Hakeem Olajuwon is a Nigerian–American former professional basketball player who played in the ‘National Basketball Association’ (NBA). In a career spanning 18 years, he has played for two teams: the ‘Toronto Raptors’ and the ‘Houston Rockets.’ Hakeem was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and played football throughout his childhood and his teenage years. At the age of 15, he finally decided to start playing basketball and exhibited some natural skills at the game. He immigrated to the US for his college education and joined the ‘University of Houston’ soon after. While his 7-feet frame helped him earn a place on the university’s basketball team, his skills got him selected for the 1984 ‘NBA Draft,’ and he got signed by the ‘Houston Rockets.’ He led his team to win the ‘NBA Championships,’ in both 1994 and 1995, playing as a center. He is known as one of the greatest centers ever to have played in the ‘NBA.’ In 2008, he was inducted into the ‘Basketball Hall of Fame.’ He has also been named to the ‘All-NBA First Team’ six times and has been the ‘NBA Finals Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) twice. In the 1996 ‘Olympics,’ he played for the American national team and helped them win a gold medal.