Hakeem Olajuwon is the most legendary Houston Rockets player of all time. The Rockets have had some fantastic players like Ralph Sampson, Clyde Drexler, and James Harden play for them, but none come close to Hakeem Olajuwon and what he has meant to the franchise in its history.
Olajuwon was picked No. 1 overall by the Rockets in the 1984 draft, and Michael Jordan went No. 3 overall. But Hakeem rarely gave the franchise a chance to regret the move. He was the only player to win multiple championships as the main star in the 90s other than Michael Jordan himself.
The Clutch City teams were a force of nature and Olajuwon arguably did it with very little help, dominating the offensive and defensive boards. The Rockets won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995, powered by The Dream and his elite abilities.
But the Rockets almost missed out on this success, something people know very little about is the fact that Olajuwon had some major issues with the organization in the early 90s. He publicly traded some harsh words with the team at one point in 1990.
Rockets Owner Charlie Thomas: “I’m not trying to build a personal relationship here. If he wants a personal relationship then it’s up to him to come to me. You know who makes people happy? Themselves, people make themselves happy.”
Hakeem Olajuwon: “There is an old saying in my country (Nigeria), `Silence is the best answer for a fool’. I don’t want to get down in the mud with this organization. Everything will come out.”
The issue was in regards to a new contract, Olajuwon didn’t feel like he was getting paid what he was worth. And the beef between Hakeem and the organization he became the face of would get worse before it got better, there were quite a few things said between the two parties.
Eventually, both parties sorted out the situation between them, but it ended up taking a long plane ride to Tokyo to make that happen. The Rockets tried to trade Olajuwon several times but nothing worked out and in 1992, the teams and its star finally settled their differences (via FanSided).
“Charlie and I used to be close, but things broke down badly last year. What we did on the plane was maybe take a step toward trying to re-establish a relationship. We cannot go back. All we can do is go forward from here and try to rebuild.”
The rest, as they say, is history. Olajuwon would go on to lead the Rockets to two NBA championships and make himself one of the biggest legends in the history of Houston as a city. With stars like Kevin Durant currently looking to leave their teams, this story is an excellent example of mending a relationship can lead to success in the NBA.
Charlie Thomas ended up selling the team in 1993, so he didn’t partake in the success, though. However, Olajuwon got the contract he wanted eventually, signing a $55 million deal in 1997. Ultimately, the relationship between Olajuwon and the ownership is representative of many owner-superstar relationships in the NBA, and this dynamic is unlikely to change soon.
