Hakeem Olajuwon's son, Aziz, picks Stanford

Aziz Olajuwon, a top-40 enlistee and the lad of NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, has committed to Stanford, helium told ESPN connected Saturday.

Olajuwon precocious chopped his database to 4 schools: Stanford, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt and Houston, his father's alma mater. He visited Cincinnati and Vanderbilt successful caller weeks aft taking a travel to Stanford implicit the summer.

"I chose Stanford due to the fact that the coaching unit made it wide they are astir maine not conscionable arsenic an athlete, but arsenic a person," Olajuwon told ESPN. "That meant a batch successful the process."

Olajuwon becomes the archetypal ESPN 100 enlistee for Stanford since caput manager Kyle Smith took implicit successful March 2024.

"Coach Smith and truly the full unit are radical who truly put successful their players, connected and disconnected the court," helium said. "Their passion, leadership, and quality to link with the teams made a immense content connected me.

"The sojourn felt similar a existent time successful the life, not conscionable a tour. I got to acquisition the campus, the people, and the civilization successful an authentic way, and it conscionable felt right."

A 6-foot-7 tiny guardant from Texas who precocious transferred to IMG Academy (Florida), Olajuwon is ranked No. 40 successful the ESPN 100 for the people of 2026. He stood retired connected the Nike EYBL circuit this past outpouring and summertime for the JL3 grassroots program, averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists implicit the people of 19 games. Olajuwon showed a blossoming perimeter changeable arsenic the play went on, shooting astir 42% from down the arc astatine the Nike Peach Jam successful July - including 1 crippled successful which helium made six 3-pointers and finished with 25 points.

Olajuwon, a large helping who consistently plays successful a triple-threat stance, was 1 of the astir improved and effectual players implicit the summer. His quality to work the defense, score, pass, and thrust was evident, and he's shown the quality to support some the helping and the shot with length.

Olajuwon is the 2nd committedness for Smith and Stanford successful the 2026 class, joining four-star defender Isaiah Rogers.