Man, it's been a long time since I've seen this guy at a Rocket game ? Last year he was here for most part of April and maybe even March. Where's the support at ? Hopefully he will show up during the playoffs, we can use all the positive energy we can get. Also it would be great to have him there witnessing the first advancement to the 2nd round since 97 and probably the last game Mutombo will play. 2 of the best Centers in the same building, having their numbers retired and up in the rafters together. Now that is amazing, hopefully Deke can end his career with a championship. In all seriousness, has Olajuwon been around Houston lately / at games ? P.S. Has there even been a photo of either Deke & Dream or Deke, Dream & Yao together, I would love to see that !!!
On the "Where RED Happens" commercial, where pREDecessor happens, there is a pic of Dream and Yao together.
From what I recall, Hakeem spends most of his free time in Jordan, but still has business interests here, I think. I remember reading he always wanted to retire in Jordan. When he visits the US, I'm sure he visits the Rockets. He's held big men camps and been to TMac's charity softball game in the past, so it's not like he's completely forgotten the Rockets. The guy has a life outside of basketball with his family and God and he's enjoying that. He can never return to a Rockets game and it'd be ok with me - he's done enough.
I understand but I remember Olajuwon saying he would like to be in Houston more next year so that's why I figured he would be at more Rockets games.
I've seen Hakeem almost everyday in the gym I go to in the summer time here in Sugar Land. He comes back to Houston around the summertime and stays for a while and he goes to Lifetime Fitness almost everyday.
Since his career ended Olajuwon spends most of his time in Jordan where he moved with his family to pursue Islamic studies.[6] He returns once or twice a year to visit his friends and former teammates such as Sam Cassell and Robert Horry, whose careers he follows.[6] He keeps in regular phone contact with former Cougars and Rockets teammate Clyde Drexler.[6] From Wikipedia.org
I know he lives in Jordan but he was at quite some games last year, around 4-5, so I was wondering where he has been. Especially since he said he would like to spend more time in Houston. It would be nice to see his face during the playoffs
It'd be cool if Dream showed up on April 1st, in one of the new uniforms and they announced him as the starting center, followed by "April fools!". I'd like to see the faces on the opposing team as they hear his name announced. The NBA really should do more goofy, funny stuff like this.
It might also be possible he is not sitting courtside at games and maybe up in a box at times this season? I have no clue, just a possibility.
Hakeem is ALWAYS at the mosque (Synott Road in Sugar Land, near Eldridge Park), never seen a man more devote. He even visited my high school (Kempner) and a gave speech on religion. I haven't seen him in a while so I guess he in Jordan. Like another poster said, he is usually around spring or summer. He sometimes stays for a bit during the fall too.
he was there and saw the crap we saw Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Sun 05/06/2007 Section: A Page: 1 Edition: 4 STAR NBA PLAYOFFS / SAME OLD STORY / Rockets battle back but come up short in 103-99 loss to Jazz / Setback in Game 7 extends first-round futility to 10 years By RICHARD JUSTICE STAFF THIS was the night a season ended and a dream died. Years from now, that's all that'll be remembered about what happened Saturday at Toyota Center. Not that the Rockets fought their hearts out. Not that they exchanged body blows with a fierce opponent for 15 rounds or that an eyelash separated these two terrific teams. It's a bottom-line business, and the bottom line is that the Rockets are again done after one round of the NBA playoffs. That's 10 years and counting. Hello, cruel world. The Utah Jazz defeated the Rockets 103-99 in Game 7 of a marvelous first-round series. This was no fluke. The Jazz were deeper and more poised. The Jazz got more from their stars than the Rockets got from theirs. "Tonight is, obviously, about a hugely disappointing result," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Our guys had a tremendous regular season, and they're a great group. We didn't play as well as we would have hoped in the postseason." The Rockets fought from behind the entire night, trailing by 16 in the first half and by 10 at halftime. They seemed right on the edge most of the night. That is, until the very end, when they had a chance to win. Somehow, they were in a 91-91 tie with four minutes remaining. That's when Mehmet Okur fearlessly nailed a pair of 3-point jumpers. That's when the Jazz snagged three offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive. That's when Yao Ming missed a shot he shouldn't have taken and turned the ball over. That was it. After going back and forth at one another for seven games, it came down to the team that took care of the details at crunch time. Tracy McGrady will be the easy story line. He's now 0-for-6 in first-round playoff series and 0-for-3 in Game 7s. If you think those numbers reflect poorly on him, you're wrong. He led the way a leader is supposed to lead. He was huge in Game 7 with 29 points, 13 assists and five rebounds. He did all he could have done and then some. He went head-to-head with a defense that led with its elbows and knees and didn't back down. "Right now, it's a lot of hurt," McGrady said. "We put so much into the season. You put yourself in position to do something really special." Yao scored 29 points as well, but he was just 9-of-20 from the field and turned the ball over four times. Because the Rockets have such little depth, because Van Gundy essentially went to a seven-man rotation, McGrady and Yao needed to be almost perfect. This is nitpicking. The Rockets got to Game 7 because of their stars. They weren't at their best in this series, but the Rockets lost because their supporting cast isn't as good as Utah's supporting cast. The Jazz got big games from their stars - Carlos Boozer had 35 and Deron Williams 20 - but they couldn't have won without Okur, Matt Harpring and others. This was two teams doing themselves and their sport proud. If there's ever a moment when you think professional athletes don't care, that they don't want it as badly as you want it, watch a replay of this game. These two teams slugged it out relentlessly and tirelessly. At various points, bodies flew and emotions boiled over. But it's the Jazz who will be going on to play a second-round series against the Golden State Warriors. "Two great teams," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. The Rockets will begin an off-season of uncertainty and change. General manager Carroll Dawson is retiring, Van Gundy may not return as coach, and a roster that needs help could undergo a dramatic makeover by new general manager Daryl Morey. This defeat will hit McGrady hardest. When he arrived three summers ago, the Rockets believed the pieces were in place for another championship run. Dawson needed two more summers to shape the roster around McGrady and Yao, and the Rockets rolled to a 52-30 regular season. But against an opponent that is all about hard defense, relentless rebounding and offensive patience, the Rockets lost four of the final five games. "This is a very tough loss," Rockets veteran Juwan Howard said. "It's something none of us wanted." It would be hard to measure the disappointment in the locker room and front office. This was the victory Yao and McGrady had been brought here to deliver, the moment that had teased them and taunted them and escaped them. They were forced to watch as the Jazz celebrated. Once more, summer arrived too quickly. Even with Hakeem Olajuwon sitting next to Les Alexander, the magic of years past failed to rub off. At the end, McGrady put his hands on his knees and stood near his teammates, the picture of exhaustion and disappointment.
I've never heard this. Obviously they are/were extremely competitive, but I believe they share a certain comraderie as great African big men in the NBA. I recall reading a story in the Chronicle last year or a couple years ago where Deke said when he sees Olajuwon he says, "It's the king of Africa!" and Dream smiles back and says, "No, you're the king of Africa!" Olajuwon is one of those rare athletes with a great deal of interests outside of sports. The way I heard it, he promised his wife they'd move to a Muslim nation and study Arabic after he retired. He still spends a few months out of the year working on his investments in Houston, but Jordan is his home now and basketball is not a big priority. I'm of the opinion that the city's only two major championships plus three Final Fours was enough for anyone to give and I wish him well in his pursuits elsewhere. We can't hog the Dream; he's a citizen of the world!
If I'm on the same page with what Raven Lunatic is talking about, several years ago (this is back in the 90's from what I recall) it was reported that Dikembe allegedly said Hakeem had given up on his African heritage. Hakeem said he confronted Dikembe about the statements and Dikembe denied it, so Hakeem went to the source (I forget who the source was) and they said that yes, Dikembe had said it. Dikembe kept denying he said it. I don't recall what ever became of it, though - whether they made up or not.
