59-year-old Hakeem Olajuwon hasn’t played professional basketball in about 20 years. After retiring in 2002, he stepped away from the game and into obscurity, keeping to himself and mostly staying away from the public eye.
Every now and then, he’ll make his presence known in only a way Hakeem can do.
Recently, the Rockets legend had another one of those signature moments while training young rookie, Alperen Sengun. It’s hardly the first player he has trained, but footage of this particular workout got fans all worked up on Twitter.
"To be a complete player, you feel free on the court."
Hakeem Olajuwon X Alperen Sengun pic.twitter.com/cwvfYClIFq
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) January 29, 2022
The almost-60-year-old was moving pretty well and people were excited to see him passing on his knowledge to the younger generation.
https://twitter.com/IboTprk/status/1487510179243507714
Dream looks like he can still ball out.
— HOU (@tsb2107) January 29, 2022
— original_me (@raginmario) January 29, 2022
Dream can still get 10 and 5 in 10 mins of play right now.
— thang (@Junebaby69Thang) January 29, 2022
https://twitter.com/lopez7_16/status/1487487768087437324
Man Hakeem shake looks as smooth as ever. 🤩🚀
— Felito (@FlixGonzlez234) January 29, 2022
Things got particularly interesting on Reddit when fans joked that Olajuwon should join the veteran Lakers squad.
Obviously, you shouldn’t hold your breath about Hakeem suiting up. Working out with a young player is entirely different than playing in a few minutes of a real game.
Still, ‘The Dream’ moves pretty well for his age and it’s good to know he’s still going as strong as ever.
Over 18 years in the NBA, Olajuwon didn’t just cement himself as one of the best bigs in basketball. He earned a place as one of the best players in basketball. By the time he ended his career, he was a 12x All-Star, 12x All-NBA player, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, and 1x NBA MVP.
Most importantly, he led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back Championships in 1994 and 1995, capitalizing on the temporary fall of the MJ-led Chicago Bulls.
Today, the Rockets aren’t in a position to succeed. In the aftermath of the James Harden trade, they’re in a rebuilding state that has them developing young players to build towards the future.
Fortunately, Olajuwon is a part of building that future — and, perhaps, some of his skills and tactics will help develop the next great Rockets center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTyPvzoUS2Q
