Basket Ball

Olajuwon is a Nigerian native who was an All-America in 1984 and Final Four MVP in 1983 for the University of Houston Cougars. While at the University of Houston, Olajuwan was selected as the Southwest Conference Player of the Decade (1980) by a panel of media and coaches. He is one of eight centers to have led his team to the NCAA Final Four in three straight seasons. The Cougars were 88-16 during Olajuwon's three magnificent seasons. He had career averages of 13.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 4.5 blocked shots. His number 34 jersey was retired by UH in February 1997. "Akeem," as he was known by back them, was part of "Phi Slama Jama" - the dunking fraternity of the University of Houston in the early 1980s. Phi Slamma Jamma was a brotherhood that included "Clyde the Glide" (Clyde Drexler) and "Mr. Mean" (Larry Micheaux). The name Phi Slama Jama came from then Houston Post columnist Thomas Bonk in January 1983. To this day, Phi Slamma Jamma is considered one of the greatest collegiate teams to play in the NCAA.
Olajuwan was the first overall pick by Houston Rockets in the 1984 NBA draft. He led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back NBA titles (1994-95), was the regular season MVP (1994), and a 2-time Finals MVP ('94-95). Olajuwan is a 6-time All-NBA 1st team member (1987-89,93-95). He is the all-time NBA blocks leader. After 17 glorious seasons with Houston, he was traded to Toronto in the waning days of hiw career. With a steal against Seattle on November 20, 1999, Hakeem became the first player in NBA history to accumulate both 2,000 blocked shots and 2,000 steals in a career.