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Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Hakeem Olajuwon's Journey From Nigeria to the Basketball Hall of Fame
This Friday, the Basketball Hall of Fame will enshrine seven new members: Adrian Dantley, William Davidson, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Pat Riley, Cathy Rush and Dick Vitale. Each of these inductees has an interesting life story but Olajuwon's is certainly the most remarkable and unlikely: the Nigerian native did not even play basketball until he was 17. Prior to that, he played soccer and handball, sports that helped him to hone the agility and fluidity that later characterized the unique way that he performed on the hardwood.
Nowadays, top high school basketball players become nationally known figures and young overseas prospects like Ricky Rubio are household names--at least in households that follow basketball. The basketball world was a lot different in 1980, when Olajuwon arrived in Houston with no fanfare and took a taxi cab from the airport to his meeting with University of Houston Coach Guy Lewis. Olajuwon was a raw prospect who redshirted his freshman season (1980-81) but he also was a marvelously talented athlete with a tremendous work ethic.
Olajuwon averaged 8.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 2.5 bpg for Houston in 1981-82. He shot .607 from the field but just .563 from the free throw line and although he was already an intimidating defensive presence he had more personal fouls than blocked shots, averaging nearly three fouls a game despite barely playing 18 mpg. Still, Olajuwon helped the Cougars to make it to the Final Four, where they lost to the eventual champions, a North Carolina team led by James Worthy and Michael Jordan. During the summer, Olajuwon became a regular at the top notch pickup games at the legendary Fonde Recreation Center, where future Hall of Fame center Moses Malone held court and helped Olajuwon to refine and hone his skills.
That hard work enabled Olajuwon to improve his statistics across the board in 1982-83 (13.9 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 5.2 bpg, .611 field goal percentage, .595 free throw percentage) while reducing his fouls per minute by 25%. He helped lead the Cougars to the NCAA Championship Game, where they lost to Jim Valvano's Cinderella North Carolina State squad. Olajuwon won the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award despite Houston's loss; he is the last player to receive that honor without playing on the championship team.
In his senior season, Olajuwon again improved markedly in four categories (16.8 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 5.6 bpg, .675 field goal percentage) while slashing his fouls per minute rate by more than 20%. Olajuwon led the NCAA in rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage and his Cougars returned to the NCAA Championship Game but this time they fell to Patrick Ewing's Georgetown squad, a loss that Olajuwon later avenged in the NBA by beating Ewing's Knicks in the 1994 Finals; Olajuwon never won a college title but Ewing never won an NBA title, proving that even a Hall of Famer cannot win a championship without help from his supporting cast.
The Houston Rockets made Olajuwon the number one overall selection in the 1984 NBA Draft and even though Michael Jordan was the third pick no one can really say that Houston made a mistake by choosing Olajuwon; his lengthy NBA resume includes two championships, one regular season MVP (1994), two Finals MVPs (1994, 1995), two Defensive Player of the Year Awards (1993, 1994), six All-NBA First Team selections, five All-Defensive First Team selections and 12 All-Star selections. Olajuwon also won a pair of rebounding titles (1989-90), led the league in blocked shots three times (1990-91, 93) and is the career leader in that category with 3830 rejections, though it must be noted that the NBA has only tracked that statistic since 1973-74, several years after Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell retired. Remarkably, Olajuwon ranked in the top ten in steals four different times (1988-90, 1995). Olajuwon had at least 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in 12 seasons, tying a record set by Julius Erving; in 11 of those seasons, Olajuwon had at least 200 blocked shots, easily making him the career leader in "100/200" seasons. Olajuwon averaged 21.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg and 3.1 bpg during his 18 year NBA career, shooting .512 from the field and .712 from the free throw line; in the playoffs he improved those numbers to 25.9 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.2 bpg, .528 field goal percentage and .719 free throw percentage. The numbers are nice--actually, they are fantastic--but numbers are just numbers. To borrow a line from one of my favorite Julius Erving stories--John Papanek's May 4, 1987 Sports Illustrated tribute to Erving (which would have been included in my post about Julius Erving Stories if I had been able to find the link in time), "You had to see the man and hear the music." So, without further ado, look and listen to what Olajuwon at his absolute peak did to fellow all-time great David Robinson right after Robinson won the 1995 regular season MVP:
That video contains several examples of Olajuwon's patented "Dream Shake," plus assorted other devastating moves in his offensive repertoire; Olajuwon combined amazing balance, dexterity and grace with stunning quickness and power. Defenders had to respect his outside shot, which made it even more difficult to stop him from getting into the paint. That performance against Robinson, coming on the heels of winning the 1994 championship and en route to winning the 1995 championship, is the defining moment of Olajuwon's career. The 1995 championship was sweet redemption for Olajuwon and his Houston Cougars teammate Clyde Drexler, who joined the Rockets in the middle of the season; Olajuwon and Drexler did not win an NCAA title but together they brought the NBA championship to Houston. They remain just the fourth set of teammates to each score 40 points in an NBA playoff game.
Mario Elie was Olajuwon's teammate on those teams in Houston and in 1999 Elie won a championship playing alongside Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio. Sometimes when you ask a player about the great players he has played with you get a politically correct answer but when I asked Elie about Olajuwon, Elie told me without hesitation, "I played with a lot of great players but he was number one. He made my game better--having two or three guys on him all night enabled me to get open shots. He was putting so much pressure on the defense. He would say, ‘Mario, don’t worry about getting beat. I will be there to have your back.’ That meant so much. Being a defensive guy, I would pressure guys and sometimes they would get by me, but the ‘Dream’ was always back there to have my back." Later, Elie added, "I love Tim (Duncan). I think he may be the second best player I played with but ‘Dream,’ just his performance in pressure situations--when David Robinson got the ’95 MVP, ‘Dream’ told me, ‘Mario, he’s borrowing my trophy.’ When I heard that I said, ‘Somebody’s in trouble tonight.’ That guy put on a performance--under that pressure against the MVP and we have no home court advantage--and ‘Dream’ just dominated that position. It reminded me of when Jordan dominated Clyde when they were comparing the two guards. They were comparing two centers and ‘Dream’ just totally--I don’t want to say embarrassed--but he really embarrassed him, he dominated him--(series averages of) 35 (points), 13 (rebounds), 5 assists, 4 blocks. Those are amazing numbers for a center."
It is easy to look at Olajuwon's career and come away with the impression that everything went smoothly; that same fallacy also applies to Michael Jordan, who has been elevated to god-like status in some people's eyes even though early in his career Bill Cartwright--a former All-Star center who was then Jordan's teammate--lamented (as reported in Sam Smith's book The Jordan Rules), "He's the greatest athlete I've ever seen. Maybe the greatest athlete ever to play any sport. He can do whatever he wants. It all comes so easy to him. He's just not a basketball player." That quote may seem bizarre now but in the mid to late 1980s many people openly questioned if Jordan could lead a team to an NBA championship; there were similar questions about Olajuwon prior to 1994. Although Olajuwon led Houston to the NBA Finals in just his second season (1985-86), the Rockets did not win a playoff series from 1988-92. In 1991-92, Olajuwon did not make the All-NBA or All-Defensive Teams as Houston struggled to a 42-40 record, missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. Olajuwon engaged in a bitter contract dispute with the team's management and that situation seemed to affect his play, though his numbers were still very good. The usually durable Olajuwon missed 26 games in 1990-91 and 12 games in 1991-92, leading Houston General Manager Steve Patterson to assert that Olajuwon was malingering in order to pressure the team into agreeing to his financial demands, a charge that Olajuwon denied. The Rockets tried to trade their frustrated superstar during the summer of 1992 but eventually they agreed to a four year contract extension. Just imagine how much different NBA history--and Olajuwon's legacy--might be if the Rockets had traded Olajuwon just two years before he led Houston to the NBA championship. That is a cautionary tale that owners, team executives, writers and fans should keep in mind before passing judgment on some of today's star players. Just look at last year's NBA Finalists: in one season Kobe Bryant went from being a maligned, disgruntled scoring champion to being the league MVP, while Kevin Garnett emerged from a three year playoff drought to claim his first title.
Did Jordan, Olajuwon, Bryant and Garnett change, as the media airbrushers assert, or did the environment/supporting cast surrounding them--ownership, coaches, teammates--improve? All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis likes to say "The same thing that will make you laugh will make you cry"; the traits that led to fierce criticism of those players when their teams fell short of winning titles are the same traits that propelled them to later greatness. The only thing that changed was the media spin.
Olajuwon's legacy is quite secure now and it has long been apparent that he would be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as soon as he became eligible. It is fitting that he and longtime rival Ewing are members of the same Hall of Fame class, because they will always be inextricably linked together due to their showdowns in championship level competition at both the NCAA and NBA levels.
Mario Elie Compares Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan
In Part I of my interview with Mario Elie, the Golden State Warriors assistant coach talked about his long road to the NBA and his famous "Kiss of Death" shot. After Elie helped Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets win two championships he won a third title playing alongside Tim Duncan and David Robinson. What was it like playing with some of the greatest big men in the history of the game? Elie offers his perspective in Part II of my interview with him.
Friedman: "What was it like to be teammates with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler? It’s one thing to see them as opponents, but you got to know them in the locker room and also be on the court with them."
Elie: "Two amazing individuals. 'Dream' was very private, a very religious guy, but the times that I was around him he was a comedian, just a great guy, a fierce competitor and probably the best player I had the pleasure of playing with. I played with a lot of great players but he was number one. He made my game better—having two or three guys on him all night enabled me to get open shots. He was putting so much pressure on the defense. He would say, 'Mario, don’t worry about getting beat. I will be there to have your back.' That meant so much. Being a defensive guy, I would pressure guys and sometimes they would get by me, but the 'Dream' was always back there to have my back. Clyde Drexler and I are great friends; we still keep in touch. I was skeptical of the trade at first because I felt that we won a championship with Otis Thorpe and I was a little disappointed that the Rockets traded him. Clyde didn’t complain, came in and made us all believers. When 'Dream' got hurt, Clyde went on an amazing roll and carried us on his back. I said, 'Hey, this guy means business.' So it was a great relationship."
Friedman: "People forget that that was an unusual trade on the surface, even though Drexler would of course be considered a better player than Otis Thorpe. When you look at positions, you are trading your power forward for a shooting guard and then putting Robert Horry, who at that time was a skinny perimeter player, at power forward. On the surface it looked like a strange plan, but, whoever came up with that idea, it turned out brilliantly."
Elie: "It did turn out brilliantly. Also, you had Chucky Brown playing some 4 for us. We felt that Hakeem was so dominant in the middle that whoever you put beside him really didn’t matter. He and Clyde played together (in college) and you just saw that Hakeem felt like a kid again when they brought in Clyde. Both of them were so happy to be reunited. You saw the chemistry between those two. I remember a game against Utah when each of them had 40 points. That was an amazing feat to see, these two Top 50 players who I got the chance to play with performing at that level. It was great to see that."
Friedman: "You mentioned that Olajuwon is the greatest player you played with. You also played with the Spurs and Tim Duncan and David Robinson, who was obviously up there in years at that point in time but still a good player. What are your memories of playing with them? Since you do feel that Olajuwon is the greatest player you played with, compare his game to Duncan’s. Some people see a little similarity between their games. What do you think of that?"
Elie: "I love Tim. I think he may be the second best player I played with but 'Dream,' just his performance in pressure situations—when David Robinson got the '95 MVP, 'Dream' told me, 'Mario, he’s borrowing my trophy.' When I heard that I said, 'Somebody’s in trouble tonight.' That guy put on a performance—under that pressure against the MVP and we have no home court advantage—and 'Dream' just dominated that position. It reminded me of when Jordan dominated Clyde when they were comparing the two guards. They were comparing two centers and 'Dream' just totally—I don’t want to say embarrassed—but he really embarrassed him, he dominated him—(series averages of) 35 (points), 13 (rebounds), 5 assists, 4 blocks. Those are amazing numbers for a center."
Friedman: "When you were teammates with David Robinson did you ever talk about that?"
Elie: "Never talked about it. Avery Johnson is one of my best friends to this day and he’s the one who helped get me to San Antonio. I felt that they just needed some toughness. I took a lot of heat early in that year—I went on national TV and really challenged Dave and Tim about being soft. I took a lot of heat in the San Antonio and national media about that, 'Who is this guy Mario Elie, just a basic player, telling these two superstars what to do?' At the end of the year (it became clear that) I was right. I was man enough to step up to those two guys and tell them that they had to play tougher. What it got was the Spurs' first championship and people coming up to me after the season saying, 'Mario, you did the right thing. You took the heat all year, but you were right to challenge those two guys.' I’m glad I did it. Every time I go to San Antonio people still remember me and still love me down there. It was a great two years there."
Friedman: "Is the difference between Olajuwon and Duncan the athleticism? They both have great footwork but Olajuwon was a soccer goalie, so he had great athleticism and the way that he would get steals added another dimension that Duncan perhaps does not have."
Elie: "Exactly. I just think that 'Dream' was more athletic, had a better game on the box and was a better shot blocker. Tim is a great defender. He gets his arms up and he blocks a couple shots, but 'Dream' was an amazing shot blocker. Like you said, he had great hands. He was always hitting the ball away from guys."
Friedman: "He would steal the ball from guards."
Elie: "Exactly. He would pick guys’ pockets. He had a great feel for the game and is just an amazing individual."
Friedman: "Duncan blocks shots but it seems to me that when you compare him to other players that he is not a great leaper, not athletic compared to NBA players. How is he able to block so many shots?"
Elie: "Timing. Tim is a very intelligent player. He and Hakeem both have very high basketball IQs. Tim is a very smart individual and he understands how to play defense. Popovich, to me, is one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA right now and he puts his bigs in the right position to make blocks like that. If I got beat, you had two seven footers to get by. First you had David and if David didn’t get you, then Tim would or if Tim didn’t get you then David would. Pop did a good job of having us funnel penetration to those big guys and then they would get a lot of blocks."
Friedman: "It amazes me that Duncan always blocks more shots than Garnett, who seems to be so much more athletic."
Elie: "Yeah. Garnett to me is more of a scorer type, a scorer and a great rebounder, but Tim to me is an all-around great player. He plays defense, he rebounds, he can go down to the post; if he gets doubled he is going to make the right decision. It’s good to watch those two go at it. Garnett gets so up to play against Tim. I remember talking to Sam Mitchell, who said to Garnett that if he wanted to get to the top that he had to go through the other 21 in San Antonio."
Friedman: "Their personalities are so different."
Elie: "Exactly."
Friedman: "Garnett is in your face and fiery and Duncan is just laid back."
Elie: "Garnett is screaming and cussing at Tim and what does Tim do? Just smile, look at him and laugh. That’s what I love about Tim. Nothing fazes him. Tim doesn’t get fazed by anything. His mental toughness—that’s one thing that I liked about both Hakeem and Tim. They play through pain, play through injury, and don’t make any excuses."
Mario Elie on the "Kiss of Death" Shot and His Long Road to the NBA
Mario Elie took the long road to the NBA after averaging 17.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg at American International College. Elie was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1985 but the Bucks cut him before the season began, sending him on a five year journey through various minor leagues and foreign countries. The tremendous work that Elie did to improve his game and transform himself into an NBA player is another great example of the importance of what Philip Ross called "effortful study" in the Scientific American article that I cited in my July 27 post Basketball, Chess and Boxing, Part II.
When Elie received a second chance to play in the NBA in 1990-91, he made the most of it, enjoying an 11-year career while winning two championships in Houston (1994-95) and one in San Antonio (1999). After retiring in 2001, Elie spent one season as a Spurs assistant coach. Since 2004-05 he has been an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. Elie never averaged more than 11.7 ppg in a season but he often took (and made) the big shot -- and perhaps none were ever bigger than his oft-replayed “Kiss of Death” shot, so that was a natural place to begin my interview with him.
Friedman: "What are your memories of your famous ‘Kiss of Death’ shot in the 1995 playoffs against the Suns? Was that gesture something that you thought of in advance?"
Elie: "It was just a spur of the moment thing. That’s me growing up in New York shooting and thinking that I’m Sidney Moncrief or Magic Johnson. That’s every kid’s dream. I remember Danny Ainge doubling off of me, so I got to the open spot. Robert (Horry) did a great job of spotting me. Kenny (Smith) did a great job of hitting Robert when he got doubled in the backcourt. Robert spotted me in the corner; the pass was sort of high and I remember thinking, 'Let me make sure I catch it.' I caught it and I saw Danny Schayes guarding 'Dream,' and he’s like, 'Mario Elie or Hakeem Olajuwon?' so I thought that was the easiest decision—he stayed with 'Dream.' Once I got set and let it go, he then tried to break out to contest my shot but it was too late. As soon as it left my hand it felt so good. I’m glad it didn’t bounce around; it went all net and the first person I looked at was Joe Kleine and I blew him the 'Kiss of Death.' We were sort of just messing around during the series blowing kisses to each other but I got the last kiss. It was just a great moment in front of everybody—game seven on the road and I think that shot helped us to win the second title."
Friedman: "What you bring out in your description of that play is how much of that really involved teamwork. You mentioned how many others contributed to that moment. A lot of people don’t understand that it’s not just one guy doing it."
Elie: "No, it’s not just one guy; it’s just being ready to deliver. The good thing about our team is that it could have been Sam (Cassell) or Robert (Horry). We had guys who were not scared to take those shots. That is what made our team special. We had a dominant big man who demanded a lot of attention and that is what enabled me to get that shot. Danny Schayes was like, 'I don’t want to leave 'Dream' but should I give Mario Elie the open shot?' He decided to leave me open. Fortunately, he made the wrong decision and I made the shot. It was just a great moment for me and I’ll always cherish that. I watch that game now and then but I always fast forward to the last two minutes. It’s just a great feeling every time I see it. When the Suns play the Rockets they always show that game on 'Classic,' so I’m always watching that game."
Friedman: "That’s the thing with that moment: you live forever--you’re forever in that moment of being young and hitting that shot, that championship moment. Talk about the long road you took to get to the NBA. There were about five years between when you were drafted and when you actually played in the NBA."
Elie: "First and foremost, coming from a small college I was not really prepared for what was going on at the next level. I got drafted and I thought that I was just going to go out there and play. I had not seen how these guys work out and train. I didn’t do any working out. I just expected to go out and play and got a rude awakening—two a days and after the first day I was dead tired. That is probably the only time in my career that I hoped to get cut. I felt that I wasn’t ready. I was a small forward but I was the second shortest guy in camp! I just felt that I wasn’t ready and I went back home and regrouped. A guy named Lou from New Jersey put me on a college tour team. We played against other colleges. I was dominating and a team from Ireland was looking for some talent. They looked at me and said they’d like to bring me over. I figured, 'Why not play ball, go see the world and make a little money?' So that’s how the odyssey began—I went to Ireland, had a great time over there, averaged about 39 ppg and the scores were like 141-140. There was no defense over there. Then I came back home, relaxed a little bit before going to Argentina. Then I played in a 6-5 and under league."
Friedman: "Was that the World League?"
Elie: "Yeah, the World League."
Friedman: "Which team were you on in that league?"
Elie: "Youngstown. We won the championship that year (1990). We had a very good team—Fred Cofield, Mark Wade. Then I went to Portugal for two years. I had a great experience over there and got a chance to play with one of my buddies, Dwayne Johnson, who went to Marquette. We had two great seasons over there and after that I felt like I should make my move and give the CBA a try, so I played in the CBA for one year. I felt that I should have gotten called up (to the NBA) that year but the next year I was on a real mission. George Karl came in (as coach of the CBA’s Albany Patroons), which was a blessing. He saw something in me that nobody else saw. He and Terry Stotts really worked with me to help me get to the next level. Then I got the call from Philly that Christmas. Philly was my first call up. I really didn’t get a chance to play, which was unfortunate. (Coach) Jim Lynam was great. The first two games I sat on the bench and just played in garbage time. Then Lynam came to me before the Utah game and said that he was going to give me a shot and throw me out there for 20-25 minutes. I was so excited that afternoon I really couldn’t sleep. Then I got to the arena and was told that Philly had made a trade and they would have to cut me. I had to just hop on a plane. I felt that during practices I held my own against those guys, so when I went back to the CBA I really, really took my game to another level. George brought me off of the bench my first two games back but I still had 30 and 36. My confidence level was so high that I just felt that it was a matter of time. (Sarunas) Marciulionis went down, I got picked up by the Warriors and the rest is history."
Friedman: "You said that when you got drafted that you found out pretty quickly that you weren’t ready for the NBA. What was the difference between the NBA and college that you didn’t understand until you got to the NBA?"
Elie: "The level of conditioning, the physical nature of the game and, at my size, having to learn how to dribble and shoot better."
Friedman: "You were playing inside more in college?"
Elie: "Yeah. I was a 3-4 in college, going to a Division II school. I was dominating and that’s how I was in high school; I was always a 4 man. So when I got to camp I realized that I had to develop a jumper and my ball handling. So I took my experience overseas. These guys work out twice a day, so in the morning I would dribble/shoot, dribble/shoot religiously. Then when I came to the CBA after my travels I was a 2 guard and I shot the ball very well and I dribbled it very well and I thought that really helped me out. Eleven years later, three championships later, I came out of it with a great career. I credit the hard work and my persistence and my family support for hanging in there with me."
Friedman: "Earlier you mentioned that one of the players you admired growing up was Sidney Moncrief."
Elie: "My prototype players were Moncrief and Magic because they did everything—they rebounded, they assisted, they guarded, they scored. That was the type of player that I liked, even though I think that Michael Jordan is a great talent. Those two guys excelled in all facets of the game and they were who I really wanted to pattern my game after. When you play in this league, sometimes you are not going to be a scorer, so you have to do the other things—rebound, defend, pass, be unselfish. I tried to pattern my game after those two guys."
Friedman: "People don’t know about Moncrief anymore because he had the injuries, didn’t win a championship and played in a small market. All those things conspire against him in terms of being well known to people today but he was a great, great player."
Elie: "Yeah. I was a big NBA fan and I really enjoyed watching Sidney Moncrief and also Paul Pressey, a guy who could guard bigger guys and handle the ball at 6-6, 6-7, making great decisions. Moncrief was just hard. I was a big defensive guy and Moncrief would play both ends of the court. I really wanted to be a complete player."
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