The NBA announced earlier this month that the annual Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy would be named in honor of the Hall of Fame center and former Houston Rocket.
Olajuwon discussed the choice on Saturday at the Fertitta Center on the University of Houston campus, where “The Dream” saw his former college basketball team defeat the University of Central Florida to improve to 14-1 on the year (UCF).
Olajuwon said to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston, “That’s the crown.” “That sealed my career. It can’t be anything higher than that.”
In the 1992–93 and 1993–94 NBA League seasons, Olajuwon won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was also selected five times for the All–Defensive first team and four times for the second team. He ranks No. 9 in thefts (2,162), No. 14 in rebounds, and No. 3 in blocks (3,830) for the league overall (13,748).
The University of Houston graduate was selected for the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021 as well as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996. His No. 34 was retired in Houston on November 9, 2002, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.