As a 12x All-Star, 12x All-NBA player, 1x MVP, and 2x Champion, Hakeem Olajuwon is not short on NBA accolades. In fact, speaking for all of NBA history, Hakeem is one of the most accomplished players ever.
Surprisingly, though, it’s not the All-Star nods or the championships that are considered Hakeem’s greatest achievement. According to the Rockets legend himself, it was having the NBA name an award after him that really made his career.
“That’s the crown. That sealed my career. It can’t be anything higher than that.” And Hakeem is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hakeem Olajuwon on the NBA naming the Defensive Player of the Year Award after him. It’s now called the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy: “That’s the crown. That sealed my career. It can’t be anything higher than that.” And Hakeem is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/EzcvPFz8vs
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) December 31, 2022
For any who might be unaware, the NBA has given names to all of the regular season awards this year. Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, George Mikan, and John Havlicek were all represented, and Hakeem was chosen for the DPOY category.
Hakeem Olajuwon Is One Of The NBA’s Most Versatile Players Ever
While Hakeem’s expertise was mostly on the defensive end, he had almost no flaws in his game. During his prime, he could really do it all, and he proved it by leading the Rockets to back-to-back titles.
[Hakeem] was so great that the NBA honored him by naming the DPOY award after him earlier this month, and Olajuwon earned a lot of admirers with his play over the years. Michael Jordan was just one of the many, and he once spoke about how impressed he was by the big man’s versatility.
“Olajuwon, he was in the top 10 in five categories, steals, rebounds, blocked shots, scoring, and shooting percentage,” said Michael Jordan. “To have a big guy of his size to be in the top 10 in steals, you would assume that he would be in blocks, which to me showed versatility and what type of guy he really was.”
Considering how accomplished Hakeem already was, having an award named in his honor certainly doesn’t stick out as especially extraordinary. But then again, how many others can say they have accomplished something similar?
In the end, it’s a great way for the league to pay homage to its history and a great way for the fans to keep their respect for some of the stars that have made the game what it is today.
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