Southwestern Historical Quarterly

A glorious chapter in Texas sports history started on a fall day in 1980 when University of Houston (UH) basketball coach Guy Lewis watched an impossibly [End Page 465] tall Nigerian teenager named Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon emerge from a cab outside his office. This biography by Mirin Fader represents the best in sports journalism, underscoring how the best of such books can also be excellent social history. This work stands out in three key areas: its coverage of Olajuwon’s collegiate and professional careers, its attention to the essentials of Islam, and its documentation of the globalization of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Perhaps most importantly in telling Olajuwon’s story, the author presents “a powerful meditation on transformation and growth” that can inspire all readers (p. 11).

Regarding Olajuwon’s basketball ability, Fader offers some basic myth-busting. He did not arrive in this country ignorant of the game’s essentials—he had already impressed in tournament games for Nigeria’s junior national team. A center named Yommy Sangodeyi had mentored him in the basics, teaching him how to play with his back to the basket and demonstrating a move to the hoop that, translated from Yoruba, meant “to go this way, not the other” (49). This was the foundation of Olajuwon’s notorious ability to discombobulate defenders with his unbelievable quickness and impossible-to-block high-arching shots. Olajuwon’s athleticism had already been developed in soccer and handball before he took up basketball. Guy Lewis built on that at UH by teaching him the so-called power step. Mychal Thompson, who played for several NBA teams, testified that guarding him was a nightmare, while Cedric Maxwell, formerly of the Boston Celtics, recalled “that spin move, it was like you can’t even watch it, it was so fast” (159). All this verbiage for Olajuwon’s offensive genius was boiled down by a local reporter, who termed it the “Dream Shake.” But Olajuwon did not just score points. He was also a defensive monster, as measured by his incredible career totals in blocks, steals, and rebounds.

Basketball fans, most certainly those from Houston, will remember the team achievements Olajuwon made possible: three straight trips to the NCAA Final Four with the Cougars and NBA titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995. The latter triumphs elevated the town’s nickname to Clutch City, providing its first true national championships at the major league level.

As the author explains, those NBA titles might have been unattainable had Olajuwon not returned to his youthful faith. Early in his NBA career, he began to live the fast life fueled by his superstar salary and found it hard to control a hot temper directed at referees and foul-happy rivals. Invited by a mysterious, never-seen-again stranger to attend a local mosque in 1988, Olajuwon once more became an observant Muslim. Islam gave him a grounding that made much of his later success possible. During Ramadan, he famously adhered strictly to the daylight fasting requirements. Amazingly, he played at the highest levels while refusing even a sip of water during afternoon games. During a Rockets championship celebration, he poured his champagne down the sink rather than drink it or pass it on to teammates. After 9/11, a devastated Olajuwon was determined to do all he could to model Islam as a religion of peace and submission to God’s will.

This book also explores how Olajuwon contributed mightily to the NBA’s current [End Page 466] global presence. He blazed a trail for subsequent African stars like Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Manute Bol (Sudan). Olajuwon helped the seven-foot, six-inch Chinese center, Yao Ming, believe it was possible for him to play in the NBA and tutored him in grueling sessions at the Rockets practice facility. The fact that the three top finishers for Most Valuable Player of the NBA in 2023 were all foreign-born—Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Nikola Jokić (Serbia), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece, by way of Nigeria)—is very much part of Olajuwon’s legacy.

This book is ideal for educators as Olajuwon exemplified a career filled with teaching and learning. Just as Guy Lewis and Rockets legend Moses Malone patiently schooled Olajuwon in basketball excellence, Olajuwon gave back to the sport by improving the games of players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in tutorials at his private gym. When Olajuwon enrolled in Arabic classes at the University of Jordan after his retirement, he modeled the role of lifelong learner, to which all of us should aspire. Dream is a great biography of a man who left a permanent mark on basketball and on a city.