Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon has admitted that he owes everything in life to his exploits in basketball.
The NBA’s legendary player was recently in Nigeria, for the first time in many years, from his base in Jordan to be part of the ‘Power Forward’ initiative – a programme designed to foster life skills and build health knowledge through basketball.
He sat down with INNOCENT AMOMOH to talk about life matters, retirement, living in Jordan and much more.
DURING his 18-year career, Nigeria-born Hakeem Olajuwon staked his claim as one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. Long considered a physical player since his days at the University of Houston, his productive play highlighted by the Houston Rockets’ back-to-back NBA titles earned him a place among the game’s best.
Hakeem ‘The Dream’, as he is fondly called, had a storybook season in 1993-94 when he became the first player to be named NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Finals MVP in the same year. From 1984 to 2002, he played the centre position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors, after which he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. 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 centres ever to play the game.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria over 50 years ago, his college career for the Cougars included three trips to the Final Four. At the time, he spelled his first name Akeem. Olajuwon was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA Draft, a draft that included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.
Olajuwon returned to Nigeria, last week, to be part of the ‘Power Forward’ project, which is geared towards instilling the right values in kids using the vehicle of basketball. In between the basketball clinic which was kick-started at the Government Secondary School, Wuse, Abuja and powered by NBA Africa, ExxonMobile and Africare, Olajuwon shared his thoughts on life, basketball and sundry issues. Excerpts…
What have you been doing after retirement?
I live in Jordan with my family at present but I have also been very active, staying in shape, attending programmes like this all over the world, especially with this one holding in Nigeria which is the pilot edition to the whole of Africa, it’s a big honour. I’ m so happy to be back home. This is my duty. I love showing people, especially the young ones, what I was able to do over my career. This is something to help a game that has been good to me.
Why did you choose to live in Jordan?
When I was playing, I was coming to Jordan to work out in the off-season but I told myself I would spend my days there after my playing days were over. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m drawn to Jordan because I love architecture. I like deciding the structure of a building and determining what the highest use of land is. Then I don’t want to work because I’ve travelled my entire career. I finally get more time off with my family and a chance to do stuff with them. I wouldn’t give that up for anything because family means the world to me.
Do have any regrets in your career?
No! No regrets
But you didn’t get to play for Nigeria all through your career?
I did play for Nigeria. How did I get the scholarship to the United States if I had not played for Nigeria? I captained the Nigerian team to Angola before playing for the USA.
Is there something you would have loved to achieve in basketball that you didn’t?
No, there’s nothing I had ever wanted to achieve that I didn’t in basketball. In fact, I will say I over-achieved more than I ever expected. Basketball has given me everything. But it is time to keep achieving more with projects of this magnitude, trying to raise kids for the future. I m powering forward and there’s no stopping me. I feel satisfied; I feel satisfied with what I’ve accomplished and I feel grateful for what I accomplished in my career. The only thing I ever wanted to do in my career was winning. When they introduced me with all these things that I accomplished in my career, I turned around and said, ‘Who is that? I accomplished all that?’
You have not been home before to be part of programmes like this. Why have you decided to be inconsistent with Nigeria?
To bring people together, you’ve got to have the right team. It is not about assembling people, but it takes partnership at different levels to really make that impact and to sustain it over the years. It should not just be about organising a programme that cannot be sustained. So you need corporate sponsorship like this to make it happen with every one playing their roles. So I’m very happy that it is happening now. For me, it is an opportunity to make that impact. I was one of the beneficiaries because it was a project like this that gave me the opportunity to travel to the United States of America. So it is laudable and we’ve got to do it right.
There’s this young Nigerian player in the NBA, Victor Oladipo. What is your assessment of him and how do you intend to help him get to the heights?
Yes, I think that is another good observation. Well, the young man is in the NBA right now trying to seek himself out. He is in the draft, great kid. I think he will make a great impact in the NBA because his style of basketball is energetic, I really like him. I hope we can help him through.
What will be your advice to young kids who may want to take up basketball as a career?
I will say they have to be focused because basketball is just a vehicle to becoming great in life in any field. Basketball is capable of bringing institutions together for the benefit of the children, so they have to take advantage of every of such opportunities.
What, in your view, went wrong with the Nigerian national team, D’ Tigers, at the 2012 Olympics despite their impressive run?
There were lots of talents in the team. The kids played well but lacked the experience. With experience they can do better. That was the beginning of great things to come in the future for Nigerian basketball. With conscious efforts geared towards organising deliberate programmes that will impact positively on the children, then the future of basketball in Nigeria is secured.
How will you assess the performance of your former club side, Houston Rockets, in the out-going year?
I think they did well but now that we have acquired James Hadden and Dwight Howard Haward, two great players with a combination that can compete for the NBA Championship this term. The owner has vowed to pay whatever it will take to get the result and that is what they have going for them right now.
Coming back home, what do you think will be the benefit of the Power Forward basketball clinic to these young stars?
Well, for me, I think it is a great opportunity from the leadership of NBA Africa. It is a dream for me, really, thinking of the NBA coming to Africa to develop basketball. These students and young kids are the beneficiaries. They have the potentials, they might not end up playing professionally, but it would have been a worthwhile experience. They can also through basketball get scholarships to study in universities outside this country and most importantly develop skills that will help them fit into the different spheres of career path they have chosen.
We hope this initiative will be sustained overtime because we’ve seen projects like this start and we never get to see them again
I am very impressed with your question because they are good questions. These are different organisations that have come together to be involved in this, institutions as NBA Africa, ExxonMobil, Africare; I mean these are institutions with a vision. So, any project that emanates from institutions like these are easy to maintain because they are professionals and are determined to move forward.
In the next ten years, what do you think will happen to the young talents that will be discovered?
This is the pilot edition and you can see the enthusiasm on the faces of the kids. It is the African vision to select ten schools in Nigeria before taking it across the country. The intention is to make basketball the second after football in Africa. So, these children can be top players in any field if they take this opportunity seriously.
