JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - This city welcomed yet another basketball legend as the Hakeem Olajuwon flew in on Thursday to watch the ongoing FIBA Asia Cup 2025 at the King Abdullah Sports City.
The FIBA Hall of Famer is in town to support Jordan, where two of his sons, Abdullah and Abdul Rahman, have made their FIBA debuts - just like their brother Aziz with Canada in the recent FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
"My wonderful two boys, my sons, they're playing for the Jordan team. I was in Switzerland Under-19, one of my sons played there," offered the 62-year-old, beaming, of course, with so much pride.
Olajuwon is filled with excitement to witness his children compete in the international arena, something that he himself had done during the course of his illustrious career that spanned for 18 long years.
The two-time NBA champion is an Olympic gold medalist, winning one as part of the 'Dream Team II' that ran roughshod over the competition in 1996 in Atlanta to give the United States their second title in a row.
For the younger Olajuwons to be suiting up and playing for a national team this early in their careers makes him all the more proud, as he believes that they earn a ton of valuable experience in this kind of setting.
"I'm just so happy for them because they have the opportunity to play for the national team. It's a great game totally. They will gain a lot of experience," said the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2016 inductee.
Because he has seen, too, how much the global game has grown from his time.
In fact, Olajuwon even cited the recent Olympics in Paris, in which the Americans ultimately struck gold but not before overcoming major threats along the way that further amplified how much basketball has risen.
The 'Dream' is simply in awe with the state of the game right now.
"The skill level is rising," Olajuwon said. "If you saw the Olympics the U.S. barely won, so they're catching up."
"It's amazing how basketball globally," he added, "is in high, high standards."
FIBA