This is an accepted version of this page Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (/hʌˈkɪm/ /əˈlaɪʒu.ɒn/ huh-KEEM ə-LY-zhoo-on;[1] Yoruba: [olaɟuwɔ̃]; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player.

[3][4][5][6] Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olajuwon traveled from his home country to play for the University of Houston under head coach Guy Lewis.

The following year, after a lackluster regular season, Olajuwon's Rockets swept Shaquille O'Neal's Orlando Magic in 4 games in the NBA Finals.

In 1996, Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold medal-winning United States national basketball team, and he was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

"[10] During his youth, Olajuwon was a soccer goalkeeper which helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his size and strength in basketball, and also contributed to his shot-blocking ability.

[11] Olajuwon did not play basketball until the age of 15 in high school, when he entered a local tournament while at the Muslim Teachers College in Lagos, Nigeria.

[15] After redshirting his freshman year in 1980–81 because he could not yet get clearance from the NCAA to play,[10] Olajuwon came mostly off the bench and served as the Cougars' sixth man as a redshirt freshman in 1981–82, 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.

[16] 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, Moses Malone.

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.

"[17] 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.

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.

[20] After the 1983–84 season, when he was named a consensus first-team All-American,[18] Olajuwon debated whether to stay in college or declare early for the NBA draft.

[24] He teamed with the 1984 Rookie of the Year, 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson to form the original NBA "Twin Towers" duo.

[25] The Rockets finished 51–31,[24] and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals where they faced the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

[27] During the 1987–88 season, Sampson (who was struggling with knee injuries that would eventually end his career prematurely) was traded to the Golden State Warriors.

In doing so he joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton as the only players in NBA history (at that point) to lead the league in rebounding and shot-blocking in the same season.

[36] His agent cited his differences with the organization as being "irreconcilable",[37] and Olajuwon publicly insulted owner Charlie Thomas and the team's front office.

[28] The Rockets set a new franchise record with 55 wins,[24] and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, pushing the Seattle SuperSonics to a seventh game before losing in overtime, 103–100.

[43] He outplayed centers such as Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Dikembe Mutombo, and other defensive stalwarts such as Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone.

They were bolstered in part by the acquisition of Clyde Drexler, Olajuwon's former University of Houston "Phi Slama Jama" teammate, in a mid-season trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.

[54] 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.

Houston began to rebuild, bringing in young guards Cuttino Mobley and 2000 NBA co-Rookie of the Year Steve Francis.

[59] 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.

[58][60] 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 1973–74 NBA season.

With the ball, Hakeem displayed a vast array of fakes and spin moves, highlighted in his signature "Dream Shake" (see below).

[73] This made him one of the very few well-known players in any professional sport to endorse a sneaker not from Nike, Reebok, Adidas, or other high-visibility retail brands.

[75] 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.

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.

[82] Olajuwon has worked with several NBA players, including power forward Emeka Okafor,[83] and center Yao Ming.

[88][89] Olajuwon has also worked with Ömer Aşık, Donatas Motiejūnas, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried.