The NBA’s first-ever game on the African continent takes place this Saturday in Johannesburg, South Africa. The exhibition between Team Africa (comprised of first- and second-generation African players) and Team World (comprised of non-African NBA notables who agreed to participate in the game) will air on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 9 a.m. on ESPN.
We’ll look more closely at this event as tip-off nears, but for now, it’s worth celebrating the legacy of the greatest African basketball player of all time, or more precisely, the greatest player who was both born and raised on the continent. (Steve Nash was born in Johannesburg but was raised in Canada.)
*
What is the central legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon? He surely inspired a number of aspiring African athletes to play basketball. He won two NBA championships and broke the city of Houston’s 0-for-everything streak in major professional sports. He won a repeat NBA title, cementing the greatness of the “Clutch City” Rockets. Those are all substantial parts of his overall contribution to basketball as an achiever, a citizen of the world, a Houstonian, and a competitor who was able to replicate his many profound successes.
However, in terms of growing the game — not in terms of bringing more Africans into it or making the sport more popular in Houston, but in terms of enhancing the way basketball is played — Olajuwon also gave the NBA a lasting gift, a gift many of today’s centers would do well to study and consider.
The idea is not unique to basketball or sports at large — verily, it is the measure of professionalism in any endeavor: If you constantly work on ways to improve yourself, and if you never settle for a certain level of proficiency, always believing you can do a little bit better, you will generally grow as a practitioner of your craft.
This is what Hakeem Olajuwon did as well as anyone who has ever played the sport. The Basketball Hall of Famer offers an example to big men who need to believe in — and apply — the idea that they can push through limitations to become more versatile all-around performers.
*
As NBA TV’s “Clutch City” documentary noted, Game 1 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals between Olajuwon’s Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs was notable at that time because the Rockets themselves saw a new “Dream” that night. Players remarked in the documentary that they’d never seen Olajuwon unfurl the moves he put on league MVP David Robinson:
Sure, Olajuwon was breathing fire and spitting nails after seeing Robinson collect the NBA MVP trophy, but being angry doesn’t mean anything without the preparation attached to the process of surmounting. Olajuwon didn’t stew in his displeasure; he did something about it. He worked on his game and made sure he’d sink the Admiral in the Alamodome. THAT, right there, is Olajuwon’s legacy strictly as a player, as a craftsman in this sport at its highest level. Every player, from grade school to the weekend-warrior rec leagues of fortysomethings, can learn from Hakeem The Dream.
One NBA player who can particularly benefit from Olajuwon’s example: DeAndre Jordan, the man who wants to be an All-Star and briefly thought the Dallas Mavericks could enable him to become one.
Mr. Jordan, if he is serious about improving, will suck it up and shoot foul shots underhanded… or, for that matter, any way which will enable him to get better at that part of the basketball arts. Jordan might try to develop a face-up 10-foot jump shot, but free throws should be first on his checklist of “skills he needs to improve.”
Olajuwon, while devastating in live-ball situations, also enhanced his track record at the free throw line, part of what made him such a conspicuously complete player.
*
In four of his first five seasons, Olajuwon hit under 70 percent of his foul shots. He was close to 70, but he knew that wasn’t quite good enough. He put a lot of effort into free throws, ensuring he didn’t neglect it due to a focus on his post moves, fadeaways, and medium-range jumpers. In four of the next five seasons and six of the next eight, Olajuwon hit at least 75 percent of his free throws. These were, not (entirely) coincidentally, the years in which the Rockets won their two titles and made another run at the brass ring in 1997, reaching the West finals and pushing the Utah Jazz in six tough games.
Let’s step back and realize this about Olajuwon: Within 15 feet of the basket, there wasn’t a spot on the floor in which Dream didn’t know what to do or how he could make a valuable play for his team. Those highlights from Game 1 of the 1995 West Finals show a center taking his man off the dribble and putting a little “lingerie on the (Admiral’s) deck,” to borrow the Bill Raftery phrase. Olajuwon showcased the ability to do just about anything with a basketball. If one wants to find something he couldn’t do consistently, sure, Olajuwon couldn’t hit threes regularly. However, anything that needed to be done inside 15 feet became a polished part of Dream’s skill set.
The modern NBA big man — DeAndre Jordan being defense exhibit No. 1 — should study Olajuwon game film and, even better, ask the legend for some advice. Being able to improve one’s free-throw percentage by more than 10 points (Olajuwon did make 79 percent of foul shots in his best season from the stripe), learning how to dribble in face-up situations, and accenting a repertoire with various new tools, could enable Jordan to become the All-Star he wants to be. Others in the league — think of Hassan Whiteside in Miami or another Houston Rocket, Dwight Howard — could apply the same lesson.
Africa’s greatest basketball player has a lot to teach the NBA, even now. That’s perhaps the best way to express how much he’s given to the game.
