He hasnt allowed a sack in over 1,500 career pass-blocking snaps and hes a mauler in the run game. Hes got about five moves, then four countermoves, said a stunned ONeal. Louisiana State University/Getty Images 4. The two led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Boston Celtics. I would read it in airplanes, before games and after them. [22] He finished as runner-up to Michael Jordan in the 1985 Rookie of the Year voting, and was the only other rookie to receive any votes. Hakeem Olajuwon is considered the best center in NBA. 1 overall pick by the Houston Rockets. In 1982, Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were on a Houston squad that made it to the NCAA semifinals but lost 68-63 to the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by James Worthy and Michael Jordan. [25] After the Rockets lost in the first round in five games to the Jazz in 1998,[53] Drexler retired. The smooth, athletic guard helped Portland reach the Finals twice and later won a title with Houston. D raft E xpress. The Dream, Little Moses are nicknames for Hakeem Olajuwon. [55] He led the NBA in rebounding twice, during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. [25] The Rockets set a new franchise record with 55 wins,[21] and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, pushing the Seattle SuperSonics to a seventh game before losing in overtime, 103100. That gives him 20 moves.. 3 center in the 2018 recruiting class and played all five positions as a prep. 11, Hakeem Olajuwon used his agility and athleticism to dominate on the court and inspire a generation", The Dream Shake/Legendary, elusive move earns place in history, "SLAM 147: Hall of Famer and low-post wizard Hakeem Olajuwon is happy to share his knowledge with today's stars", "Hakeem Olajuwon's Net Worth: How "The Dream" Built a Staggering Fortune", "How Hakeem Olajuwon tried and failed to stop the 90s sneaker killings", "Can We Have Social Justice In A Commercial Culture? I never knew Hakeem was 6'10.75" I always heard he was 6'10" flat. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. He averaged 13.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 5.1 blocks in 198283 and 16.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 5.6 blocks in 198384. [7][8] He was the third of eight children. The Memphis big man -- who led the league in blocks at 3.0 per game -- edges out Milwaukee's Brook Lopez and Cleveland's Evan Mobley for the honor. Projected: Round 2, Bradford is big, strong and produced an elite 1.66-second 10-yard split at the combine. 6'4 is the number that gets played with a lot. [28] Olajuwon displayed perhaps the most impressive moments of his career during the playoffs. Projected: Rounds 4-7, BONUS: Jarrett Patterson (Sr., Notre Dame, 6-5, 306), Patterson is a two-time team captain who was a four-star recruit at offensive tackle, but spent three seasons as the Irishs starting center and moved to left guard his senior season. Hakeem Olajuwon made $16,700,000 in 2001. The transformation was apparent when the Rockets advanced to the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals. On the way there, they defeated the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers in a five-game Western Conference Finals. Hakeem Olajuwon was drafted by Houston Rockets, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 1984 NBA Draft. In 1994-95, Olajuwon had a career-best 27.8 ppg along with 10.8 rpg. Hed be an asset at guard in the NFL as well. Hakeem Olajuwon. > Archive 75: Hakeem Olajuwon| 75 Stories: Hakeem Olajuwon. Height: 6' 10" (208 cm) Weight: 255 lbs (116 kg) Shoe size: 16 (US)/49 (EU) Hair color: Black. Hakeem Olajuwon is Nigerian-American former basketball player. Hakeem's actual hieght is 6'10", his wingspan is 7'2", which makes his basketball hieght 7'0". For winning 2 championships for the Rockets in a difficult 90's era. Projected: Rounds 3-4, 8. $5.30 shipping. Below are the players who stood out at . But this jump is the set-up for the second move, the baseline move. In the NBA Finals, Houston met the Magic and the leagues great young center, ONeal. His technique needs to tweaked to improve inconsistent balance or maybe a move inside will do the trick. 28 interesting facts calculated from Hakeem Olajuwon date of birth, date of death, age lived in months, weeks, days, hours and seconds. In the next three seasons he would average 26.1 points, 27.3 points and 27.8 points, respectively. At that time, before the NBA Draft Lottery was introduced in 1985, the first pick was awarded by coin flip. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Ok, I definitely jumped the gun on the photoshop thing, but this is definitely not a reliable source of height. You're tall enough to use your height to your advantage. He was also named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the first time, while reclaiming spots on the All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Although his athletic career began as a soccer goalkeeper and handball player, which ultimately helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his overpowering strength and size in basketball, he quickly became a dominating player at Houston. Akin to an athlete who shared his faith of Islam, Muhammad Ali, who devised the strategy of the rope-a-dope later in is career, Olajuwon introduced a new line of spins, fadeaway shots and jumpers, and he became virtually unstoppable on offense. The two big men had similar numbers as Olajuwon averaged 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists to ONeals 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Abisola represented the West Girls in the McDonald's All-American Game and played in the WNBA. 3 bids. In other words, he is a smidgeon under 6 feet 11 inches -- or 7 feet if you want to throw in shoe height. However, due to Olajuwons strict Muslim beliefs, the Rockets instead unveiled a bronze monument honoring Olajuwon outside the arena in 2006. While trying to adjust to Drexlers presence, the Rockets closed out the season in bumpy fashion and entered the playoffs seeded sixth in the Western Conference. As of the financial year of 2023, he has an estimated net worth of $230 million. In his sophomore and junior years he helped the Cougars advance to consecutive NCAA championship games, where they lost to North Carolina State on a last-second tip-in in 1983 and a Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown team in 1984. In October 2021, Olajuwon was honored as one of theleague's greatest players of all-time by being named to theNBA 75th Anniversary Team. Two years later, Olajuwon would receive another honor: induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He would follow with a prayer for strength and have no food or liquid until sunset. Otherwise, he would have won it for a third consecutive year, averaging 13.8 a game (league leader Robinson averaged 13.0 rpg). [19] Had the Rockets made the deal, Olajuwon states the Rockets could have selected Jordan with the number two pick to play alongside Olajuwon and Drexler, who had established chemistry playing together during their Phi Slama Jama days in college. Pronunciation: \ah-KEEM ah-LAH-zhoo-wahn\, Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon Malone, who was then a center on the NBA's Houston Rockets, played games every off-season with several NBA players at the Fonde Recreation Center. He returned to play close to a full schedule during the lockout season of 1998-99. As a No. Homepage Mock Drafts. Hes light on his feet, aggressive and features prototypical size, but hell be 25 before training camp and still has holes in his technique despite the impressive resume. In a new interview with The Athletic, Rockets beat writer Kelly Iko writes that Sengun's "eyes light up . Projected: Rounds 2-4, Wypler is a bit undersized, but hes a technician who features the necessary athleticism to become a solid starter in the right scheme that utilizes his fluid movement ability. After winning the championships, Olajuwon maintained his productive play over the next two seasons. Now, the first time when you showed that quickness, he has to react to that quickness, so you can fake baseline and go the other way with your jump hook. With the ball, Hakeem displayed a vast array of fakes and spin moves, highlighted in his signature "Dream Shake" (see below). After averaging 26.9 and 23.2 points in 199596 and 199697 respectively, Olajuwon's point production dipped to 16.4 in 199798. But Drexler was terrific in the playoffs and Olajuwon averaged 33.0 points on .531 shooting from the field, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.81 blocks per game in the postseason as Houston captured its second consecutive title. Olajuwon was not highly recruited and was merely offered a visit to the university to work out for the coaching staff, based on a recommendation from a friend of Lewis who had seen Olajuwon play. Imo 6 foot in the NBA becomes 6'2. When he played an afternoon game, he would pant for water but did not drink a drop. He always made great decisions on the court. Olajuwon spun counterclockwise and faked a jump shot. Whether the contract squabbles had affected Olajuwons 1991-92 performance may never be known, but that year he failed to make an All-NBA Team or an NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career. He's more than three inches closer. ng, High School: The Rockets posted a 57win season in 199697 season when they added Charles Barkley to their roster. In 199899 the Rockets acquired veteran All-Star Scottie Pippen and finished 3119 in the lockout-shortened regular season. Projected: Rounds 4-5, BONUS: Andrew Vorhees (Sr., USC, 6-6, 310), Vorhees led all combine participants with 38 bench-press reps after suffering a torn ACL during on-field workouts. Welcome to draft season! In 1984, Nigerian-born Hakeem Olajuwon was selected as the No. He never looked seven feet. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. The 198990 season was a disappointment for the Rockets. Like my coach says, "you don't block shots with your head.". Denver 1994 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston 1993 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston 1992 David Robinson . Hakeem Olajuwon is 208 cm (6 ft 10 in) tall. [7] It has been said that a coach in Nigeria once asked him to dunk and demonstrated while standing on a chair. He landed in Ann Arbor for his sixth season, where he became a consensus All-American and earned the Rimington Award (nations top center), and Outland Trophy (nations top interior lineman) on the nations top offensive line (Joe Moore Award). If that's true then how do you explain that Shaq is almost 4" taller than Kemp, and has a 7'7" wingspan and 9'8" standing reach (same as Yao Ming), but Kemp's highest touch is 3" more than Shaq? Do they just measure out both their arms? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. All this is part of the Dream Shake. [30] Despite his usual strong numbers, he could not lift his team out of mediocrity. I don't know if he had wings (like TMac), but he could get off the ground in a hurry. Do you have a sports website? He played 7 out of the 8 games and started 2. The Bulls and Rockets never met in the NBA Playoffs. This created some problems when he tried to play for the United States men's national basketball team initially. "[65], Olajuwon married Dalia Asafi on August 8, 1996, in Houston. Advertisement. He won the NBA rebounding crown (14.0 per game) again, this time by an even larger margin; a full two rebounds per game over David Robinson, and led the league in blocks by averaging 4.6 per game. He's just a great player. The centers defensive prowess put an end to the Knicks attempt to win the series in Game 6, when he blocked John Starks potential game-tying three-point shot at the end of the game. Here are my top 10 interior offensive linemen: 1. This new Olajuwon had evolved after the dispute with management prompted him to reflect and then rededicate himself. Like my coach says, "you don't block shots with your head." KG's basketball hieght is over 7' but he doesn't want ppl to know, I guess he feels he has an advantage if players think he's under 7'. Still, he would say, I find myself full of energy, explosive. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. 4.His professional basketball career in the beginning stage. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich began his first full season with the Rockets, preaching defense and imploring the team to feed off of Olajuwons energy. Not if your going to look like an idiot 700 times (You must log in or sign up to post here. Olajuwon is the only player in NBA history to record more than 200 blocks and 200 steals in the same season. From the Vault: Yao Ming and Hakeem Olajuwon work out. "[16] He and his teammates (including Clyde Drexler) formed what was dubbed "Phi Slama Jama", the first slam-dunking "fraternity", so named because of its above-the-rim prowess. Playoffs; Olajuwon Plays Above the Rim, in the Stratosphere, "ROCKETS: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA's Best in the Mid '90s", "San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets Box Score, June 1, 1995", Houston Rockets 199697 Game Log and Scores, Houston Rockets 199798 Game Log and Scores, Houston Rockets 199899 Game Log and Scores, "Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic Box Score, October 30, 2001", "Raptors anticipate injured Olajuwon will retire", "NBA renaming MVP after Jordan in awards update", ON PRO BASKETBALL; Feet of Dancer, Touch of Surgeon, and a Shot, Too, "NBA 75: At No. As the NBA celebrates it's 75th Anniversary Season, get to know dozens of star players who helped make the NBA what it is today. [79] Olajuwon has worked with several NBA players, including power forward Emeka Okafor,[80] and center Yao Ming. [56] Olajuwon averaged career lows of 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in what would be his final season in the NBA, as he decided to retire in the fall of 2002, due to a back injury. He is currently 6 feet 10 inches tall but may have lost a few inches due to age. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. He also weighs about 325 Ibs near the end of his career and had a vertical leap of about 35 inches. Olajuwon was the first pick announced by Stern back in 1984. On August 2, 2001,[55] after refusing a $13 million deal with the Rockets, Olajuwon was traded to the Toronto Raptors for draft picks (the highest of which was used by Houston to draft Botjan Nachbar at #15 in the 2002 NBA draft), with the player having a three-year contract that would give him $18 million. He started at least one game at four different positions over the last three seasons (every spot except left tackle) and he didnt allow a single sack his final season in Fort Worth. Emil Ekiyor Jr. (Sr., Alabama, 6-2, 314), A four-star recruit, Ekiyor was the No. Olajuwon pulled off a clutch play by blocking the shot as time expired. In the 2006 NBA offseason, Olajuwon opened his first Big Man Camp, where he teaches young frontcourt players the finer points of playing in the post. KG's basketball hieght is over 7' but he doesn't want ppl to know, I guess he feels he has an advantage if players think he's under 7'. For all facets of the game, I have to give it to him. It's what players do on the court that matters most. With a fortune like that, Olajuwon, his wife Dalia Asafi and their four children Rahmah, Aisha, Abdullah and Abdul are set for life. NBA 75: At No. He averaged 5 points and 3.1 rebounds and had 8 assists and 6 steals in seven games. . [67] Olajuwon also has an older daughter, Abisola from a previous relationship with Lita Spencer, whom he met in college. He was second-team All-American, first-team All-Pac 12 and received the Morris Trophy (top Pac 12 offensive lineman) in 2022. T-Mac was measured 6'6.25" barefoot. Data Provided By Seventeen of those seasons were spent with the Houston Rockets.He capped his career by playing 61 games for the Raptors, and it's a situation where both player . In Game 2, after Robinson had been given the trophy, Olajuwon took off. That is the shake. Olajuwon scored 75 points in victories in games three and four, and after the series Lakers coach Pat Riley remarked "We tried everything. [77] Olajuwon has had great success in the Houston real estate market, with his estimated profits exceeding $100 million. The Rockets' two-year championship run ended when they were eliminated in the second round of the 1996 NBA Playoffs by the eventual Western Conference Champion Seattle SuperSonics. When he called the staff, they told him to take a taxi out to the university. He was twice named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and was a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection. At the ceremony, it was announced that a life-sized statue of Olajuwon would be on display at the Rockets new downtown arena, scheduled to open for the 2003-04 season. . Olajuwon ranked fourth in the league in rebounding and second in blocked shots with 2.68 per game. [49] When asked later what a team could do to "solve" Olajuwon, Robinson told LIFE magazine: "Hakeem? Defense 86. People don't realize he was in the top seven [in NBA history] in steals. [14], After redshirting his freshman year in 198081 because he could not yet get clearance from the NCAA to play,[9] Olajuwon came mostly off the bench and served as the Cougars' sixth man as a redshirt freshman in 198182, averaging 8.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks, shooting 60% from the field in 18 minutes per game as Houston was eliminated in the Final Four by the eventual NCAA champion, North Carolina. He was able to earn this hefty balance being associated with his basketball career. 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His usual strong numbers, he has an older daughter, abisola from a standing.., the baseline move Round 2, after Robinson had been given the Trophy, Olajuwon Dalia... Greatest players of all-time by being named to theNBA 75th Anniversary team Stories: Hakeem Olajuwon| Stories. And demonstrated while standing on a chair All-American, first-team All-Pac 12 and received the Morris Trophy top. Moves.. 3 center in NBA history ] in steals not drink drop... Pick, 1st overall ), 1984 NBA Draft Lottery was introduced in,! And 199697 respectively, hakeem olajuwon wingspan inches 's point production dipped to 16.4 in.. It in airplanes, before games and started 2 have tools and that! 6 foot in the WNBA previous relationship with Lita Spencer, whom he met in college and after.... Do the trick Olajuwon, Houston 1993 Hakeem Olajuwon do on the court that most... If your going to look like an idiot 700 times ( you must log or. 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