August 2nd: On This Day, Hakeem Olajuwon Became A Toronto Raptor
On August 2nd, 2001, after seventeen seasons with the Houston Rockets, where he established himself as one of the greatest players of the age, Hakeem Olajuwon parted ways with the team. One team was going to win the right to acquire the NBA superstar, that team would be the Toronto Raptors.
Seemingly sensing his playing time in Houston would be cut as the team had began rebuilding their roster, Olajuwon turned down a new deal with the Rockets, who started looking at trade options for their superstar centre.
The Raptors seemed to get the better deal, as in return for Olajuwon they sent only two future draft picks to the Rockets (They would later select Bostjan Nachbar and Tito Maddox with those picks in the 2002 Draft).
Olajuwon came to Toronto as one of top, if not the top, defensive players in all of the NBA. He was a two-time NBA champion and defensive player of the year, the 1994 MVP and, at the time, one of three players to record a quadruple-double.
The Raptors, meanwhile, were still trying to establish themselves as a competitive team. They had on their roster one of the league's top players, Vince Carter, but were still struggling to be taken seriously in the NBA. There was hope and expectation that the addition of Olajuwon to the team would change perceptions of the team and, more importantly, their fortunes.
Unfortunately for Toronto, Olajuwon did not light up and energise the team as much as they would have hoped. He played 61 games for the Raptors, starting in 37, his season limited due to back problems.
It’s true that Olajuwon registered career lows for the Raptors, but his 6.0 rebounds per game was the highest on the team that season, and his 7.1 points was Toronto's seventh-highest scoring average.
Finishing on a 42-40 record, the Raptors actually had a worse season than their one prior without Olajuwon. Despite that they qualified for the playoffs as seventh seeds in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the first round 3-2 to the Detroit Pistons.
Olajuwon had two years remaining on his contract, but decided to retire after the 2001-2002 season. He did so as the all-time leading shot blocker in the NBA. After his departure, the Raptors would see five years of struggles before winning the 2007 Atlantic Division title for the first time and returning to the post-season. They lost in the first round 4-2 to the New Jersey Nets, fronted by their former star Vince Carter.
