Hakeem Olajuwon 's basketball journey is one for the books. Three months after he first played the game in Lagos, he boarded a flight to the United States, looking to hone his skills and hoping to make it to the NBA one day.
He chose to go to Houston, but Cougars coach Guy V. Lewis wasn't too sure of him, and he didn't even bother to pick up his prospect at the airport. When Hakeem boarded a taxi, his accent caused the driver to mistake the University of Houston for the University of Austin.
But in the end, he finally made it to Lewis' office and met his future coach for the first time. Olajuwon was discovered by American coach Chris Pond, who referred him to Lewis. But while Guy was excited about meeting a 7-foot prospect, he was unsure if Pond was exaggerating.
"He smiled," recalled Olajuwon. "He was happy to see that I was a real 7-footer."
Dream was amazed by the little things
At that time, the Cougars were holding informal workouts. So Lewis asked his prospect if he would care to play a pickup game with the team. Of course, Olajuwon said yes, so Lewis sent the young Nigerian to the locker room to get dressed.
Inside, the team trainer asked Hakeem what his shoe size was. He said 14 because that was his usual size; he gave the young Dream a brand-new pair. They were tight as Olajuwon put them on, so Hakeem tried to take off a pair of socks. But before he could, the trainer stopped him.
"He said, 'No, let's try 15,'" added Olajuwon. "More new shoes. Still tight. He got 16s. I could not believe all of these brand-new shoes. I put them on, and they fit. For the first time ever, I would play basketball without pain in my feet. It was always a distraction when I was running and jumping. But this was comfortable. I thought, 'Oh, man! They're in trouble out there on the court.'"
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Hakeem lived out his dream
The Rockets legend says he dominated that pickup game and earned a spot on Lewis' team, joining the Cougars for the 1981-82 season. He started only 9 of 26 games during his freshman season, averaging 8.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. After his freshman year, the coach sent him to work with then-Rockets center Moses Malone during the offseason. Hakeem returned a different player.
Olajuwon became a double-double machine while averaging over five blocks per game in his next two seasons. The Dream was named NCAA Tournament Player of the Year in 1983 and was named First Team All-American in 1984 while helping the Cougars make the title game in both seasons.
Hakeem was drafted first overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, two spots ahead of Michael Jordan. While MJ ended up as the GOAT, Olajuwon still won two NBA championships, two Finals MVPs, two DPOYs, and one MVP award. But more importantly, he accomplished all those while playing for the city where he began his basketball journey, and to him, that was a dream.
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