Who was the first black African player in nba?

Hakeem olajuwon Olajuwon was born in Lagos, the Nigerian capital. He/kloc-came to America alone at the age of 0/7. In the draft of 1984, Olajuwon was selected by the Rockets as the No.1 pick. In his NBA50 career 18, he won two championships, two finals MVP, six best teams, five best defensive players, 12 all-star team, two blocked shots, two rebounds and 65438+ all-star team.

Hakeem olajuwon's parents are Salim Olajuwon and Abeck Olajuwon. They are a local middle-class couple in Lagos, Nigeria. The name Olajuwon means "always first" in Yoruba. Hakim is the third of six children born to his parents. The NBA player who later became a superstar believes that parents have given their children a lot through hard work and good self-discipline.

Olajuwon was a goalkeeper when he was a child, which gave him a good ability to move his feet and control his huge body. In addition, it is also very helpful for his later development of blocked shots. It was not until 15 years old that Olajuwon started playing basketball because he took part in a local basketball game. From 65438 to 0978, Olajuwon's school participated in the National Teachers' Sports Festival in Nigeria, when Anjin Olima Ronnie, a member of the school basketball team, was Olajuwon's friend. He told the coach that the school handball team has a player who is more than 2 meters tall and can borrow him. So Olajuwon was chosen to participate in the first formal basketball league in his life. Two years later, Olajuwon, aged 17, was selected for the Nigerian national men's basketball team and participated in the all-Africa Games basketball competition. In one game, he scored 60 points and 15 rebounds. His outstanding physical fitness and good basketball skills were discovered by American scout Pound and recommended to Lewis, the famous coach of Houston University. Olajuwon then went to America to hone his basketball skills.

Olajuwon immigrated from Nigeria to the University of Houston and studied under Guy Lewis, the head coach of Puma, a college basketball team. At the University of Houston, Olajuwon and his teammates (including clyde drexler) formed the famous "PHI SLAMA JAMA".