Olowokandi was considered to be a top two pick in the 1998 NBA draft due to his wingspan and "unlimited upside". He was drafted with the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers had initially planned to draft eventual second pick Mike Bibby, but Elgin Baylor cited Olowokandi's work habits and off-season improvements as the swaying factors. The start of the 1998–99 NBA season was hampered due to a lockout and the Clippers were not allowed to contact Olowokandi. His agent, Bill Duffy, put Olowokandi in contact with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who trained together extensively during the 1998 offseason. Olokowandi signed with Italian team Kinder Bologna on 5 January 1999 – only two days before the lockout was resolved. In 3 regular season Italian League games played with Bologna, he averaged 4.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 17.3 minutes per game. He also played for 3 games in the FIBA EuroLeague, where he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 21.3 minutes per game. Bologna granted Olowokandi an early release to sign with the Clippers as he did not have a considerable impact and was poorly conditioned. Olowokandi claimed that he felt misused by the team and did not have his offensive abilities utilised.