Hakeem Olajuwon was one of the most calm and composed men in the NBA later in his career. But Mitch Richmond recalls a different side of him.
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At around 6’10” and 250 pounds, Hakeem Olajuwon was one of the most athletic players in the league. At age 15 he was 6-feet and had never touched a basketball. By age 18, he was 6-foot-9, and by the time he came into the league, he grew nearly 2 more inches without losing any of his athleticism from when he was 15.
It’s what made him impossibly agile and coordinated as a pro. We might never ever see another Hakeem ‘The Dream’.
All of that helped him to be the number 1 pick in the 1984 draft which also had Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton. His athleticism and dominance were always on display each game, especially during the early parts of his career.
He was the first non-American to win many individual accolades, paving way for many others. The NBA was thought of as a league only dominated only by Americans before Olajuwon’s arrival.
But achieving so much coming out of Nigeria did not mean it’ll keep the Houston Big man calm enough to not slap or punch people around him.
Hakeem Olajuwon would slap anyone and everyone according to Mitch Richmond
Playing in the physical era that he did, Hakeem Olajuwon had his fair share of on-court and off court incident where he slapped or punched players. The Dream never let disrespect slide not just from the opponents but even from his teammates.
Mitch Richmond, who had many battles with the All-time great remembers how the legend was slapping around players. The Hall of Famer joined former NFL stars, Terrell Owens and Matthew Hatchettein in their podcast Getcha Popcorn Ready on fubo Sports Network.
The host of the show Matthew selected his five after Mitch and Terrell and chose Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Although everyone among them were offensive juggernauts none of them was a willing passer. Then Mitch joked about their ball-hogging tendencies and how The Dream would get on their backs for it:
“Olajuwon’s gonna slap everybody on that team,” Richmond said. “Olajuwon was slapping everybody back then. If you didn’t pass him the ball like three or four times, he’ll go to you ‘okay young fella, you better pass that ball.’ You gotta remember, he’s blocking everything, and rebounding, and running the floor. You gotta reward the big man.”
Watch it here,
The only player in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season, Olajuwon was the most complete player ever.
Also read: How the Bulls legend took up the challenge to put ‘The Dream’ on a poster
Even Michael Jordan used to say that he and the Bulls were lucky that Olajuwon and Co somehow never make it out of Western Conference to face the Bulls in their 6 Finals.
And the two times The Dream made it out of West in the 90s it was when Jordan had taken a break from basketball, Houston Rockets won the Championships both those years on the back of Hakeem’s 2 Finals MVP performances.
