Latest news with #Olajuwon
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"There were days where, oh man, he had some flashbacks" - When aging Hakeem Olajuwon made Rockets teammates look clownish in practice
Very few players have had the chance to play alongside an NBA legend like Hakeem Olajuwon. For Walt Williams, however, that rare opportunity actually came true during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. In a 2021 exclusive interview with Basketball Network, Williams shared what it meant to be teammates with the then-veteran Olajuwon. Advertisement The former 6'8" swingman made clear that this experience was more than just soaking in the aura of a basketball icon. Even though "The Dream" was nearing the end of his legendary career, he still, at times, displayed moments of the incredible skill and dominance that had marked his prime. Olajuwon's battle with Father Time When Williams joined the Houston Rockets around the turn of the millennium, he found himself sharing the court with a mid-30s Olajuwon. At that advanced age — "The Dream" was 36 when their first campaign together began — the effects of a long career were becoming evident. This is common among veteran players but even more so for centers, whose bodies take a lot of toll from the countless battles under the basket. Advertisement As Walt recalled, Hakeem — undeniably one of basketball's all-time great big men — was no stranger to that. Dealing with age-related health problems, the former 12-time All-Star often needed medication just to breathe, his former teammate said. For example, Williams recalled seeing Olajuwon use an inhaler device to take medication and sometimes use steroids to help open his lungs. During their two seasons together, Hakeem's impact clearly lessened. He still started regularly, playing over 25 minutes per game, but his stats showed his physical decline. The Finals MVP-level performances were gone; the seven-footer averaged modest numbers by his standards: just over 11 points, nearly seven rebounds, and only a few blocks and assists. "He just wasn't at the same level that he had been at," said "The Wizard." Advertisement Still, even though the magic faded in official games, glimpses of the old Hakeem appeared occasionally. In scrimmages and behind closed doors, as Williams — who made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 1993 — remembered. Related: "He's not a Hall of Famer, but he was on that next level" - Bob Ryan on a role player who was never recognized as the Celtics' X-factor in the 80s Turning back the clock Widely seen as one of the most skilled players in footwork, "The Dream" raised the bar for agility and deception in basketball. His moves weren't just accurate — they were smart. He mixed smooth fakes with quick changes in direction that left defenders confused, almost as if they were facing a completely different style of play. Even in his later years with the Rockets, there were times when much younger, fitter teammates struggled to keep up with that. Advertisement "There were days where, oh man, he had some flashbacks, and it was just amazing to see," recounted Williams. The now 55-year-old remembered how Hakeem could shrink the entire court to a small space near the basket, making defenders look "clownish" during practice. How did the future Hall of Famer do it? With a series of moves that flowed smoothly — from a hook shot to an up-and-under, then a pump fake and a sudden shift — that always seemed rehearsed but were still impossible to guard. "I mean, you could just tell exactly what the next move was gonna be," remembered "The Waiter," adding that defenders still couldn't do anything about it, finding themselves stuck "in the matrix." Those rare moments of brilliance showed exactly why the 1994 MVP, who led the team from "H-Town" to back-to-back championships, is still remembered as a true legend. As they say, real greatness never fades. Related: "I'm glad I did, too" - Hakeem Olajuwon on why he stopped Houston from trading him to the New York Knicks
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"That would be the team" - Hakeem Olajuwon on the Boston Celtics being the "ideal team"
During the 1985-86 season, Hakeem Olajuwon had the opportunity to win his first ring at 23 years old. Leading the Houston Rockets to the Finals, he encountered one of the toughest competitions he had ever faced in the championship bout with the Boston Celtics. The Eastern Conference powerhouse took the trophy, winning the series in six games. After that battle, Olajuwon appears to have realized that the Celtics squad he faced may have been the perfectly put-together team. Advertisement "I have great respect for that team," the Rockets legend said of the 1985-86 Celtics. "If you want to put an ideal basketball team together, that would be the team. A basketball team is supposed to be big. They had a big front line. And they're very smart. They don't waste opportunities. If you take a bad shot, they're going to capitalize." A nightmare for "The Dream" The 1986 playoffs were supposed to be a dream ride for Hakeem. After dispatching the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets in the first two rounds, he and his Houston crew easily defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. What made it more impressive for Olajuwon was that he had to face Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was already 39 by then but still averaged over 20 points per contest nonetheless, Magic Johnson, and the Lakers' vaunted fast-paced offense. It also didn't matter for the Rockets that the Purple and Gold had won the NBA title the previous year. Advertisement Houston prevailed over the Showtime Lakers in five games to set up a meeting with Boston. Olajuwon probably thought that his team had enough to beat the Celtics, even offering a dismissive response before the start of the series when asked about the storied franchise. In response, Larry Bird said he would give the then-youngster a "two-week history lesson." That's exactly what happened as Boston and its terrifying frontcourt rotation of Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Bill Walton made life difficult for Hakeem and his twin-tower duo, Ralph Sampson. The Celts registered resounding wins in the first two meetings, finishing both games with double-digit margins. Houston nearly fell into a 3-0 hole, but a fourth-quarter meltdown from Boston allowed the home team to escape with a 106-104 victory. The foes then traded wins in the following two contests before Bird and company took care of business in Game 6. Advertisement Olajuwon tried his best to steer the Rockets to the championship, averaging 24.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per contest. However, he shot just 47.9 percent from the field, which was still efficient enough but below his standards. He was also a beast on defense, logging 3.2 blocks and 2.3 steals per game, but the "ideal" Celtics' offense was just too overwhelming for the up-and-coming squad. Related: "I watched Shawn go to Cleveland and he got big, and I felt that was my fault" - Gary Payton says he feels responsible for the sad end to Kemp's career Becoming a part of a title-winning team The 1994 NBA MVP may have learned his lesson during that fateful bout with Boston, but it took him a long while before he finally reached the Finals again. Advertisement The years after the Rockets' 1986 Finals appearance saw the organization stumble big time. They had first-round exits from 1988 to 1991 and couldn't even make the playoffs in 1992. At some point, Olajuwon nearly left, as he felt his contract was not in keeping with his valuable contributions to the franchise. Everything came to a head when the front office accused him of faking a hamstring injury to avoid playing. Fortunately for Rockets fans, the 12-time All-Star and the management were able to put their differences aside because, in 1994, the team finally landed its first title in history. It even successfully defended the trophy in the following campaign to avoid becoming the first squad to fail to win back-to-back championships since, coincidentally, 1986. Related: "There were days where, oh man, he had some flashbacks" - When aging Hakeem Olajuwon made Rockets teammates look clownish in practice
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hakeem Olajuwon Had a Perfect Response to Victor Wembanyama's Request
Jan 31, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Before he entered the NBA, Victor Wembanyama received comparisons that seemed impossible to live up to. At just 19 years old, murmurings that he could be the next Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mark Eaton, or Hakeem Olajuwon took social media by storm. With two seasons under his belt, Wembanyama has somehow lived up to the hype, showing potential and flashes that he could be the next legendary big man to revolutionize the game. Advertisement During the NCAA Final Four, he was seen chatting with Olajuwon, who was there to cheer on his Houston Cougars. In an interview with Ari Alexander, "The Dream" revealed what they spoke about. "He's approachable, very humble," praised Olajuwon. "I was very impressed with the way he carried himself. He was just talking about his blood clot, now he's ready [to return]. It was a very nice interaction." Since retiring, Olajuwon has worked with countless NBA players, mostly focusing on the footwork that helped define his Hall of Fame career. "He asked about [training sessions], I told him, 'You have everything! Just have fun with it,'" Olajuwon continued. "I said, 'You don't need it!' He said, 'Well, I'd love to learn anyway.'" Advertisement Wembanyama has long made it clear that he wants to be known as one of the best to ever do it, and he's soaked up any advice he can get. Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Durant have all shared words with Wembanyama, and he's never seemed insulted by the limitless advice he's been offered. In fact, based on Olajuwon's comments, it sounds like he's often the one asking for pointers despite his undeniable talents. Check out the Inside the Spurs home page for more news, analysis, and must-read articles. Related: San Antonio Spurs Linked to Worst Possible Offseason Target Related: Victor Wembanyama Rivals LeBron James, Stpehen Curry for Unique NBA Stat
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Athletes bring colleges prestige and money. What are they owed when they graduate?
Two very different scenarios – a long-awaited title and a dramatic upset – unfolded in San Antonio and Tampa last weekend. UConn's women's basketball team won their first national title in almost 10 years and Houston's men pulled off a stunning comeback victory over Duke in the Final Four. Both teams were well supported by alumni, including former Huskies Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Sue Bird. Taurasi and Bird were on broadcast duties, but Moore and Stewart were in the stands during UConn's victory and breezed on to the court to celebrate the win. Meanwhile, Hakeem Olajuwon, who played college basketball at Houston before embarking on his Hall of Fame NBA career, was in town to cheer on the Cougars. But unlike the former Huskies, Olajuwon was denied permission to celebrate with his former college on court after their win over Duke. Video from the moment has sparked plenty of debate about who to blame: the security guard who stopped Olajuwon, or the Cougars themselves. For some, the racial dynamic apparent in the video (the security guard is white, Olajuwon is Black) raises issues; for others, the entire debacle could have been avoided if the team had made it clear Olajuwon was welcome on the court. After all, Moore and Stewart were there to celebrate with their former team, why couldn't Olajuwon? He has since said the incident was due to a mix-up rather than any malice on the part of the security guard or the Cougars. Nevertheless, the debate around the two incidents raises an interesting question. How much does a college owe its star players after they graduate? ---- In the week of the Sweet Sixteen, a former WNBA champion contacted me asking for help securing access to her former team's games – a surprising request for an athlete of that stature. I had assumed universities who had benefited from an athlete's talent repay the favor by inviting them to important games. Alexis Hornbuckle, who won two NCAA championships under Pat Summitt at Tennessee, knows about the sometimes confusing and isolating path traveled after an athlete's playing days are behind them. When we spoke last week, she was quick to explain that she doesn't believe that coaches and athletic directors are necessarily responsible for maintaining the relationships between players and their former teams. But she also noted that she has relationships with Tennessee women's basketball players from the 1970s, thanks to the efforts of Coach Summitt. 'Coach Summitt was all about the sisterhood,' Hornbuckle said, 'and I know [former Tennessee football] Coach Phillip Fulmer was all about the brotherhood. I know there's been a lot of changes [at Tennessee] since I graduated back in 2008 – coaching changes, athletic trainer changes – so it's different, right? Names get forgotten, people get forgotten, it's part of it. It's not the job of the coaches and the athletic directors to take care of former players necessarily because their focus has to be their current players.' That's fair – but it doesn't mean schools can't try. Unfortunately, for some players, the issue goes a little deeper. A former NCAA champion who asked to be anonymous, told me that money, that perpetual gamechanger, can influence who gets invited to big events like championship games. 'Sometimes, it's maybe that person made it to the next level and their name is bigger,' she said, 'but sometimes it's that they gave X amount of dollars back to the university. The university is going to make sure that if they want to come to a game, they're going to have tickets. They're going to be introduced or recognized on the jumbotron, whatever the sport is, walk out on the field or the court. But it's a select few they pick and choose.' Understandably, money is a consideration for athletic departments, too. It's one thing to invite a few players from one team to an important event – it's another to expect a university to provide access for hundreds (or even thousands) of former athletes who want to attend those events. One solution could be a kind of first come, first serve system wherein programs disperse a certain number of tickets; another might be for former athletes to design their own support systems. ---- If universities don't have the resources to support former stars – or want to – maybe it's time those players support themselves. Two Tennessee graduates are doing just that. VOLegacy is a player-led organization founded by two former football players but is open to anyone who represented the college. The group hosts local meet-ups and helps former players attend games together, whether that's through accreditations or financial assistance for tickets. Tennessee appears to be a rarity: Baylor and UConn disbanded similar organizations years ago, while South Carolina has an alumni center but said 'we do not have tickets to athletic events the specifically cater to alumni athletes.' Hornbuckle is a proud member of VOLegacy. The organization offers 'access and information about what's going on with Tennessee sports and with the university,' she says, and also connects athletes with business and mentorship opportunities as well as financial literacy classes. 'The goal is really to help athletes navigate that space after you leave college,' Hornbuckle says. 'However we can help, we want to be there for each other because what we say is the Tennessee way, right – it's a family.' When schools forget, players remember. And some of them are taking the job of building a legacy into their own hands. The athletic departments at UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Notre Dame, and Tennessee did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
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Miami Herald
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Houston eyes chance to make history against Florida in NCAA Championship
No school has made more Final Four appearances without winning a championship than Houston. During their six previous Final Four forays, the Cougars have lost to legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Patrick Ewing and they've lost in legendary fashion -- specifically Lorenzo Charles' last-second dunk that enabled North Carolina State to stun Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and the rest of Phi Slama Jama in the 1983 NCAA title game. Despite dominating the Big 12 and losing just once since Thanksgiving weekend, Houston (35-4) wasn't necessarily supposed to reach Monday night's NCAA championship game against Florida (35-4) in San Antonio. Houston's chances looked particularly dire when the team trailed by 14 with eight minutes to go in Saturday's semifinal and by six -- without the ball -- with just over one minute to play. But now that the Cougars have produced a legendary comeback to knock off the nation's No. 1 team (Duke) featuring college basketball's No. 1 player (Cooper Flagg) leading the nation's No. 1 offense over the last 25 years (per KenPom's efficiency ratings), can they take it the final step and let some other school become known as the best to never win a championship? And with Olajuwon, Drexler, Elvin Hayes and other legendary Houston alums watching from the Alamodome's best seats? 'I'm sure (Olajuwon) poured his heart and soul into this program, just like a lot of the guys that came before us,' said Cougars senior LJ Cryer, who scored a team-high 26 points in Saturday's upset and leads Houston with 15.6 points per game. 'We're standing on those guys' shoulders, everyone who came before us. It would mean a lot to get this done. Not only for us, but for them.' Houston, which has won 18 straight, also has designs on making 69-year-old Kelvin Sampson the oldest coach to win an NCAA championship. Sampson is the architect of the Cougars' system focused on defense, rebounding and toughness, though this year's group also leads the nation in 3-point shooting (39.9 percent) thanks to guards Cryer, Emanuel Sharp (12.8 ppg) and Milos Uzan (11.5 ppg). 'Last night, I got so many texts,' Sampson said. 'I saw Tubby (Smith) and Rick Barnes, Tom Izzo, (Gregg Popovich), a bunch of the older coaches. They all kind of had similar messages to me: Win one for the old guys, something like that.' To do so, Houston and its national-best defense will have to solve an athletic and analytic juggernaut developed by one of Division I's youngest head coaches, 39-year-old Todd Golden. The Gators feature not only the third-most efficient offense in the KenPom era -- averaging 128.8 points per 100 possessions, just shy of Duke's 130.0 rating -- but they also boast the NCAA Tournament's hottest player in senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. When Florida needed to rally from 10 points down to Texas Tech with five minutes to play in the West Region final on March 29, Clayton reeled off 13 of his game-high 30 points. When Florida needed to come back from eight points down to Auburn in Saturday's semifinal, the first-team All-American poured in 20 of his career-high 34. 'Having someone's that such an elite threat to score with the ball in his hands at all times,' Golden said, 'obviously makes everybody else so dangerous as well.' Auburn rarely figured out a way to get the ball out of Clayton's hands during crunch time. He produced a crucial 3-pointer and a three-point play down the stretch when the Tigers got as close as one point. With that in mind, Golden expects Houston's group of agile and physical defenders -- even big men J'Wan Roberts and Joseph Tugler have the ability to stay with guards -- to double Clayton and make him give up the ball. 'Their defense worries me a lot, absolutely,' Golden said with a laugh. 'You look at a guy like Tugler, Roberts, they have incredible length and athleticism and physicality inside the paint. They wear you down, make it really, really hard on you.' If Clayton (18.5 ppg, 4.1 apg) can't put up 18 shots like he did Saturday, then he'll move the ball to senior guards Alijah Martin (14.6 ppg) and Will Richard (13.2 ppg) and big men Alex Condon (10.5 ppg) and Thomas Haugh (9.9 ppg). Florida, which has won 11 in a row, has returned to the NCAA championship game for the first time since Billy Donovan's Gators won back-to-back crowns in 2006-07. The sportsbooks favor Florida by 1 or 1.5 points while the predictive analytics (such as KenPom) suggest Houston should win by 1. In other words, this one has all the earmarks of turning into the first NCAA title game that comes down to the last shot since Virginia and Texas Tech needed overtime to settle the 2019 championship. 'Big-picture goal is going to make them take tough twos, (then) fight like hell to get the rebound,' Golden said. 'Every rebound we get is going to feel like we won the game, I feel like. If we can do a good job of keeping them off the boards, we'll give ourselves a chance.' Field Level Media 2023 - All Rights Reserved
