7 September 2008
Lagos — Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigeria's renowned basketball player who was the first Nigerian to play in the American National Basketball Association (NBA) league history, saw his second dream in life come true Friday when he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in the United States.
Olajuwon who is known as 'Hakeem the Dream' was born in Lagos on January 21, 1963. He arrived the US at the turn of the nineties with a gigiantic dream of becoming an NBA star, something at that stage was considered like a kind of 'Mission Impossible' for an African.
Hakeem left Nigeria on a collegiate scholarship based on basketball at the Univer-sity of Houston although when the university's scout spotted him in Nigeria, it was on the famed Rowe Park handball courts of the Lagos State Sports Council. He was then a hand-baller.
However, he would go on to have an outstanding college years with the Cougars, which was the name of his college team. His performances with the Cougars led the team to three final fours and made him to become the Houston Rockets first overall draftee of the1984 NBA Draft, in a line that included the likes of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton.
He was nicknamed "The Dream" in his first college year at University of Houston especially after he had become a key player with the school team within months of his membership.
Coincidentally, the man who gave him the name "The Dream", Dick Vitale, was also standing alongside him as a fellow inductee when the Nigerian joined the famed rank of the world-renowned Hall of Famers of the game.
After Sampson was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 1986, Hakeem became the undisputed leader of the team and led the season in rebounding twice (1989, 1990) and shot blocking three times (1990, 1991, 1993).
In the 1993-94 season, he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP), Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season. He then led Rockets to win back-to-back championships against The New York Knicks. The victory served as personal revenge against his career rivals, Patrick Ewing and Orlando Magic's Shaquille O'Neal.
In 1996, Olajuwon assisted in the gold medal-winning performance of the famed "Dream Team" of the U.S to the Atlanta Olympics, and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
He ended his career as the league's all-time leader in blocked shots. Olajuwon is also the only NBA player ever to end his career in the Top 10 for blocks (1st all-time) and steals (7th all-time).
Asked during the induction ceremony on Friday about the friendly rivalry between him and Erwing, Olajuwon replied jokingly: "Who said it was friendly?" He then added on a more serious note: "I could not picture my career without Patrick. We are so intertwined from college. We play alike in so many ways. We are blocking shots, steals, intimidation. When Patrick is at the other end of the floor, you know you are playing against your toughest opponent."
Talking about Olajuwon, Ewing, too, who was 12 when he came to the United States from Jamaica, paid respect to his great rival. He said he felt a kinship with Olajuwon.
"When I played against Hakeem, I definitely wanted to be at my best," Ewing said. "I think he feels the same way. We both know what each other brings to the table - intensity, energy, effort. You would have to put out 110 per cent to play against each other," he said.
Other inductees on the night were Adrian Dantley, Patrick Ewing, Pat Riley, Cathy Rush and Dick Vitale. In the NBA, Olajuwon had 27,000 points, 13,747 rebounds and 3,830 blocks.
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