Hakeem's Islam
During his time in college and at the dawn of his NBA career, Hakeem was known for his lack of discipline. This quality manifested itself in arguing with officials, squabbling with his fellow NBA players and racking up technicals left and right. Later on in his career, however, Hakeem began to take his Muslim faith more seriously and devoted himself to it. A major milestone in his life was changing (or "correcting," in his own words), the spelling of his name from Akeem to Hakeem. He began to treasure the Qur'an and read it at every opportunity. Teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler noted in 1995 that "his religion dominates his life."
Along with such a devotion to Islam came the necessary observance of Ramadan, which, to Muslims, requires that one fast for daylight hours for a specific month (that changes every year) yearly. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and it is believed by over a billion Muslims worldwide that the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad during Ramadan.
Ramadan fasting was observed by Hakeem despite his NBA obligations, and today we'll find out how much, if at all, it affected his play.
Hakeem's Numbers During Ramadan
Note: The statistics in this analysis will be pulled starting from Hakeem's 1990-91 campaign (the year of his name change) and ending with his 1995-96 season (his final10 RPG season; kinda arbitrary, but whatever). Stats in which Hakeem performed better during Ramadan will be bolded. All figures taken from Basketball Reference. Ramadan dates taken from habibur.com
Let's begin.
Hakeem's 1990-91 season
During the season, the Rockets went 52-30, good for a winning percentage of .650.
In the year 1991, Ramadan lasted from March 18th - April 15th. During that time, the Rockets played 14 games and went 11-3, good for a winning percentage of .786.
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Stats | 21.2 | 13.8 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 50.8 | 76.9 |
| Ramadan Stats | 16.6 | 14.7 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 46.6 | 70.5 |
| Net Change | -4.6 | +0.9 | -0.4 | +0.5 | +0.1 | 0 | -4.2 | -6.4 |
It seems as though Hakeem's offense suffered, as his PPG, FG% and FT% decreased significantly, but his team prospered and several other stat categories increased, notably his rebounding (by almost 1 RPG.)
Hakeem's 1991-92 season
During the season, the Rockets went 42-40, good for a winning percentage of .512.
In the year 1992, Ramadan lasted from March 6th - April 4th. During that time, the Rockets played 10 games and went 7-3, good for a winning percentage of .700.
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Stats | 21.6 | 12.1 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 50.2 | 76.6 |
| Ramadan Stats | 17.4 | 11.8 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 51.9 | 81.8 |
| Net Change | -4.2 | -0.3 | -0.3 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.7 | +5.2 |
Once again, Hakeem's scoring dipped significantly, but his SPG, BPG, FG% and FT% received a boost. His team also played significantly above its regular season caliber.
Hakeem's 1992-93 season
During the season, the Rockets went 55-27, good for a winning percentage of .671.
In the year 1993, Ramadan lasted from February 23rd - March 24th. During that time, the Rockets played 15 games and went 13-2, good for a winning percentage of .867.
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Stats | 26.1 | 13.0 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 52.9 | 77.9 |
| Ramadan Stats | 28.5 | 12.6 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 53.6 | 79.6 |
| Net Change | +2.4 | -0.4 | +0.8 | +0.5 | -0.2 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +1.7 |
This time, Olajuwon's PPG received a noticeable boost, while his RPG and BPG decreased slightly. , His FG%, FT% and SPG increased, and his team unsurprisingly won at a higher percentage during this period than through the whole season.
Hakeem's 1993-94 season
During the season, the Rockets went 58-24, good for a winning percentage of .707.
In the year 1994, Ramadan lasted from February 12th - March 13th. During that time, the Rockets played 14 games and went 9-5, good for a winning percentage of .643.
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Stats | 27.3 | 11.9 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 52.8 | 71.6 |
| Ramadan Stats | 26.4 | 11.4 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 51.9 | 81.8 |
| Net Change | -0.9 | -0.5 | -0.1 | -0.2 | +0.4 | -1.0 | -0.9 | +10.2 |
Overall, his stats suffered a bit. Some notable exceptions were his SPG, rising 0.7, and his FT%, which increased by a whopping 10.2%. His team did slightly worse during this time.
Hakeem's 1994-95 season
During the season, the Rockets went 47-35, good for a winning percentage of .573.
In the year 1995, Ramadan lasted from February 1st - March 2nd. During that time, the Rockets played 15 games and went 9-6, good for a winning percentage of .600
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Stats | 27.8 | 10.8 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 51.7 | 75.6 |
| Ramadan Stats | 29.0 | 10.0 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 54.1 | 69.5 |
| Net Change | +1.2 | -0.8 | +0.3 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.3 | +2.4 | -6.1 |
The Dream's PPG increased by 1.2 and his FT% decreased by 6.1, in stark contrast to the previous year's massive increase. His FG% increased by 2.4. Other than that, no real significant change. The Rockets as a team played more or less the same.
Hakeem's 1995-96 season
During the season, the Rockets went 48-34, good for a winning percentage of .585.
In the year 1995, Ramadan lasted from January 22nd - February 19th. During that time, the Rockets played 13 games and went 7-6, good for a winning percentage of .538.
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Stats | 26.9 | 10.9 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 51.4 | 72.4 |
| Ramadan Stats | 26.1 | 9.7 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 52.3 | 76.6 |
| Net Change | -0.8 | -1.2 | -0.8 | -0.5 | -0.1 | +0.1 | +0.9 | +4.2 |
Overall, Hakeem's statline didn't change much, barring (unsurprisingly at this point) his FT%.
Conclusion
Judging by the prior information, we can reasonably conclude that no real change occurred in Olajuwon's play. Of course, his PPG dipped quite a bit during the 1991 and 1992 Ramadan months, but this may be attributed to his not being used to playing while in a state of fasting (assuming he began to take his faith more seriously the year he changed his name). Overall, the Rockets either did just as well during Ramadan as they did during the entirety of the regular season and, at times, even better.
That's all, folks.
Thanks for reading!
Submitted December 30, 2015 at 11:36PM by FluoroAlkane