The 1996 draft was definitely one of the best in NBA history, and even many fans felt that the word "one" could be removed. I have to say that this draft did give birth to a lot of familiar names: Allen Iverson, Marcuscumby, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Stephen Marbury, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace and others... Speaking of which, it seems that few people mention the flower exploration show of that year - Sharif Abdullahim.
Unlike Iverson or Cambie, Raheem is a "different" in the NBA league, born into a devout Muslim family, Raheem is kind, sincere and has no temper, the biggest feature of his entire career is strict self-discipline, he does not smoke, drink, do not clubbing, and he can't find any news about drugs or violence in him. In a way you could argue that Raheem is a perfect player who only focuses on basketball.
Of course, to be able to become the 1996 draft's big year of the flower exploration show, Raheem naturally has two hands. In his year at the University of California, Berkeley, Rahim showed great personal ability as a newcomer, averaging 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, not only being named to the All-America All-Team Third Team, but also becoming the first freshman in history to be named the best player in the Top Ten Leagues. In addition, Rahim's academic performance is equally outstanding, with a GPA of 3.5 during his time at school — a rarity for NBA players. Out of love for basketball and the pursuit of dreams, Rahim still resolutely decided to participate in the NBA draft early, and was eventually picked by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the third pick.
As a new team that just joined the NBA league a year ago, the Vancouver Grizzlies are clearly uncompetitive and don't have many outstanding players on the team, but such an environment is still good for a rookie who needs to grow up. With full talent and the expectations of many people, Raheem became one of the few highlights of Vancouver's cold ball city, and Raheem, who was entrusted as the main force and core, could average 18.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in the rookie season, and ranked third after Iverson and Marbury in the best rookie selection that year, and was naturally selected for the best rookie team.
At that time, some people used the "textbook academic big forward" to evaluate Rahim, indeed, as an interior player who is not dominant in height, Rahim's solid basic skills and excellent interior footwork are the biggest capital he can base himself on the NBA, and the strict professionalism has also made Rahim's performance on the court continue to improve. In 1998–99, he averaged the league's fourth-highest 23 points per game; in 1999–00, Raheem showed a more versatile side, averaging a 20+10 double-double; in the summer of 2000, he played for Sydney for the Dream Team and won an Olympic gold medal; in the 2001–02 season, Raheem, who moved to the Hawks, was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
At the same time, despite his hard work on the pitch, Rahim is better known as a playoff "disaster star.". In the first nine seasons of his career, whether at the Grizzlies, Hawks or Trail Blazers, Raheem played for a team that never made the playoffs. Raheem's first playoff experience was after moving to the Kings in 2005-06, and it was his tenth year in the NBA. In this round of playoffs, the 30-year-old Raheem averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, which is only the only playoff trip in his 12-year career.
Raheem, who has 830 regular-season appearances, has only played in six playoff games in his entire career, and in the games he has played, the team's total record is 275 wins and 555 losses, and the winning percentage is not even a third, you can say that he has lost most of his career.
Raheem's peak is also slightly shorter than other superstars, or he has never really reached the peak and has begun to decline. During his time at Portland, Raheem began to suffer a knee injury that also led to the abort of the transfer to the Nets. Trapped by a serious knee injury, Rahim's explosiveness and bouncing power have shown a significant decline, and his competitive state has also been greatly affected. During his time with the Kings at the end of his career, Raheem was unable to help the team any more and eventually announced his retirement "only" at the age of 31.
Some people say that Raheem was born in the wrong era, and if he is a rookie of any year, Rahim will probably be the best of them, and it is also regrettable that he has not had the opportunity to prove himself in the playoffs no matter how hard he tries. Humble and low-key, Abdullahim, who was dedicated only to basketball, did not get the rewards of his efforts. Despite his name as "benevolent servant of Allah," at least in his slightly sad NBA career, he does not seem to have been blessed and cared for by Allah.