Hakeem Olajuwon


Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon , formerly known as Akeem Olajuwon, is a NigerianAmerican retired professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association for the Houston Rockets, and the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to backtoback NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Listed at 7160ft 0160in 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 after he dunked so effortlessly that his college coach said it looked like a dream.

Olajuwon was born to Salim and Abike Olajuwon, middleclass Yoruba owners of a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria. Olajuwon translates to surpassing wealth in Yoruba. He was the third of six children. He credits his parents with instilling virtues of hard work and discipline into him and his siblings 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.

Source: Wikipedia


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