Rockets Great, NBA Legend's Son Chooses Stanford over Houston Cougars

The University of Houston has established quite a pipeline to the NBA. In fact, one of the top restricted free agents this year starred collegiately for the Cougars in Quentin Grimes. 

More specifically, the Houston Rockets have nabbed a good bit of Cougars, especially historically. Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson even spent three years on the Rockets coaching staff, operating as an assistant under former Rockets coach Kevin McHale. 

We've seen recent examples like Danuel House and Armoni Books, who both had considerable roles with the Rockets after turning in great collegiate careers at Houston. 

They were role players.

However, several of the Rockets' greatest players in the history of the franchise also starred at Houston, including legitimate NBA legends and Hall of Famers. Elvin Hayes, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon all played for the Cougars before playing for the Rockets.

Drexler and Olajuwon won a championship together with the Rockets -- which was Olajuwon's second consecutive NBA title. Olajuwon is easily the greatest player in Rockets' history and is universally hailed as a top 15 player of all-time. 

There's a very strong argument for placing him inside the top ten and some even consider him a top-five player, depending on how you evaluate talent and what specifically you look for in a big man.

Olajuwon's son, Aziz Olajuwon, however, will not be following his father's footsteps. The younger Olajuwon committed to Stanford, instead, turning down the Cougars.

Aziz is a four-star forward out of Bradenton, Florida and chose the Cardinals over Houston, Cincinnati, and Vanderbilt. 

The younger Olajuwon is a very different player than his father. Granted, there's never been another Hakeem Olajuwon, and there probably will never be another. 

Aziz and Hakeem have very different player archetypes, as Aziz is a 6-foot-7 versatile forward, who could operate as a small ball center, although he's really more of a wing.

The younger Olajuwon is viewed as a top-40 recruit and is Stanford's first top-100 commit since early 2024. Olajuwon explained his decision to choose Stanford. 

"I chose Stanford because the coaching staff made it clear they are about me not just as an athlete, but as a person. That meant a lot in the process."

Olajuwon continued. 

"Coach Smith and really the whole staff are people who really invest in their players, on and off the court. Their passion, leadership and ability to connect with the teams made a huge impression on me.

"The visit felt like a real day in the life, not just a tour. I got to experience the campus, the people and the culture in an authentic way, and it just felt right."

Olajuwon will join the Cardinals in 2026.