Hakeem Olajuwon - Early Life

Early Life

Olajuwon was born to Salim and Abike Olajuwon, middle-class Yoruba owners of a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria. "Olajuwon" translates to "always being on top" in Yoruba. He was the third of six children. He credits his parents with instilling virtues of hard work and discipline into him and his siblings; "They taught us to be honest, work hard, respect our elders, and believe in ourselves". Olajuwon has expressed displeasure at his childhood in Nigeria being characterized as backwards. "Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city...There are many ethnic groups. I grew up in an environment at schools where there were all different types of people."

During his youth, Olajuwon was a soccer goalkeeper, which helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his size and strength in basketball, and also contributed to his shot-blocking ability. Olajuwon did not play basketball until the age of 15, when he entered a local tournament. However, he quickly became taken with the game: "Basketball is something that is so unique. That immediately I pick up the game and, you know, realize that this is the sport for me. All the other sports just become secondary."