Like Father, Like Daughter

Abi Olajuwon was selected by the Chicago Sky in the third round of the 2010 Draft. Ron Hoskins/NBAE/Getty Images

While it�s hard to determine the exact origins of the �quiet game,� a devious plot created by parents to turn something as boring as silence into a �fun� extracurricular activity, there�s a good chance it was created more or less in sync with the evolution of transportation. It's not hard to imagine that as �are we there yets?� escalated beyond comprehension during long wagon rides in the 18th century, someone at some point had to have come up with the genius idea that silence could, somehow, manifest itself into a �game.� Thus began the parent trap.

However, if historians are looking to track the origins of the �rebounding game,� it will trace back to one particular basketball hoop, where father and daughter met to work on the repetitious fundamentals of basketball. A �lazy� father who came up with the genius idea that rebounding could, somehow, manifest itself into a �game.� Thus began the career of Abi Olajuwon.

�I think, honestly, he didn�t want me to shoot all the time,� said Abi of her father and 2008 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Hakeem Olajuwon. �He made up a 'game' so that I would just rebound. But it was always something that I was really competitive about and sometimes he would miss on purpose and he would brick it just to no-man�s land just to see if I would get it.�

�When she was growing up,� recalls Hakeem, �Most of the time it was [about] the rebound. I�d shoot and she�d throw it back to me. She�d run and we�d run some drills like, don�t let the ball touch the floor. When the ball goes to the net, she ended up catching it. And if she missed it, she had to run and come right back.�

�I think that was just him being lazy and wanting me to rebound for him so he could get some shots up,� added a confident Abi.

Abi, selected by the Chicago Sky in the third round of the 2010 WNBA Draft, certainly reaped the benefits of the �rebounding game.� The growth of her career at Oklahoma is evidence to the fact, where she started as a reserve her freshman year and averaged only 2.2 minutes per game. By the time her senior year came to an end, Abi started each one of the 38 games at center and averaged 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Clearly, it piqued the interest of the Sky�s front office.

�She�s upbeat and she�s willing to learn,� said Sky coach Steve Key. �She has some raw skill to her but we have to have a chance to get it out there on the floor. I like her enthusiasm and I like her energy.�

Hakeem Olajuwon and his daughter Abi Olajuwon poses for a portrait on February 10, 1995 in Phoenix, Arizona. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

Enthusiasm, energy and a drive to succeed are the exact elements that got Abi to this point. Of the 12 third-rounders selected in the 2010 Draft, Abi is only one of two to make, and remain on, a team�s roster. Washington�s Alexis Gray-Lawson is the other.

Sure, her last name carries a sense of pride and influence. But to say Chicago�s decision to draft her was based on her name is false. In a league where each of the 12 teams can carry a roster of only 11 players, media ploys and sideshows need not apply. If you want to win, you take the best players available.

At one point, Abi debated whether to even pursue basketball based on her last name. Imagine that. Abi Olajuwon, daughter of Hakeem, with all the skill and talent to make it in the league, considered not pursuing basketball as a career based on the combination of eight letters matted on the back of her jersey.

�At first, my intentions weren�t to play because of who he was,� said Abi. �The expectations are always going to be very high and I didn�t want to be identified by how I was already Hakeem Olajuwon�s daughter. Throw basketball into the mix [and] obviously I wasn�t going to get away from that stigma.�

So she did what many teenage girls would do in a situation like that: She turned to Dad.

�I felt like it was something I�d always been around, that I always felt passionate about,� Abi said. �When I was ready to play he said, �If you�re going to do it, commit to it fully. Don�t rest or rely on your last name, really work hard for this.��

Hakeem, while admiring his daughter�s work ethic, also has a great appreciation for Abi�s ability to pursue her passions.

�Being around basketball, she had the height and the development, but what�s amazing more is that passion and that love for the game,� said Hakeem. �To want to achieve, to want to play in the highest level, to want to play against the best. When she talks like that, for me to listen to her that she has that sort of determination and believes that she wants to play against the best, and she believes that she can play at that level.�

Abi�s grasp on Dad�s career and the efforts he made to be with his family through the rigors of a long basketball season is really starting to catch on first hand.

�Now that I�m in the WNBA and have five-game road trips and back to backs and playing Madison Square Garden where I�ve seen him play so many times before, I kind of understand it more because I�m like, �OK, now with all the sacrifices all the time that we sometimes didn�t get to spend together, I see why now,�� said Abi. �When you�re younger you see basketball as a game, but for him it was a profession and obviously that�s the difference right there.�

Hakeem�s influence on his daughter�s career has no doubt made an impact, but Abi remains driven to succeed on her own merits. But the influence doesn�t start, or even end for that matter, on the basketball court.

Let�s not forget: To the basketball fan, he is Hakeem, both on and off the court. To Abi, he�s Dad no matter where he is. Her career and drive to attain her dreams has already made Hakeem a proud father, but it�s also the non-basketball qualities such as unselfishness, honesty and a positive character that mean a lot to the two-time NBA champion.

�Most of the things I hear from the people that impresses me the most is how everybody has good things to say about her,� said Hakeem. �That�s more pleasing to me. To hear good things about her, about her character, that they think she�s a good girl and that she�s very respectful. That�s what I expect from this sport.�

Now it�s Hakeem�s turn to sit back, watch and enjoy the ride. Of course, a few lessons here and there couldn�t hurt; especially if it includes Hakeem�s patented Dream Shake.

�He�s worked with me sometimes, but I always feel like he doesn�t show everything because it�s his notorious move,� she joked. �Fortunately, because I�m his daughter, I get free sessions.�

Of course, by �sessions� she means �games.�

Right, Hakeem?