Hakeem Olajuwon recently came under fire for reportedly charging Giannis Antetokounmpo $50k per workout session, but it turns out Giannis didn’t have to pay anything at all.
“Hakeem is one of the best players to ever play the game,” Antetokounmpo said on SiriusXM Radio. “You cannot even disrespect him in no shape or form. He is probably top 10 to ever play this game, if not the most skilled big to ever play this game.”
Antetokounpo revealed he’d have been willing to pay $1 million for the workouts, but Hakeem never asked him for anything.
“So, if somebody like me, as you said, two-time MVP, champion, seek for advice from the most skilled big man of all time and I have to pay $1 million, I will pay $1 million,” Antetokounmpo continued. “In no shape or form that he told me to pay.”
The 28-year-old wouldn’t have had any issue had Hakeem asked, as he would be taking time out of his schedule for him.
“He takes time away from his kids, away from his home, and away from the things that he enjoy to do, to kinda help you be better,” Antetokounmpo added. “If he choose to charge you with money, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with that. So, I don’t understand like, I saw some things earlier, like two weeks ago, that they were saying (like), ‘why he was charging?’. There is nothing wrong with him charging.”
Giannis said that just like how you get charged for using a service like Uber, it’s more than fair to ask for a payment for workouts too.
“But at the end of the day, in no shape or form I paid,” Antetokounmpo stated. “There’s a mutual respect from Hakeem to me and from me to him. I don’t think he was ever in a position to ask me to pay. Greatness don’t charge greatness. He could charge other people, though. Other people not on that pedestal? He could definitely charge.”
(starts at 0:31 mark):
"Greatness don't charge greatness"😂@Giannis_An34 on learning from Hakeem Olajuwon
More from @Bucks Camp https://t.co/XWDtRPHnwv pic.twitter.com/R8N5zF3T1b
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 8, 2023
All that fuss over Hakeem charging big numbers was for absolutely nothing, then. Olajuwon just did Giannis a favor with some free workouts, which is quite admirable on his part.
Gilbert Arenas Had Ripped Hakeem Olajuwon
Of all of Olajuwon’s critics, the single most vocal one was Gilbert Arenas. Arenas had brutally roasted Hakeem for charging $50,000 for workouts.
“Nobody wants that Hakeem Olajuwon skyhook. You should be ashamed of yourself. Charging these young whippersnappers $50,000. When you came into the league in 1984, you weren’t getting $50,000 a game. You’re trying to make the money back through the youth!”
All those wild accusations without even bothering to check if any of it was actually true. Will Arenas apologize in any way for all the things he has said in recent weeks? He certainly doesn’t seem the type to do anything along those lines.
Hakeem Olajuwon Spoke About Training Giannis Antetokounmpo
After their training sessions, Giannis thanked Olajuwon, and it certainly would have been quite enlightening for him to train with the Hall of Famer. As for Hakeem, he spoke glowingly about Antetokounmpo.
The Houston Rockets icon stated it was an honor to work with the seven-time All-Star and praised him for still wanting to improve despite being such a great player. The two also bonded over their Nigerian roots and seemed to have had a great time.
It’ll be interesting to see how much of what he’s learned, Giannis is able to immediately implement on the court. It might take him a little bit of time, but in the long run, I’m certain Olajuwon’s influence will be there for all of us to see.
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