Houstonist's Mt. Rushmore of Sports: Hakeem Olajuwon

The final spot on Houstonist's Mt. Rushmore of Sports goes to a legend. An icon. A sports hero. None other than Hakeem Olajuwon.

Olajuwon was recruited out of Nigeria by College Basketball Hall of Fame coach Guy V. Lewis who received a tip about him from a friend. Olajuwon was red shirted for the 1980-81 season and he watched U of H lose to Michael Jordan and North Carolina in the Final Four and in the following summer, Olajuwon worked intensely with Houston Rockets forward Moses Malone at the Fonde Recreation Center.

Olajuwon would later credit Malone for those workouts as they reshaped his playing skills which would turn his career around. For the next two years, Olajuwon paired up with Clyde Drexler to form Phi Slama Jama which reflected U of H's style of play as the dunk was their signature move.

Olajuwon and Drexler would lead U of H to back-to-back Final Four's where they would fall short of their ultimate goal in both trips. In the 1983 title game against North Carolina St., Olajuwon was named the NCAA's Tournament Player of Year Award; it was the first time it was awarded to a player from the non-winning team in a title game.

In 1984, Olajuwon declared for the NBA Draft and he was selected number one overall by the Houston Rockets. By 1986, Olajuwon helped lead the Rockets to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. It was another missed opportunity for Olajuwon to bring a title to Houston.

From 1987-1991, Olajuowon and the Rockets would make the playoffs for the next five-out-of-six seasons, but they just couldn't get it done. Coach Don Chaney was given the axe and Rudy Tomjanovich would come in to take over the team for the 1992-1993 season.

By the 1993-94 season, Olajuwon and the Rockets were a force as they started the season at 15-0 as they stormed through the playoffs while defeating the New York Knicks in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Olajuwon's dream of bringing a title home came to fruition as he also became the first player in NBA history to win a MVP, Defensive Player of the Year Award and a Finals MVP in the same season.

In the 1994-95 season, the Rockets were missing a piece to their puzzle so they reunited Olajuwon with Drexler and brought home the Sterling High product in a trade back to the Bayou City. The Rockets would enter the playoffs as a sixth seed, but that didn't stop Phi Slama Jama from finally winning an NBA title together as Olajuwon netted another Finals MVP.

In 1996, Olajuwon was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and he also helped lead Team USA basketball to an Olympic Gold Medal at the Atlanta games.

When it was all said and done, Olajuwon retired as a 12-time All-Star, a six-time All-NBA First Team selection, a five-time All-NBA Defensive First Team selection, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner and a two-time Finals MVP to go along with his 1993-94 NBA MVP.

Olajuwon also holds the NBA record for most block shots and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September of 2008.

Congratulations to Olajuwon, Earl Campbell, Craig Biggio and Carl Lewis as Houstonist's Mt. Rushmore of Sports.

Photo courtesy of the University of Houston.