The Mesut ?zil Conundrum: Should Arsenal Keep The Faith Or Drop Him? - Ekekeee
The Mesut ?zil Conundrum: Should Arsenal Keep The Faith Or Drop Him?
The Mesut ?zil Conundrum: Should Arsenal Keep The Faith Or Drop Him?
By Amy Lawrence
Given the amount of man-hours Arsène Wenger has always devoted to thinking about football, it is obvious he has spent some detailed time over the past few days mulling over quite what on earth to do with Mesut ?zil.
The Arsenal manager has been in this predicament before – looking at a high-watermark transfer, a schemer of refinement and originality who arrived with the aura to suggest a team could be built around a special talent, who becomes increasingly difficult to accommodate.
Perhaps it would be useful to provide ?zil with a video of Andrey Arshavin’s Arsenal career. What promise, what fanfare and, ultimately, what disillusionment. The Russian maverick found himself initially shunted out wide as he was not trusted to play in his favoured No10 position, then dropped to the bench and finally struggling even to make the squad. He ended up confessing that the whole experience had been “crushing”.
Record signings demand of a manager an extra responsibility to make the player work but there comes a time when his position needs careful – if uncomfortable – analysis about the extent to which he is helping the team. That time is now. The ?zil-ometer plummeted during the past week on the back of two lackadaisical performances on the periphery against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. The perceived lack of effort, especially in moments when the team is collectively under pressure, is difficult to justify.
Wenger’s public position is to stoutly defend ?zil. “Why should he be a scapegoat? For what?” he argues. “We’ve lost one game since 1 April. Let’s be realistic. We’ve come out of a very difficult preparation period with decisive games. What is difficult to manage today is that everybody knows absolutely everything and everybody judges people definitely on one game. You have to accept that football is played by human beings who have ups and downs like you have in your life.”
Now into his second season since that ?42.5m record transfer from Real Madrid, there were two schools of thought about what to expect from this most nonchalant of luxury talents. Option one was that after a year of adaptation to the Premier League he would be ready to become the clever fulcrum of Arsenal’s gameplan. Option two was that he would suffer a World Cup hangover.
The reality certainly seems to be heavily weighted towards the latter – but Arsenal need to make sure that the situation is only temporary and not some deeper malaise that brings into question whether the marriage between club and player will ever be a truly happy one.
The Premier League has a history of flummoxed record signings. ?zil is hardly the first example, with Fernando Torres’s ill-starred spell at Chelsea perhaps the most extreme of a number of expensive strikers that never fitted the bill at Stamford Bridge (Andriy Shevchenko and Hernán Crespo spring to mind).
Robinho’s time at Manchester City barely sparked. Juan Sebastián Verón at Manchester United was an experiment that was ended fairly quickly. The Andy Carroll venture at Liverpool seems to be a bad dream. These were all signings in the roughly ?30m to ?50m bracket that never worked. It happens.
So what is Wenger’s plan now? Does he keep ?zil in the team and hope he summons some hunger, some rhythm? Or does he contemplate the double effect of dropping him? Not only would it give a player such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Tomas Rosicky the opportunity to add some drive to the collective, it would also be fascinating in the long run as a test of ?zil’s character. Does he have the personality to react?
Even great players sometimes need to be challenged. An elite performer should feel affronted if he is taken out of the team. He should feel determined enough to prove doubters wrong and be fired up to demonstrate how talented he is. There is a famous story of when Dennis Bergkamp was in his early Arsenal years and Tony Adams told him in no uncertain terms that a player of his calibre ought to be winning things, not coasting along. Not long after that, Bergkamp was player of the year and had inspired Arsenal to win the Double.
That innate hunger to succeed is the big curiosity when it comes to ?zil because even if he feels it, he doesn’t show it.
Wenger insists the current criticism is unjustified. “It’s a bit unfair because I believe that our offensive talents on Tuesday night [in Dortmund] were not in their best condition and they couldn’t express that talent. On the other hand it’s post-World Cup. He came back on 11 August. You know it takes a few months for them to get back to their best, that can happen. Many of the World Cup players don’t even play at the moment.”
The Arsenal manager urges the club’s fanbase to be forgiving. “They should not be concerned and just support him. I understand that you want your best players always to make the difference in every single game and we all go through periods where we are a bit less good. You help. A club is a union between players, supporters and directors. You have to be united and sometimes go through periods together where it goes a bit less well.”
Whether he plays, and how he plays, will be a significant plotline as Arsenal head to Villa Park this weekend.
While he prides himself on being a creator, the fact he has not yet scored in a Premier League away game and has no goal for Arsenal since last April is not easily acceptable for a ?42.5m player who wants to be his team’s No10.
The man who covets the role of playmaker, whom Cristiano Ronaldo was so sorry to see leave the Bernabéu a year ago, needs to start making his own play happen for Arsenal.
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"Olajuwon" redirects here. For his daughter, see .
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), formerly known as Akeem Olajuwon, is a retired Nigerian-American professional
player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the
position in the
(NBA) for the
and . He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the . Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) (but closer to 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) by his own admission), Olajuwon is considered one of the greatest centers ever to play the game. He was nicknamed "The Dream" during his basketball career, for his grace on and off the court.
Born in , Olajuwon traveled from his home country to play for the
under Coach . His college career for the
included three trips to the . Olajuwon was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall selection of the , a draft that included , , and . He combined with the 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
to form a duo dubbed the "Twin Towers". The two led the Rockets to the , where they lost in six games to the . After Sampson was traded to the
in 1988, Olajuwon became the Rockets' undisputed leader. He led the league in
twice () and
three times (, 1993).
Raised as a , Olajuwon became more devoted to the faith during this period and changed the spelling of his name from Akeem to Hakeem. Despite very nearly being traded during a bitter contract dispute before the 1992–93 season, he remained in Houston where in 1993–94, he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA , , and
awards in the same season. His Rockets won back-to-back championships against the
(avenging his college championship loss to ), and 's Orlando Magic. In 1996, Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold-medal-winning , and was selected as one of the . He ended his career as the league's all-time leader in , with 3,830.
Olajuwon was born to Salim and Abike Olajuwon, middle-class
owners of a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria. "Olajuwon" translates to "always being on top" in . He was the third of six children. He credits his parents with instilling virtues of hard work and discipline into
"They taught us to be honest, work hard, respect our elders, and believe in ourselves". Olajuwon has expressed displeasure at his childhood in Nigeria being characterized as backward. "Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city...There are many ethnic groups. I grew up in an environment at schools where there were all different types of people."
During his youth, Olajuwon was a
, which helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his size and strength in basketball, and also contributed to his shot-blocking ability. Olajuwon did not play basketball until the age of 15, when he entered a local tournament. It has been said that a coach in Nigeria once asked him to dunk and demonstrated while standing on a chair. Olajuwon then tried to stand on the chair himself. When redirected by staff not to use the chair, Hakeem could initially not dunk the basketball.
Despite early struggles, Olajuwon quickly became taken with the game: "Basketball is something that is so unique. That immediately I pick up the game and, you know, realize that this is the sport for me. All the other sports just become secondary."
Main article:
A billboard at the University of Houston
Olajuwon emigrated from Nigeria to play basketball at the University of Houston under Cougars coach . 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. He later recalled that when he originally arrived at the airport in 1980 for the visit, no representative of the school was there to greet him. When he called the staff, they told him to take a taxi out to the university.
One of only five numbers retired by the
men's basketball team, Olajuwon's #34 hangs in .
his freshman year in 1980–81 because he could not yet get clearance from the
to play, Olajuwon played sparingly as a
in 1981–82, and the Cougars were eliminated in the Final Four by the eventual NCAA champion, . Olajuwon sought advice from the coaching staff about how to increase his playing time, and they advised him to work out with local Houston resident and multiple NBA MVP winner, . Malone, who was then a center on the NBA's , played games every off season with several NBA players at the . Olajuwon joined the workouts and went head to head with Malone in several games throughout the summer. Olajuwon credited this experience with rapidly improving his game: "The way Moses helped me is by being out there playing and allowing me to go against that level of competition. He was the best center in the NBA at the time, so I was trying to improve my game against the best."
Olajuwon returned from that summer a different player. He and his teammates (including ) formed what was dubbed "Phi Slama Jama", the first slam-dunking "fraternity", so named because of its above-the-rim prowess. In his sophomore and junior years he helped the Cougars advance to consecutive , where they lost to
on a last second tip-in in 1983 and a -led
team in 1984. Olajuwon won the 1983 , even though he played for the losing team in the final game. He is, to date, the last player from a losing side to be granted this honor. Drexler departed for the NBA in 1983, leaving Olajuwon the lone star on the team.
After the 1983–84 season, Olajuwon debated whether to stay in college or declare early for the NBA draft. At that time (before the
was introduced in 1985), the first pick was awarded by coin flip. Olajuwon recalled: "I really believed that Houston was going to win the coin flip and pick the number 1 draft choice, and I really wanted to play in Houston so I had to make that decision (to leave early)." His intuition proved correct, and a lucky toss placed Houston ahead of the . Olajuwon was considered the top amateur prospect in the summer of 1984 over fellow collegians and future NBA stars , , and , and was selected first overall by the Rockets in the .
In his autobiography, Living the Dream, Olajuwon mentions an intriguing draft trade offered to the Rockets that would have sent Clyde Drexler and the number two pick in the 1984 NBA Draft from Portland in exchange for . Had the Rockets made the deal, Olajuwon states the Rockets could have selected Michael 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. Sportswriter
speculates that such a trade "would have changed league history and maybe the entire Michael Jordan legend". From 1991 to 1998, every NBA championship team included either Jordan or O furthermore, at least one of Drexler, Jordan, and Olajuwon was involved in every NBA Finals from 1990 to 1998.
The Rockets had immediate success during Olajuwon's rookie season, as their win-loss record improved from 29–53 in
to 48–34 in . He teamed with the 1984 , 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson to form the original NBA "Twin Towers" duo. Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points, 11.9
and 2.68 blocks in his rookie season. 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.
Olajuwon averaged 23.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game during his second pro season (1985–86). The Rockets finished 51–31, and advanced all the way to the
where they faced the defending champion . The Rockets won the series fairly easily, four games to one, shocking the sports world and landing Olajuwon on the cover of . Olajuwon scored 75 points in victories in games three and four, and after the series Lakers coach
remarked "We tried everything. We put four bodies on him. We helped from different angles. He's just a great player." The Rockets advanced to the
where they succumbed in six games to the , whose 1986 team is often considered one of the best teams in NBA history.
During the , Sampson (who was struggling with knee injuries that would eventually end his career prematurely) was traded to the . The
was Olajuwon's first full season as the Rockets' undisputed leader. This change also coincided with the hiring of new coach . The Rockets ended the regular season with a record of 45–37, and Olajuwon finished the season as the league leader in
(13.5 per game) by a full rebound per game over Charles Barkley. This performance was consistent with his averages of 24.8
and 3.4 . Olajuwon posted exceptional playoff numbers of 37.5 ppg and 16.8 rpg, plus a record for points in a four-game playoff series (150). Nevertheless, the Rockets were eliminated in the first round by the , 3 games to 1.
was a disappointment for the Rockets. They finished the season with a .500 record at 41–41, and though they made the playoffs, were eliminated in four games by Los Angeles. Olajuwon put up one of the most productive defensive seasons by an interior player in the history of the NBA. He won the NBA rebounding crown (14.0 per game) again, this time by a a full two
per game over , and led the league in
by averaging 4.6 per game. He is the only player since the NBA started recording blocked shots in
to average 14+
and 4.5+ blocked shots per game in the same season. In doing so he joined
as the only players in NBA history (at that point) to lead the league in rebounding and shot-blocking in the same season. Olajuwon also recorded a
during the season, becoming only the third player in NBA history to do so.
The Rockets finished the
with a record of 52–30 under
Chaney. Olajuwon averaged 21.8 points per game in 1990–91, but due to an injury to his eyesocket caused by an elbow from , did not play in enough games (56) to qualify for the rebounding title. Otherwise he would have won it for a third consecutive year, averaging 13.8 a game (league leader Robinson averaged 13.0 rpg). He also averaged a league-leading 3.95
per game. However, the Rockets were swept in the playoffs by the LA Lakers.
was a low point for the Rockets during Olajuwon's tenure. They finished 42–40, and missed the playoffs for the first time in Olajuwon's career. He missed two weeks early in the season due to an accelerated heart beat. Despite his usual strong numbers, he could not lift his team out of mediocrity. Since making the Finals in 1986, the Rockets had made the playoffs five times, but their record in those playoff series was 1–5 and they were eliminated in the first round four times. Following the season, Olajuwon requested a trade in part because his salary was considerably low for a top center, and his contract specifically forbade re-negotiation. He also expressed displeasure with the organization's efforts to surround him with quality players. He felt the Rockets had cut corners at every turn, and were more concerned with the bottom line than winning. Management had also infuriated Olajuwon during the season when they accused of him of faking a hamstring injury because of his unhappiness over his contract situation. His agent cited his differences with the organization as being "irreconcilable", and Olajuwon publicly insulted owner Charlie Thomas and the team's front office. With the
approaching, a reporter for the Houston Chronicle said that Olajuwon being dealt was "as close to a sure thing as there is."
Nonetheless he was not traded and the Rockets began the season with a new coach in . Olajuwon improved his passing in 1992–93, setting a new career high of 3.5
per game. This willingness to pass the ball increased his scoring, making it more difficult for opposing teams to double and triple-team him. Olajuwon set a new career high with 26.1
per game. The Rockets set a new franchise record with 55 wins, and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, pushing the Seattle SuperSonics to a seventh game before losing in overtime, 103–100. He finished second in the MVP race to
with 22 votes to Barkley's 59. The team rewarded him with a four-year contract extension toward the end of the regular season. In stark contrast to the previous year, the Rockets entered the 1993–94 season as a team on the rise. They had a solid core of young players and veterans, with a leader in Olajuwon who was entering his prime.
Olajuwon gained a reputation as a clutch performer and also as one of the top centers in history based on his performances in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons. He outplayed centers such as , , , and , and other defensive stalwarts such as
and . Many of his battles were with his fellow Texas-based rival
of the . In the 30 head–to–head match-ups during the seven seasons from the 1989 to 1996, when both Olajuwon and Robinson were in their prime, Olajuwon averaged 26.3 points per game, shooting 47.6% from the field, while Robinson averaged 22.1 and 46.8%.
The Rockets won the
in a seven-game series against the , the team of one of Olajuwon's perennial rivals since his collegiate days, . After being down 2–1, the Knicks took a 3–2 lead into Game 6. The Rockets were defending an 86–84 lead when in the last second, Knicks
(who had already scored 27 points) went up for a finals-winning three. Olajuwon pulled off a clutch play by blocking the shot as time expired. In Game 7, Olajuwon posted a game–high 25 points and 10 rebounds, which helped defeat the Knicks, bringing the first professional sports championship to
championship in 1961. Olajuwon dominated Ewing in their head–to–head match-up, outscoring him in every game of the series and averaging 26.9 points per game on 50% shooting, compared to Ewing's 18.9 and 36.3%. For his efforts Olajuwon was named .
Olajuwon was at the pinnacle of his career. In 1994 he became the only player in
history to win the MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. He was also the first foreign-born player to win the league's MVP award.
Despite a slow start by the team, and Olajuwon missing eight games toward the end of the season with , the Rockets repeated as champions in 1995. They were bolstered in part by the acquisition of Clyde Drexler, Olajuwon's former
"Phi Slama Jama" teammate, in a mid-season trade from the . Olajuwon averaged 27.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game during the regular season. Olajuwon displayed perhaps the most impressive moments of his career during the playoffs. San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson, recently crowned , was outplayed by Olajuwon in the Conference Finals: Olajuwon averaged 35.3 points on .560 shooting (Robinson's numbers were 23.8 and .449) and outscored Robinson 81–41 in the final two games. When asked later what a team could do to "solve" Olajuwon, Robinson told : "Hakeem? You don't solve Hakeem." The Rockets won every road game that series. In the , the Rockets swept the , who were led by a young . Olajuwon outscored O'Neal in every game, scoring more than 30 points in each and raising his regular-season rate by five while O'Neal's production dropped by one. Olajuwon was again named Finals MVP. He averaged 33.0 points on .531 shooting, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.81 blocks in the 1995 Playoffs. As in 1994, Olajuwon was the only Rockets All-Star.
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 .
had returned from a 21-month hiatus in March 1995, and his
dominated the league for the next three years (1996–98). The Bulls and Rockets never met in the NBA Playoffs. The Rockets posted a 57–win season in
when they added
to their roster. They started the season 21–2, but lost the Western Conference Finals in six games to the . After averaging 26.9 and 23.2 points in 1995–96 and 1996–97 respectively, Olajuwon's point production dipped to 16.4 in 1997–98. After the Rockets lost in the first round in five games to the Jazz in 1998, Drexler retired. In 1998–99 the Rockets acquired veteran All-Star
and finished 31–19 in the -shortened regular season. Olajuwon's scoring production rose to 18.9 points per game, and he made his twelfth and final . However, they lost in the first round again, this time to the Lakers. After the season, Pippen was traded to the .
Houston began to rebuild, bringing in young guards
and 2000 NBA co-Rookie of the Year . On August 2, 2001, after refusing a $13 million deal with the Rockets, Olajuwon was traded to the
for draft picks (the highest of which was used by Houston to draft
at #15 in the 2002 NBA Draft), with the player having a three-year contract that would give him $18 million. Olajuwon averaged career lows of 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in what would be his final season, as he decided to retire in the fall of 2003, due to a back injury. Olajuwon retired as the all–time league leader in total blocked shots with 3,830, although shot blocking did not become an official statistic until the . Shortly after his retirement, his #34 jersey was retired by the Rockets.
In 1980, before arriving in the US, Olajuwon played for a Nigerian junior team in the All-Africa Games. This created some problems when he tried to play for the
initially.
rules prohibit players from representing more than one country in international competition, and players must go through a three year waiting period for any nationality change. Olajuwon was ineligible for selection to the "" as he hadn't become a US citizen.
Olajuwon became a naturalized American citizen on April 2, 1993. For the 1996 Olympics, he received a FIBA exemption and was eligible to play for . The team went on to win the gold medal in Atlanta. During the tournament, he shared his minutes with
and . He played 7 out of the 8 games and started 2. He averaged 5 points and 3.1 rebounds and had 8 assists and 6 steals in seven games.
If I had to pick a center [for an all-time best team], I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. It leaves out a lot of people. And the reason I would take Olajuwon is very simple: he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It's not just his scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots. People don't realize he was in the top seven in steals. He always made great decisions on the court. For all facets of the game, I have to give it to him.
Olajuwon was highly skilled as both an offensive and defensive player. On defense, his rare combination of quickness and strength allowed him to guard a wide range of players effectively. He was noted for both his outstanding shot-blocking ability and his unique talent (for a frontcourt player) for stealing the ball. Olajuwon is the only player in NBA history to record more than 200 blocks and 200 steals in the same season. He averaged 3.09 blocks and 1.75 steals per game for his career. He is the only center to rank among the top ten all time in . Olajuwon was also an outstanding , with a career average of 11.1 rebounds per game. He led the NBA in rebounding twice, during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. He was twice named the , and was a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection.
On offense, Olajuwon was famous for his deft shooting touch around the basket and his nimble footwork in the . With the ball, Hakeem displayed a vast array of fakes and spin moves, highlighted in his signature
(see below). He was a prolific scorer, averaging 21.8 points per game for his career, and an above average offensive rebounder, averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds per game. Additionally, Olajuwon became a skilled dribbler with an ability to score in "face-up" situations like a perimeter player. He is 1 of only 4 players to have recorded a
in the NBA. It should be noted that quadruple-doubles were not possible before the 1973–74 season, when blocked shots and steals were first kept as statistics in the NBA.
"The best footwork I’ve ever seen from a big man"
Olajuwon established himself as an unusually skilled offensive player for a big man, perfecting a set of fakes and spin moves that became known as his trademark Dream Shake. Executed with uncanny speed and power, they are still regarded as the pinnacle of "big man" footwork.
stated: "Hakeem has five moves, then four countermoves – that gives him 20 moves." Olajuwon himself traced the move back to the soccer-playing days of his youth. "The Dream Shake was actually one of my soccer moves which I translated to basketball. It would accomplish one of three things: one, to misdirect the opponent and make him two, to freeze the opponent and leave him deva three, to shake off the opponent and giving him no chance to contest the shot." The Dream Shake was very difficult to defend, much like 's .
One notable Dream Shake happened in Game 2 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals against the Spurs. With David Robinson guarding him, Olajuwon performed a cross-over, drove to the basket and faked a layup. Robinson, an excellent defender, kept up with Olajuwon and remained planted. Olajuwon spun counterclockwise and faked a jump shot. Robinson, who was voted the 1995 NBA MVP, fell for the fake and jumped to block the shot. With Robinson in the air, Olajuwon performed an up-and-under move and made an easy layup.
Olajuwon has referred to basketball as a science, and described his signature move in vivid detail: "When the point guard throws me the ball, I jump to get the ball. But this jump is the set-up for the second move, the baseline move. I call it the 'touch landing.' The defender is waiting for me to come down because I jumped but I’m gone before I land. Defenders say 'Wow, he’s quick,' but they don’t know that where I’m going is predetermined. He’s basing it on quickness, but the jump is to set him up. Before I come down, I make my move. When you jump, you turn as you land. Boom! The defender can’t react because he’s waiting for you to come down to defend you. 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. All this is part of the Dream Shake. The Dream Shake is you dribb now you don’t have a . When I dribble I move it so when I come here, I jump. By jumping, I don’t have a pivot foot now. I dribble so now I can use either foot. I can go this way or this way. So he’s frozen, he doesn’t know which way I’m going to go. That is the shake. You put him in the mix and you jump stop and now you have choice of pivot foot. He doesn’t know where you’re gonna turn and when."
Olajuwon married his current wife Dalia Asafi on August 8, 1996 in Houston. They have two daughters, Rahmah and Aisha Olajuwon. , his daughter with Lita Spencer, whom he met in college, represented the West Girls in the McDonald's All American Game and played in the .
In addition to English, Olajuwon is fluent in French, , and the Nigerian languages of Yoruba and . He wrote his autobiography, Living the Dream, with co-author
in 1996. During his 18-year NBA career, Olajuwon earned more than $107,000,000 in salary.
Olajuwon, who earlier in his career signed a shoe endorsement deal with , later became the face of 's athletic shoe line and endorsed a sneaker that retailed in various outlets (such as ) for $34.99. This made him one of the very few well-known players in any professional sport to endorse a sneaker not from , , , or other high-visibility retail brands. As Olajuwon declared: "How can a poor working mother with three boys buy Nikes or Reeboks that cost $120?...She can't. So kids steal these shoes from stores and from other kids. Sometimes they kill for them."
Attending college was also an important priority to Olajuwon. At the University of Houston, Olajuwon was a physical education major.
In Olajuwon's college career and early years in the NBA, he was often undisciplined, talking back to officials, getting in minor fights with other players and amassing technical fouls. Later, Olajuwon took an active interest in spirituality, becoming a more devout . On March 9, 1991, he altered his name from Akeem to the more conventional spelling of Hakeem, saying, "I'm not changing the spelling of my name, I'm correcting it". He later recalled, "I studied the
every day. At home, at the mosque...I would read it in airplanes, before games and after them. I was soaking up the faith and learning new meanings each time I turned a page. I didn't dabble in the faith, I gave myself over to it." "His religion dominates his life", Drexler said in 1995. Olajuwon was still recognized as one of the league's elite centers despite his strict observance of
(i.e., abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours for about a month), which occurred during the playing season throughout his career. Olajuwon was noted as sometimes playing better during the month, and in 1995 he was named NBA Player of the Month in February, even though
began on February 1 of that year.
Olajuwon played for 20 consecutive seasons in Houston, first collegiately for the Cougars and then the Rockets. He is considered a local icon and one of Houston's most beloved athletes. Olajuwon has had great success in the Houston
market, with his estimated profits exceeding $100 million. He buys in cash-only purchases, as it is against
to . Olajuwon spends his time going back and forth between , where he moved with his family to pursue Islamic studies, and his ranch near Houston.
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. While Olajuwon never expressed an interest in coaching a team, he wishes to give back to the game by helping younger players. When asked whether the league was becoming more guard-oriented and big men were being de-emphasized, Olajuwon responded, "For a big man who is just big, maybe. But not if you play with speed, with agility. It will always be a big man's game if the big man plays the right way. On defense, the big man can rebound and block shots. On offense, he draws double-teams and creates opportunities. He can add so much, make it easier for the entire team." He runs the camp for free. Olajuwon has worked with several NBA players, including power forward , and center . In September, 2009, he also worked with
on the post moves and the Dream Shake. More recently he has been working with , helping him diversify his post moves and encouraging more mental focus. In the 2011 offseason,
flew to Houston and spent time working with Olajuwon. Olajuwon has also worked with ,
Olajuwon was inducted into the
as a member of the class of 2008. On April 10, 2008 the Rockets unveiled a sculpture in honor of him outside the Toyota Center.
Olajuwon attended the
to bid farewell to retiring commissioner
as Stern made his announcement for the final pick of the first round. Olajuwon was the first pick announced by Stern back in .
Main article:
2× NBA champion (1994, '95)
2× NBA Finals MVP (1994, '95)
1× NBA MVP (1994)
2× Defensive Player of Year (1993, '94)
6× All-NBA First Team (1987, '88, '89, '93, '94, '97)
3× All-NBA Second Team ('86, '90, '96)
3× All-NBA Third Team (1991, '95, '99)
5× All-Defensive First Team ('87, '88, '90, '93, '94)
4× All-Defensive Second Team ('85, '91, '96, '97)
12× All-Star
Olympic gold medalist (1996)
Named one of the
Olajuwon ended his career in the top ten all-time in blocks, , , and . He is the only player in NBA history to retire in the top ten for all four categories (he is now 12th all-time in rebounding).
Olajuwon was elected to the
as a member of the class of 2008.
Ranked #13 in 's 2009 revision of the top 50 greatest players of all time (published in the August 2009 issue)
For a comprehensive listing of Olajuwon's statistics, see
Denotes seasons in which Olajuwon won an
Led the league
Denotes career highs
  GP
Games played
  GS 
Games started
 MIN 
Minutes per game
 FG% 
percentage
 3P% 
percentage
 FT% 
percentage
 OFF 
 DEF 
Defensive rebounds per game
 REB 
Total rebounds per game
 AST 
 STL 
 BLK 
 TOV 
Turnovers per game
 PF 
Fouls per game
 PTS 
Points per game
Occurred in playoff competition
Quadruple-double (third out of four in NBA history)
Seattle SuperSonics
March 10, 1987
November 11, 1989
Golden State Warriors
January 7, 1986
Golden State Warriors
March 3, 1990
Milwaukee Bucks
March 29, 1990
Orlando Magic
December 20, 1990
San Antonio Spurs
April 21, 1988
Orlando Magic
December 17, 1989
Los Angeles Lakers
April 29, 1990
Portland Trail Blazers
January 3, 1993
Vancouver Grizzlies
December 13, 1995
Dallas Mavericks
April 13, 1996
vs. Denver Nuggets
April 19, 1990
Field goal percentage
15–17 (.882)
vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
November 11, 1993
Field goals made
vs. Denver Nuggets
January 30, 1997
Field goal attempts
vs. Denver Nuggets
January 30, 1997
Free throws made, none missed
vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
March 25, 1997
Free throws made
vs. Utah Jazz
January 10, 1993
Free throw attempts
vs. Orlando Magic
December 17, 1989
at New York Knicks
February 14, 1985
Offensive rebounds
at New York Knicks
February 14, 1985
Defensive rebounds
at Detroit Pistons
February 27, 1990
at Golden State Warriors
December 1, 1994
at Cleveland Cavaliers
November 19, 1987
vs. Denver Nuggets
April 19, 1990
Minutes played
vs. Seattle SuperSonics
March 10, 1987
at Seattle SuperSonics
May 14, 1987
Field goals made
at Utah Jazz
April 27, 1995
Field goal attempts
vs. Phoenix Suns
May 14, 1995
Free throws made, none missed
vs. Utah Jazz
May 25, 1994
Free throws made
vs. Los Angeles Clippers
May 1, 1993
Free throw attempts
vs. Los Angeles Clippers
May 1, 1993
at Dallas Mavericks
April 30, 1988
Offensive rebounds
at Seattle SuperSonics
May 14, 1987
Defensive rebounds
at Dallas Mavericks
April 30, 1988
vs. Phoenix Suns
May 18, 1995
vs. Denver Nuggets
April 26, 1986
Blocked shots
at Los Angeles Lakers
April 29, 1990
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