Category — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Jordan and LeBron the greatest of all time? In response to Scottie Pippen’s idiot comments, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar goes off on a much applauded perspective. What’s stunning though is that Kareem says Jordan couldn’t have carried Wilt’s uh…you can fill in the blank.
From Kareemabduljabbar.com: “Dear Scottie,
I have nothing but respect for you my friend as an athlete and knowledgeable basketball mind. But you are way off in your assessment of who is the greatest player of all time and the greatest scorer of all time. Your comments are off because of your limited perspective. You obviously never saw Wilt Chamberlain play who undoubtedly was the greatest scorer this game has ever known. When did MJ ever average 50.4 points per game plus 25.7 rebounds? (Wilt in the 1962 season when blocked shot statistics were not kept). We will never accurately know how many shots Wilt blocked. Oh by the way in 1967 and ’68. Wilt was a league leader in assists. Did MJ ever score 100 points in a game? How many times did MJ score more than 60 points in a game? MJ led the league in scoring in consecutive seasons for 10 years but he did this in an NBA that eventually expanded into 30 teams vs. when Wilt played and there were only 8 teams. Every team had the opportunity to amass a solid nucleus. Only the cream of the basketball world got to play then. So MJ has to be appraised in perspective. His incredible athletic ability, charisma and leadership on the court helped to make basketball popular around the world — no question about that. But in terms of greatness MJ has to take a backseat to The Stilt.”
Click on the link above for the rest of his comments. He also gives high praise to the legendary Bill Russell.

The Captain, Hall of Famer and the all-time leading scorer reached another milestone Saturday. Cheers!

The Captain says the Young Fella is ready for primetime. He just needs to be consistent. And stay out of the crosshairs of David Stern.
Andrew Bynum returns from a 2-game suspension Friday against Blake Griffin and the Clippers. Kareem weighs in on the Young Fella’s recent dominant play.
L.A. Times

On a day when many will revel in the Oscars, Patrick Goldstein pens an excellent piece about the lack of African Americans in high places in film and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s documentary, “On the Shoulders of Giants: The Story of the Greatest Basketball Team You’ve Never Heard Of.”
L.A. Times

See how fast we get things done? That statue we mentioned Jerry West deserved at Staples Center? Done.
In a sometimes moving ceremony, attended by several Laker legends, the “Logo” gets his due with a statue outside the house that Shaq built. Among the star-studded attendees: Jerry and Jeanie Buss; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Magic Johnson; Bill Russell; Elgin Baylor; Pat Riley; James Worthy; Bill Walton; Shaq; Pau Gasol; David Stern; Mitch Kupchak; and Bill Sharman. Jim Hill served as MC.
For whatever reason, Kobe Bryant couldn’t attend. Shame, shame, shame.

Before President Obama awarded the great Bill Russell with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, the president mentioned how there should be a statue honoring the legendary Celtic. It’s an incredible shame that there isn’t one and the absence reflects a remaining stain of the city of Boston, one of which was filled with hate.
Seriously, it’s 2011 and we’re still talking about this?
The Lakers also could correct some oversights in this same arena. The fact that there are no statues honoring Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar outside of Staples Center is inexcusable. Yet, there is 1 of Oscar De La Hoya, reminding us again the power of money.
Boston Globe

Laker fans won’t consider it a blast from the past, but…
I still remember it like yesterday. The Rockets, with Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, pulled off a stunning upset of the defending champion Lakers in the 1986 Western Conference Finals. Houston clinched the series in 5 games, winning the final one at the Forum in L.A. Did we mention the time we saw ZZ Top at the Forum?
So many elements were spinning in the basketball orbit that forgettable night for Laker fans in L.A. Jon Weinbach puts them all back together in a wonderful read.
Free Darko

One of the most memorable championships of the 15 the Lakers have won came in 1985, when for the first time in franchise history they beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. They also beat the Celtics for the title in 1987, but none was sweeter than the ’85 victory. Making it much more sweeter for L.A. fans was the Lakers winning the title on Boston’s famed parquet floor in the old Garden. Eight Hall of Famers played in the series and 2 more (Pat Riley and K.C. Jones) served as coaches.
O.C. Register

Laker broadcaster Joel Myers couldn’t restrain himself. “The greatest player in franchise history…”
Greatest player in Laker history? I don’t think so. There is no disputing Kobe Bryant is one of the Lakers’ best and one of the NBA’s finest players. But the greatest Laker he’s not. Much of the effusive praise and non-stop babbling about Bryant, who broke Jerry West’s Laker scoring record in a loss Monday night to the much-improved Memphis Grizzlies, has become nauseous. It’s a significant milestone, but it surely doesn’t vault him to the top of Laker legends. Bryant finished with 44 points (West’s number), but that wasn’t enough for the Lakers to avoid a trap-game loss to Memphis a day after they beat an ailing and aging Celtics’ team Sunday. Still, Bryant has been all the rage in L.A.
We don’t mean to lessen his achievement, but check out some numbers. If you compare the stats of Bryant and West, you’ll note that it took Bryant 65 more games to top West’s mark of 25,192 points. Add into that equation that West played without the benefit of the three-point shot, which significantly boosts Bryant’s totals by 3,807 points. He might have eventually broke West’s record, but how many seasons would it have taken?
Magic Johnson doesn’t come close to either as a scorer, but his overall game trumps both. His five NBA championships, the total of West and Bryant combined, speak volumes too, particularly when you factor in Johnson’s career was practically history when he revealed he was HIV-positive in 1991. But Johnson, who annually led the league in assists and is among the all-time leaders, dominated with his passing skills. It helped him dish and elevate the games of Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy and even more when he created for Byron Scott.
But even Magic wasn’t as dominating as the two best to don a Laker uniform. Wilt Chamberlain was the NBA’s greatest player (Bill Russell was second in our book for all of you Michael Jordan fans scoring at home), but it’s difficult to put him on top as the greatest Laker because Chamberlain played only five seasons in L.A. Still, the Lakers were a magical team during his era, their record 33-game winning streak being just one example. If not for Chamberlain, West wouldn’t have earned his lone NBA ring in 1972.
And consider this: Both West and Chamberlain (which only enhances his stature) led the league in assists. Kobe will never accomplish that. It’s not in his DNA.
But if there were any player to wear the crown of the greatest Laker, Abdul-Jabbar is the one. No player (Chamberlain being the exception), particularly any Lakers past or present, dominated offensively like the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He also has six NBA championship rings, more than any Laker. Bryant has his sights on Kareem’s record of 38,387 points. Good luck with that dude.