Following his retirement, his jersey was retired by the Houston Rockets. Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city There are many ethnic groups. The Rockets won the flip and was selected as the top pick in the 1984 draft, ahead of stars like Michael Jordan, and Charles Barkley. 2023 WeAfrique - Famous people of African descent, celebrities, news, and everything Interesting, Shawn Howell Wayans Is Marlon Wayans Son: Everything To Know About Him, 20 Nollywood Actors And Their Marital Status, Who Is Stevie Vann: Details About The Singer No One Told You About, 50 Most Popular African Dishes You Should Find In A Good African Restaurant, 25 African Restaurants In The United States, Simple Steps On How To Cook Edikang Ikong Soup ( Edikaikong Soup ), Lexington Budden Is One Of Joe Buddens Children: All To Know. We helped from different angles. 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. Kiran Rafiq Raghav Soni Davin Rashmikant Suthar Ishmael Timbo Kyle Jordan Watson Sashalee Williams BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS (Three-year Honours programme) Kartik Suresh BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MARKETING (Four-year Honours programme with placement year) Sandra Chizoba Abone Naomi Adegbile. Reports say that Hakeem made about $3.8 million in 1995 from endorsement deals. The boys played basketball and soccer while growing up, and they are still drawn to the sports. He fell out with the Rockets management, but he returned in good form for the 1992/93 season, where he finished runner-up in the MVP race. In todays money, thats the same as making about $27 million. On August 2, 2001, after refusing a $13 million deal with the Rockets, Olajuwon was traded to the Toronto Raptors for draft picks (the highest of which was used by Houston to draft Botjan Nachbar at #15 in the 2002 NBA draft), with the player having a three-year contract that would give him $18 million. . Hakeem Olajuwon, who was 7 feet tall, was a monster in the NBA and had a lot of fans all over the world. She will. The details about her academics are also not available. When redirected by staff not to use the chair, Hakeem could initially not dunk the basketball. Official Website of the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Dalia Asafi is the wife of Hakeem Olajuwon. In the 2000-2001 season, when he played for the Houston Rockets, he made $16.7 million. He recalls being overjoyed when he first arrived in the United States to learn that he could now get a perfect shoe size. He sought advice from the Houston staff on how to earn more playing time and it was recommended that he work out with NBA star, Moses Malone. Popularly known as The Dream, Olajuwon moved from Nigeria to the United States to play college basketball at the age of 17. Many of his battles were with his fellow Texas-based rival David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs. Hakeem Olajuwon is considered one of the most dominant centers in the history of the National Basketball Association. Hall of Famer, NBA Champion and MVP @DR34M will be the #Texans Homefield Advantage Captain this Sunday against the @49ers! From 1991 to 1998, every NBA championship team included either Jordan or Olajuwon; furthermore, at least one of Drexler, Jordan, and Olajuwon was involved in every NBA Finals from 1990 to 1998. His workout with Malone helped him a lot. 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. Here are some notable quick facts that you should know about the retired Nigerian -American basketball legend. He continued playing in good form for the Raptors until his retirement in 2002. Net Worth and Salary. Facebook gives people the power. He endorsed Spalding shoe, the Dream which sells as low as $35. [12] After being waived she played for Esportivo Ourinhos (Brazil),[13] and Heilongjiang Chenneng (China). During his time in the NBA, Hakeem made $110 million. Though many think his childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, was backward, Olajuwon counters such claims, claiming his childhood in Lagos was never backward as he met and interacted with various individuals from different ethnic groups. Hakeem Olajuwon has an estimated net worth of $200 million. He was twice named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and was a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection. Olajuwon, who earlier in his career signed a shoe endorsement deal with LA Gear, later became the face of Spaldings athletic shoe line and endorsed The Dream, a sneaker that retailed in various outlets (such as Payless ShoeSource) for $34.99. Olajuwon tied a knot his current wife, Dalia Asafi, on August 8, 1996, in Houston. 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. He has another child, with Lita Spencer, who played basketball in the WNBA. But since men and women are separated when praying, he did not. He missed two weeks early in the season due to an accelerated heart beat. Hakeem Olajuwon is a $200 million net worth. New to basketball and unaware of the various skills, such as dunking, a coach tried explaining to him what it meant to dunk, while standing on a chair. In 2008, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. They finished 4240, and missed the playoffs for the first time in Olajuwons career. Olajuwon and his wife, Dalia Asafi, reside in Jordan and have two daughters, Rahmah and Aisha. The Road to Success. Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.68 blocks in his rookie season. Abi played college basketball at Oklahoma and spent two years in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and Tulsa Shock. saveTextPlaceholder. Olajuwon prides his parents as devoted people who made sure they . He has also been featured in several documentaries, such as Clutch City, Hakeem the Dream, and Arvydas Sabonis 11. As Olajuwon declared: How can a poor working mother with three boys buy Nikes or Reeboks that cost $120? About marrying a young girl, Hakeem said: "In the Islam faith, it is customary for a girl to marry much younger than they do in America, at age 15 or 16, for instance.". The two led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Boston Celtics. 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. He thus earned little playtime as a redshirt freshman. Daughters: Abi Olajuwon, Rahmah Olajuwon, Aisha Olajuwon; Hakeem Olajuwon's Early Life, Childhood & Family Background. His college career for the Cougars included three trips to the Final Four. In 2010, she qualified for the WNBA draft, and Chicago Sky chose her. All the other sports just become obsolete.. 8. In August of 1996, the two became husband and wife. He helped the team win gold. He does things like purchasing vast tracts of land near major transit hubs and exits on major highways. 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. Olajuwon pulled off a clutch play by blocking the shot as time expired. The decision to decide who had the number 1 pick was by a coin flip. Recently, Abdullah Olajuwon came to America and started playing high school ball in Houston, Texas. Olajuwon established himself as an unusually skilled offensive player for a big man, perfecting a set of fakes and spin moves that became known as his trademark Dream Shake. For NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon though, it was always a sport he wanted to see his sons pursue. For more information on upcoming movies and more, check our website by. The two countries have become homes for the couple and their children. Today, the Hakeem Olajuwon Foundation exists in the United States. Olajuwon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2008. According to Hakeem, one of the reasons why they chose to live in Jordan was because it is an Islamic country that is very friendly to immigrants. His parents owned a cement business. Sometimes they kill for them., The Athlete with a large number of Twitter followers, with whom he shares his life experiences. The third and the only boy's name is Abdullah. Also, Olajuwon bought a 41-acre piece of land near NASAs Johnson Space Center and turned it into a community for retired people. The career life of Dalia is not known, hence what she makes in terms of finances has never been revealed. The Rockets won the series fairly easily, four games to one, shocking the sports world and landing Olajuwon on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was a very good player in a team, and because of him, the team was in the final four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma, and ESPN basketball analyst Nancy Lieberman stated before the 2006-07 season that the addition of Olajuwon would help propel the Sooners into contention for . From their weddings, this long term married couple has two daughters named Rahmah and Aisha Olajuwon. http://www.emueagles.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1239 "Abi Olajuwon Assistant Coach." He averaged 3.09 blocks and 1.75 steals per game for his career. Meanwhile, Hakeem played for Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors in center position from 1984 to 2002. However, the Rockets were swept in the playoffs by the LA Lakers. Apart from her birthdate and nationality, there is not much information about Asafi's family background. Hakeem Olajuwon owns at least 12 homes in the United States right now. Despite his usual strong numbers, he could not lift his team out of mediocrity. Tweets by Hakeem. He outplayed centers such as Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Shaquille ONeal, and Dikembe Mutombo, and other defensive stalwarts such as Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone. In Clear Lake, California, he purchased a massive mansion and converted it into a boutique. In the 1983 NCAA Championship though his team lost he was awarded the Tournament Player of the Year award. The team went on to win the gold medal in Atlanta. [8], In 2011, Olajuwon returned to the WNBA and was signed by the Tulsa Shock and played there during the 2011 season. Being born on 21 January 1963, Hakeem Olajuwon is 60 years old as of today's date 12th April 2023. Following his return, Olajuwon began creating a reputation for his dunks. Olajuwon made it clear at the time that Dalia might still be a teenager at the time, but like many other Muslim women, she had already had knowledge, experience, and wisdom beyond her age. 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