Hakeem Olajuwon Turns 63
- Jake C
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Cover photo: Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets dunks against the Chicago Bulls. Photo credit: Sunny Gill.
An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Jan. 21 as 12-time all-star and Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon turns 63.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olajuwon did not start playing basketball until the age of 15. Prior to that, he participated in soccer, which provided the genesis for his unrivaled footwork for a center.
Olajuwon was a two-year starter at the University of Houston, starting 34 games as a sophomore and 37 as a senior. In all three of his collegiate seasons, he led the Southwest Conference in blocks per game (2.5, 5.1, and 5.6) with his sophomore and junior season averages of 5.1 and 5.6 leading the nation. Olajuwon averaged 13.9 points and 11.4 rebounds as a sophomore, and 16.8 points and 13.5 rebounds as a junior, named a 1st team All-American and the Southwest Conference Player of the Year in the latter campaign. He was a 2-time NCAA All-Region and 2-time NCAA All-Tournament team player, and was the 1983 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. In the 1983 NCAA Final, the Cougars, led by Olajuwon and future Houston Rockets’ teammate Clyde Drexler with a team coined “Phi Slamma Jamma” went 31-2, upset by Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State 54-52 in the championship game.
In the 1984 NBA Draft, Olajuwon was drafted first overall by the Houston Rockets, a team that won 29 games in 1983-84 and was anchored by center Ralph Sampson, who the Rockets drafted first overall in 1983 and who was the 1983-84 NBA Rookie of the Year.
Sampson, 7 feet, 4 inches tall, and Olajuwon, 7 feet tall, quickly became the league’s most dangerous inside duo - Sampson posting 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in 84-85 and Olajuwon 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game. Olajuwon, who led the NBA in offensive rebounds per game as a rookie with 5.4, averaged 35.5 minutes per game and on 15.3 attempts shot 53.8% from the field.
Olajuwon was an all-star as a rookie, was second in Rookie of the Year voting to Michael Jordan, and was named to the All-Defensive 2nd team. He would go on to make the All-Star team each of the next five seasons and finish in the top 10 in MVP voting in those seasons.
Hakeem Olajuwon Stats: 1985-86 to 1989-90
1985-86: 23.5 points (52.6% FG, 17.5 FGA), 11.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 2.0 steals, 36.3 minutes, 68 games, 2nd team All-NBA, 4th in MVP voting
The 1985-86 Rockets won 51 games and made the NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Boston Celtics. Olajuwon led all players in the series in points (537) and rebounds (236) while averaging 24.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, and 2.3 steals in the series. He led Games 2, 4, 5, and 6 in rebounds (10, 14, 14, 13). In Game 1, he led all players with 33 points and 12 rebounds.
1986-87: 23.4 points (50.8% FG, 17.8 FGA), 11.4 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 1.9 steals, 36.8 minutes, 75 games, 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, 7th in MVP voting
1987-88: 22.8 points (51.4% FG, 17.5 FGA), 12.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.1 steals, 35.8 minutes, 79 games, 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, 3rd in DPOY voting, 7th in MVP voting
1988-89: 24.8 points (50.8% FG, 19.0 FGA), 13.5 rebounds (1st, 9.4 DREB per game 1st), 3.4 blocks, 2.6 steals, 36.9 minutes, 82 games, 1st team All-NBA, 2nd in DPOY voting, 5th in MVP voting
1989-90: 24.3 points (50.1% FG, 19.6 FGA), 14.0 rebounds (1st, 10.4 DREB per game 1st), 4.6 blocks (1st), 2.1 steals, 38.1 minutes, 82 games, 2nd team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, 2nd in DPOY voting, 7th in MVP voting
On March 29, 1990, Olajuwon recorded 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocks and 10 assists in a 120-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. It was just the third official quadruple-double in NBA history, after Nate Thurmond and Alvin Robertson.
In the 1990-91 season, Olajuwon was not an all-star, averaging 21.2 points (50.8% FG, 17.1 FGA), 13.8 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks per game. Leading the NBA in blocks, his defensive rebounds per game of 9.8 also led the league. He averaged 36.8 minutes in just 56 games, and was named to the All-NBA 3rd team, the All-Defensive 2nd team, and finished 5th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
From 1991-92 through to the 1996-97 season, Olajuwon once again put together a string of six consecutive all-star appearances.
Hakeem Olajuwon Stats: 1991-92 to 1996-97
1991-92: 21.6 points (50.2% FG, 16.8 FGA), 12.1 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, 1.8 steals, 37.7 minutes, 70 games, 6th in DPOY voting
1992-93: 26.1 points (52.9% FG, 19.5 FGA), 13.0 rebounds, 4.2 blocks (1st), 1.8 steals, 39.5 minutes, 82 games, 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, Defensive Player of the Year, 2nd in MVP voting
1993-94: 27.3 points (52.8% FG, 21.2 FGA), 11.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 1.6 steals, 41.0 minutes, 80 games, 1st team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, Defensive Player of the Year, MVP
The 93-94 Rockets went 58-24, and defeated the New York Knicks in seven games in the NBA Finals. Named series MVP, Olajuwon averaged 26.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks per game. He scored 32 points with 8 rebounds on 14-of-20 shooting in Game 4, and scored 30 with 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in Game 6.
1994-95: 27.8 points (51.7% FG, 21.5 FGA, 1st) 10.8 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 1.8 steals, 39.6 minutes, 72 games, 3rd team All-NBA, 3rd in DPOY voting, 5th in MVP voting
The 94-95 Rockets repeated as champions despite 47 wins and being the sixth seed in the Western Conference. In the Western Conference Finals, Olajuwon and the Rockets - a team that now included Olajuwon’s college teammate Drexler - defeated David Robinson’s San Antonio Spurs four games to two. Facing the MVP Robinson, Olajuwon posted three games of over 40 points in the series (41 in Game 2, 43 in Game 3, and 42 in Game 5. He posted 39 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the clinching sixth game. In the Finals, the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic, with Olajuwon averaging 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 2.0 steals against a young Shaquille O’Neal.
1995-96: 26.9 points (51.4% FG, 20.8 FGA), 10.9 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 1.6 steals, 38.8 minutes, 72 games, 2nd team All-NBA, 2nd team All-Defense, 5th in DPOY, 4th in MVP voting
1996-97: 23.2 points (51.0% FG, 18.3 FGA), 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.5 steals, 36.6 minutes, 78 games, 1st team All-NBA, 2nd team All-Defense, 7th in MVP voting
The 96-97 Rockets won 57 games, but lost in the Conference Finals to the Utah Jazz in six games. Olajuwon scored 30 points twice in the series (Games 1 and 2) and scored 33 in Game 5.
Olajuwon played four more seasons in Houston, and averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game in 1998-99 after a 1997-98 season in which he averaged 16.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. In his final two seasons as a Rocket, Olajuwon averaged 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He signed with the Toronto Raptors for the 2001-02 season, and started 37 of 61 games played (22.6 minutes per game) and averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
In 18 seasons, Olajuwon started 1,186 out of 1,238 games, and averaged 21.8 points on 51.2% from the field, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. In the meat of his career, he averaged no less than 21 points and 10 rebounds per game, leading the NBA in rebounds twice and in blocks three times. The only player to tally at least 3,000 blocked shots and 2,000 steals for a career, Olajuwon registered 26,946 career points and 13,748 rebounds. His 3,830 blocks are the most all-time. In 2008, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
In a time where basketball observers emphasize and pinpoint individual skill, Olajuwon reigns as possibly the most skilled center to ever play, with an unrivaled post game and footwork for a center. Undoubtedly one of the game’s greatest players, he was part of both of the league’s 50 Greatest Players in 1997 and its 75 Greatest in 2021.
Happy 63rd to The Dream.