Basketball legend with his 18 seasons in the NBA and his two titles in the best championship in the world, the naturalized Nigerian American Hakeem Olajuwon remains an avid observer and actor of his sport. Retired from the field since 2002, the slender pivot still closely analyzes the league and the new dynamics of its discipline, especially when the new players come from Africa.
RFI: Hakeem Olajuwon, in your time (1984-2002), he and two dominant African pivots in the NBA, the Congolese Dikembe Mutombo and yourself. How did you perceive at that time the fact that you were among the only representatives of Africa in the best basketball league in the world?
Hakeem Olajuwon: It was quite strange at first for me to be honest with you, because when I came to the United States to assess at the University of Houston, I met a lot of young Africans who wanted to break into basketball. Plus the name of him for the NBA is, and still is, three, three limits. When I started with the Houston Rockets, I also quickly felt that people in Nigeria were following me very closely, and expecting me to perform miracles in two strokes, three movements. I felt pressure, but it helped me to keep moving forward and getting up every day to have a great career in the league. At the time, the NBA will have three few foreign players, and the chance that I was a real godsend, so I had to give everything to get there. I had to succeed, I had no other choice or option on the table.
You are very close to Mutombo, who is also a very tough opponent for you. For the African players in the league today, you and Dikembe Mutombo are seen as pioneers, and when they meet you, with enormous respect and extremely strong admiration…
Dikembe was very physical, with his long bras and his rage to win, he was a real lion who fought on every ball! He left me with several bruises on my body after each match, with his very “active” elbows if I may say so (laugh). On those great friends after our college days, and on our way to all the young Africans who have come to the league after our time. It’s an honor for me to see that African players ask us for advice, and there’s great respect between us, an almost father-and-son relationship with some because we’re veterans, close to the age of their own parents (laugh). I’m always in awe of seeing that they know everything about my game, about the kind of player I was, and they very often ask me for advice, which I give with great pleasure.
Today, the names of young Africans in the league are constantly increasing, with gondola teasers, who have become the stars of the league, such as Cameroonians Joël Embiid and Pascal Siakam for example…
You know, what happened after the years with the influx of African players in the NBA, it makes me really, really happy. I’ve been waiting for this for quite a long time, and to see new guys coming in every year, but also becoming the most important players in certain teams, it’s a sign that things are moving forward. Unlike my time, when scouts only focused on inside players and didn’t look at Africans who could play playmaker, fullback or winger, scouts and sporting directors now look at absolutely everything. Result, on guys like Hamidou Diallo (Guinea, Back, Detroit Pistons), Josh Okogie (Back, Phoenix Suns, Nigeria), and Pascal Siakam (Winger, Toronto Raptors, Cameroon), who are important in their respective teams. In Africa, there is talent everywhere. You just have to give them an opportunity.
What do you think can be expected for the years to come?
I thought the name of African players in the league will increase further year after year. The NBA invests a lot on the continent, between the Basketball Africa League and the Academies, but also the African stars who inspire young people on the continent and show them that anything is possible. I’m really happy about the future for the African basket, because there is talent everywhere. The future of the NBA is partly in Africa. I’m sure. In ten years, there will be more than fifty African players in the league, I’m sure. In my day, the names of foreign players were quite low, whereas today the league must have almost a third of players who were born outside the United States. It is this kind of evolution, of internationalization of the basket, that I really like.
Joël Embiid did not go far from postponing the title of MVP of the season, and sees some similarities between him and your game…
Joël, in the complete “package”, he is an excellent player, an exceptional pivot. I enjoy watching people play, it’s always a pleasure. He has a great sense of the game, he can do everything, and dribble, shoot close or three-point for a guy of this size and stature, I can tell you that it’s super complicated. But he defies the laws of physics and an ultra-wide palette, and I’m not surprised to see him in the MVP discussion every year. He’ll get it at some point, I’m sure. Nikola Jokic had it twice in a row, Giannis also had it twice in a row, and I’m sure Joel will also have it twice at least.
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