Hakeem Olajuwon reveals how Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama sought his basketball guidance

Nigerian basketball legend Hakeem Olajuwon has revealed how some of the NBA’s biggest stars, including the late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama, approached him for guidance on improving their skills.

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Olajuwon made the revelation in an interview with CNN correspondent Larry Madowo, aired on November 9, 2026, in which he discussed his work mentoring elite players since retiring from professional basketball.

The former Houston Rockets centre said he had not planned to become a mentor but was approached by the players themselves.

“I didn’t plan that, they reached out to me. From LeBron, Kobe, Wembyama, Giannis,” he said.

He identified Bryant as the first player to contact him, recalling how the Los Angeles Lakers star called during the off-season to arrange training sessions.

“Kobe started it. Kobe called me up in the summer time,” Olajuwon said.

The Nigerian-born Hall of Famer said he was initially surprised that a player of Bryant’s stature wanted to learn from him.

“They wanted to come down and work out with me. I said they was kidding. I said, because I said, Kobe, you got everything. You are Kobe. Right,” he recalled.

Bryant, however, insisted that he wanted to learn some of Olajuwon’s signature moves.

The two-time NBA champion also discussed his training sessions with Wembanyama, the French centre who plays for the San Antonio Spurs.

He said their work focused on helping the 7ft 4in player make the most of his height and technical ability.

“First of all, you know, you look at how to leverage it. You have the height advantage, you have the skill. How do you leverage it to the max?” Olajuwon said.

He also spoke about working with Antetokounmpo, whose Nigerian heritage connects him to the former Rockets star.

Their sessions focused on finishing around the basket, creating space and making better use of his athleticism.

“I enjoy working with this guy’s skill, how to finish, how to create space and dunk,” he said.

Olajuwon explained that training with established NBA stars was no longer about teaching basic techniques but refining their ability to create and exploit scoring opportunities.

“So we’re not talking about basics now. We just talking about how to create opportunities. And these guys are so athletic when they get that, they get any space, bam,” he added.

Born in Lagos on January 21, 1963, Olajuwon is one of the most decorated players in basketball history.

He played college basketball at the University of Houston before the Houston Rockets selected him with the first overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft.

He spent most of his 18-season NBA career with the Rockets, from 1984 to 2001, before playing his final season with the Toronto Raptors in 2001-02.

Olajuwon won consecutive NBA championships with Houston in 1994 and 1995, earning the Finals Most Valuable Player award on both occasions.

He also won the NBA regular-season Most Valuable Player award in 1994 and was named Defensive Player of the Year twice.

The former centre made 12 All-Star appearances and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

He also won an Olympic gold medal with the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Of the players he mentioned, Bryant is the only one who is no longer alive.

The five-time NBA champion died aged 41 in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, alongside his daughter Gianna and seven other people.

Bryant spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, winning five championships, two Finals MVP awards and the regular-season MVP honour in 2008.

He was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

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Olajuwon’s account offers a glimpse into how one of basketball’s greatest centres has continued to influence the game beyond his playing career, sharing the techniques and experience that helped define his legacy with a new generation of NBA stars.