to a 55-27 mark and the Midwest Division championship.
In Game 1 of the 1995 Finals, Hakeem Olajuwon delivered a stellar performance in overtime for the Rockets.
At the end of the season, Olajuwon came in second to Charles Barkley in the NBA Most Valuable Player award votes. He was also honored as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the first time and regained his positions on both the All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
Similar to Muhammad Ali, an athlete who shared his Islamic faith and invented the rope-a-dope strategy later in his career, Olajuwon brought a fresh series of spins, fadeaways, and jump shots to the game, making him virtually unbeatable on offense. The man known as “Hakeem the Dream” now had a repertoire of signature moves involving exceptional footwork, ball and head fakes, either with his back to the basket or confronting opponents, leaving defenders in his wake. These moves would eventually earn the title “Dream Shake.”
During the 1995 playoffs that ended with Houston’s second NBA title, the Rockets triumphed over the San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic. Both these teams had exceptional centers who were left perplexed by Olajuwon’s maneuvers.
In the 1995 playoffs, Hakeem Olajuwon executes a stunning low-post move against David Robinson.
In a story in Life magazine, David Robinson from San Antonio appeared puzzled. “Solve Hakeem?” he asked. “You can’t solve Hakeem,” he stated.
After falling in a Finals sweep, Orlando’s Shaquille O’Neal expressed a similar sentiment. A shocked O’Neal said, “He has around five moves, followed by four counter moves.” He further added, “That totals up to 20 moves.”
After a conflict with management spurred him to introspect and recommit himself, a new Olajuwon emerged. His growth as a player and in his faith had a profound effect on his performance, positioning him as a team leader, offensive dynamo, and defensive bulwark.
The change was evident when the Rockets made it to the Western Conference Semifinals in 1993. Despite this, they suffered a narrow loss in a grueling Game 7, with a score of 103-100 in overtime, to a Seattle SuperSonics team spearheaded by Gary Payton and a dynamic, young Shawn Kemp.
However, it was in the 1993-94 season that Olajuwon reached the peak of his career. He won both the league and NBA Finals MVP awards, guiding Houston to its first NBA championship. After an outstanding regular season, the Houston center also bagged his second consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
The title was clinched by the Rockets after a strenuous seven-game victory over the New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing. The center’s defensive skill halted the Knicks’ effort to clinch the series in Game 6, blocking a potential game-tying three-point shot by John Starks at the game’s end. The Finals saw the 10-year veteran deliver an outstanding performance, averaging 29.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.86 blocks per game.
Rewatch the top performances of Hakeem Olajuwon from the 1993-94 season.
During the 1994-95 season, Olajuwon achieved a career high of 27.8 points per game (ppg) and 10.8 rebounds per game (rpg). However, despite his remarkable performance, the Most Valuable Player Award was given to Robinson, who had guided the Spurs to the top record in the NBA. Olajuwon broke the Rockets’ record for all-time leading scorer earlier in the season, surpassing Calvin Murphy. In February of that season, he was reunited with his college teammate Drexler, who joined the team from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for forward Otis Thorpe.
The Rockets had a rocky end to the season as they tried to accommodate Drexler’s addition, entering the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. However, Drexler excelled during the playoffs, and Olajuwon averaged 33.0 points with a .531 shooting average, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.81 blocks per game, helping Houston secure its second title in a row. In the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs, Olajuwon outperformed Robinson by averaging 35.3 points to Robinson’s 25.5.
In the NBA Finals, the Houston Rockets faced off against the Orlando Magic and their outstanding young center, O’Neal. Olajuwon and O’Neal, the two dominant figures, posted similar stats; Olajuwon had an average of 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists compared to O’Neal’s 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. However, the Rockets emerged victorious and swept the series, making them the fifth NBA team to secure consecutive titles. Olajuwon’s exceptional performance earned him his second NBA Finals MVP award in a row.
Olajuwon is of the belief that his religious faith was a cornerstone in his successful career. He would practice the Islamic observance of Ramadan during the NBA season, which entails periods of fasting. He would rise before the break of day to consume exactly seven dates, a traditional Muslim food to break fast, accompanied by a gallon of water. Following this, he would say a prayer for strength and refrain from eating or drinking until sunset.
Take a look at some of the top plays and highlights from Hakeem Olajuwon’s 18-year NBA career.
While participating in an afternoon game, he would gasp for water, yet never consume a single drop. He would assert, “I feel incredibly energetic and powerful. The moment I break my fast at sunset, the taste of water becomes incredibly valuable.”
His exceptional dedication and performance placed him among the elite ranks of recent history’s greatest winners, such as Jordan, Bird, Magic Johnson, and Isiah Thomas.
Olajuwon continued his stellar performance for two seasons following the championships. Yet, in the 1996 conference semifinals, they were completely beaten by the Sonics. The addition of Barkley before the 1996-97 season brought a breath of fresh air to the Rockets. Nonetheless, they succumbed to the Jazz in six games at the Western Conference Finals.
Starting from the 1997-98 season, Olajuwon started missing games due to injuries, only playing 47 games that year. He came back to nearly a full schedule in the 1998-99 lockout season. Nonetheless, his performance began to decline and he only spent two more years in Houston, averaging less than 12.0 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. After one season with the Toronto Raptors in 2001-02, he retired, ending his 20-year career, college included, in Houston.
Rewind: A workout session with Yao Ming and Hakeem Olajuwon
Despite his significant impact on the city, the Rockets’ all-time leader in several categories, including points, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots (3,830 – an all-time NBA record), was not overlooked. When he retired, his jersey number, 34, was retired on November 9, 2002. During the ceremony, it was revealed that a life-sized statue of Olajuwon would be showcased at the Rockets’ new downtown arena, set to open for the 2003-04 season.
Nonetheless, Olajuwon’s staunch Muslim beliefs led the Rockets to dedicate a bronze monument to him outside the arena in 2006. Olajuwon was bestowed another honor two years later, his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Interestingly, Ewing, his longtime on-court adversary, was also part of that induction class, further connecting their rivalries.
After his playing career, Olajuwon dedicated numerous NBA offseasons to train young league stars like Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Amar’e Stoudemire, among others, on how to enhance their footwork in the post.
In 2015, Olajuwon briefly returned to the basketball court in the NBA Africa Game. He wore his No. 34 Rockets jersey and played for Team Africa, impressing current NBA stars on both Team Africa and Team World with a turn-around jumper.
