Hakeem Olaijuan – The center who dominated the NBA in the 1990s

Hakeem Olajjuan – the center who dominated the NBA in the 1990s

The Nigerian showed he is one of the greatest when Jordan stopped for the first time

Hakeem Olaijuan is one of the names that wrote an incredible story in the National Basketball Association. The center achieved wonders in the late 1980s, especially in the 1990s and the beginning of the new century. With the Houston Rockets, he won a number of awards and dominated the league when Michael Jordan first folded. In the following lines, we will tell more about the career of the 2 meters and 13 centimeters tall center.

Born on the 21st of January 1963 in Nigeria, Hakeem Abdul Olaijuan, nicknamed "The Dream", is a man who did not play basketball until the age of 15. Hakeem trained football and handball in his hometown of Lagos. Due to his serious height, however, he switched to basketball and already in his college years he made a huge impression.

In 1984, the Houston Rockets selected Olaijuan with the first pick in the draft, and the rest, as the cliché goes, is history. Already in his first year for the Rockets, the team reached the playoffs, and in the second he was very close to success in the finals against the Boston Celtics. In the next 5 years, Houston's team is not among the most impressive, but Olajjuan stands out with brilliant individual indicators. Deceiving moves, crafty moves to the basket and interesting spins render opposing defenders helpless against Hakeem.

The mid-1990s is when he reached the peak of his career. A pick that earned him two consecutive NBA rings and a number of individual awards. The first of them is the recognition of the best defensive competitor for the 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons. The 93/94 campaign also brought him the regular season MVP award and his first NBA title. Olaijuan and his Houston won the great battle with the New York Knicks within 7 games, and the center became the MVP in the finals as well. Next year is time for a second title in a row for the Rockets and another award for the most valuable player in the final series. Achievements that are due to incredible individual indicators, but also to the refusal of Michael Jordan. Without a doubt, Hakeem remains in the shadow of Chicago's guard, but when he took a break in his career, Olaijuan showed how much of a competitor he really is and dominated the NBA within two seasons. And without any competition.

In the years after 1995, however, injuries took over and in the end Olaijuan did not show improvement and did not win any more awards. In 2001, he even moved to the Toronto Raptors, where he played only one season and ended his career. A career that ended with him tied for 7th in NBA scoring with 26,946, 11th in rebounding with 13,748, and all-time record holder for rebounds with 3,830.

Olaijuan was a participant in 12 All-Star games and in 1996 was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. In 2008, he also entered the Hall of Fame, where the Nigerian definitely has a place because of his incredible achievements.

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