Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the greatest centers to have ever played in the NBA. He modernized and revolutionized the position during his career in the 80s and 90s. Olajuwon became a league MVP and has two championships to show for his incredible career with the Houston Rockets.
Olajuwon was drafted #1 overall by the Rockets in 1984, 2 spots ahead of Michael Jordan. It is impossible to think someone could have been drafted ahead of Jordan and not be looked back at as a bad pick, but Olajuwon gave the Rockets exactly what they needed.
An incredible fact about Olajuwon is that he would compete through the auspicious months of Ramadan. Hakeem is a proud Muslim player and used to fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, but still averaged almost 40 minutes a game during that time.
Hakeem once explained what drove him to play as well as he used to during the months of Ramadan in an interview in 2020.
“First of all, knowing that it’s not a choice. It’s one of the pillars of Islam and if you’re a practicing Muslim, you can’t say ‘well because in playing, I won’t fast this month’. It’s one of those uncompromising positions. So mentally, you prepare. Then the spiritual aspect of that is that you are doing something spiritual for willpower. It’s to develop willpower. Then you find yourself, whatever you set your mind to, you approach it with that positive mindset, you start seeing the benefits”
Hakeem explained some of the science behind why he played well during Ramadan and said that his body felt so good that he tried continuing the fast even after Ramadan was over, but didn’t have the spiritual willpower to go through that again.
“Because it’s Ramadan, I’d find I have a lot more energy. You digest all your food, your stomach is feeling lighter, more explosive. To the point, even after Ramadan, I wanted to continue. But you don’t have that same strong willpower again. I tried two more days after Ramadan.”
Olajuwon had a legendary run of games in February 1995 where he won player of the month while fasting. In 15 games that month, Olajuwon averaged 39.7 minutes on the court. In that time, he totaled averages of 29.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.4 blocks. Ramadan started on 1 February and Olajuwon had a monster month that clinched him the trophy.
Some of the most impressive games of Olajuwon’s career came during these fasted months. The one that comes to everyone’s mind is his Jan 1997 outing against the Chicago Bulls, where Olajuwon tallied a monster stat line of 32 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks, all in 39 minutes of action. The Rockets left that game as 16-point winners over the reigning champion Bulls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GALP6wtTbEc
Many modern NBA players practice fasting through the months of Ramadan. Enes Freedom and Olajuwon had actually discussed fasting while in the middle of the season prior, and Enes would follow Hakeem’s advice. Unfortunately, he is without a team this season, so he won’t have to worry about playing and fasting at the same time.
The best example of a modern NBA player that plays through Ramadan fasts is none other than Kyrie Irving. Irving spoke at length about playing through Ramadan last season.
With Ramadan beginning tomorrow, Kyrie Irving will once again be fasting for the next month.
Ramadan spans the rest of the regular season, the play-in, the first round, and into the beginning of the second round.
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) April 2, 2022
“But yeah, I am taking part in Ramadan with a lot of my Muslim brothers and sisters. And it’s been an adjustment. That’s really what I can say. It’s just being committed to my service to God, Allah, and then continuing on with whatever I’m guided with. I’m just happy to be part of my community and doing the right things. So, fasting is definitely is definitely part of it — if you know anything about the Muslim community. But yeah, just really blessed and grateful to be taking part of this.”
Religious plurality across the NBA is respected, as no player has ever come out and said they were asked to not fast. Players like Hakeem have proven that it is a non-issue on the performance of the player. It takes incredible willpower to pull this off, and Hakeem did so over the course of multiple Ramadans in his career.
