12 Immigrants Who Made American Sports Great

12 Immigrants Who Made American Sports Great — page 3
2 6 Hakeem Olajuwon Finds the Dream in Houston Hakeem Olajuwon was born Olajuwon 34 makes a shot in the NBA playoffs in 1988 in 1963 in Nigeria He grew up playing table tennis soccer and handball At 15 he picked up basketball Olajuwon didn’t know the rules But he was seven feet tall The coach told him to just stand there and block everything Olajuwon earned a spot on the University of Houston team He moved to Texas in 1981 He FAITH AND BASKETBALL Hakeem Olajuwon credits his faith for his success A devout Muslim he prayed regularly He went to the mosque every Friday even on the road He fasted during Ramadan He saw this as a time to focus on discipline and self-control He brought those skills onto the court