“That’s the crown,” Rockets’ Legend Hakeem Olajuwon gets emotional reacting to the DPOY award named after him
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Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon, a native of Nigeria, arrived in America with nothing more than a dream and an exceptional aptitude for basketball and left the NBA with the reputation of being probably the greatest foreign player ever.
Earlier this month, the NBA said its annual Defensive Player of the Year award would be renamed as “The Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy” in honor of the Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets center.
When Olajuwon visited his alma mater, the University of Houston, on Saturday, he was questioned about his feelings over the Defensive Player of the Year award being named in his honor. “That’s the crown,” Olajuwon told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. “That sealed my career. It can’t be anything higher than that.”
Olajuwon established himself as one of the all-time greats of the game throughout the course of his 18 years of professional basketball play. His powerful defensive ability can only mesh with his graceful low-profile persona.
The former centerpiece of the Houston Rockets won consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1993 and 1994 while also earning nine All-Defensive selections throughout the course of his career. He also finished with 3,830 blocks, which helped him become the NBA’s all-time leader in blocks made. He led the league in blocks average three times (1990, 1991, and 1993). With a stacked resume, it becomes a no-brainer why the honorable award has been named after the Houston Legend.
The Michael Jordan Trophy: NBA MVP renamed after the legend
The league’s Most Valuable Player will now receive the trophy named afterr Michael Jordan, the NBA said earlier this month. The legendary bulls player has won the award five times in his incredible career.
The Most Valuable Player award is widely recognized as the highest individual honor in the NBA. It names the player who stands out above the rest for that particular season. As the best in the top basketball league in the entire globe. All qualified MVPs have been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The NBA has also announced new names for the Rookie of the Year trophy (Wilt Chamberlain), the Sixth Man of the Year trophy (John Havlicek), the Most Improved Player trophy (George Mikan), and Jerry West for the new Clutch Player trophy. The league last season already issued Conference Finals MVP trophy in honor of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Also Read: Luka Doncic salary: How much he’s earning from his current NBA contract with Dallas Mavericks?
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Ritik Malik
(1743 Articles Published)