Edition: U.S. / Global

Playing Like a Dream

Published: June 17, 1995

He doesn't drink, smoke, spit at fans or talk trash. He is devoutly religious and prays several times a day. In addition he is the best in the game, quick as lightning, with more spins and turns than a whirling dervish.

Hakeem Olajuwon of the world-champion Houston Rockets, most valuable player of the National Basketball Association playoffs, is a joy to watch and to listen to, a man of quiet dignity in a world of blaring showboats. Why then is he the most underexposed superstar in professional sports?

It is partly because he lacks a gimmick. It is partly because advertisers seeking athletes to hawk those burgers and shoes shy away from foreign-born stars with unfamiliar accents. It is partly because Houston is what media people refer to as a "minor" media market. Whatever the reasons, Hakeem (The Dream) Olajuwon has just provided basketball fans with a superlative show of both character and skill. Even though they were defending champions, the Rockets were seen as a cut below the league's elite, a team whose first championship was a fluke.

The team sensed the lack of respect and fed on it. Led by Mr. Olajuwon's spectacular playing, they won their second championship with relative ease, beating four of the strongest teams and sweeping the young but powerful Orlando Magic in four straight games. If he keeps this up, Mr. Olajuwon may someday be able to claim a place alongside basketball's greatest centers, like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.