HoopsHype.com Rumors

Splash is a new ABC reality show that debuts on Tuesday, March 19 (8 p.m. Eastern/ 7 p.m. Central). In this show "10 celebrities will train and compete in regulation platform and springboard diving at dizzying heights in front of a weekly poolside audience," according to ABC's Splash reality show website. The ten contestants includes a who's who of current and retired pro athletes, celebrities and entertainers. Included is former Los Angeles Lakers great Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Abdul Jabbar teamed with Magic Johnson, James Worthy and many other Lakers greats to form the most dominant NBA team of the 1980’s. Examiner

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Showbusiness 

Last week, for example, I listened to almost two straight hours of speculation on who should be the next head coach for the Bucks. The list was full of the usual suspects: fired coaches, retired coaches, assistant coaches, college coaches. One name I didn't hear, and one that I think should move to the very head of the line is a man I talked with last week who said he'd jump at the chance to coach the Bucks. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I asked him flat out if he would be willing to be the head coach of the Bucks. "Of course," he replied. OnMilwaukee.com

Milwaukee Bucks, Coaching, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

"When I think of Jerry, I like to think of him at his beloved poker table," said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "I think of him sitting there with the world's best poker players, standing back and suddenly pushing his chips into the middle. Then with a twinkle in his eye, he says, "All In." That's the way Jerry lived all the time." Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Here's a rundown of all the speakers/performers expected at Dr. Jerry Buss' memorial service on Thursday ... CBS2′s Jim Hill will be the emcee. The other expected speakers are: Timothy Leiweke - President and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group; Johnny Buss - Buss' oldest son; Frank Mariani - Dr. Buss’ long-time business partner); David Stern - NBA commissioner; Jerry West - former Lakers executive; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - former Lakers center; Phil Jackson - former Lakers coach; Shaquille O’Neal - former Lakers center; Pau Gasol - Lakers forward; Pat Riley - former Lakers coach; Kobe Bryant - Lakers guard; Magic Johnson - former Lakers guard. Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Jerry Buss, David Stern, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: When someone as celebrated and charismatic as Jerry Buss dies, we are reminded of two things. First, just how much one person with vision and strength of will can accomplish. Second, how fragile each of us is, regardless of how powerful we were. Those two things combine to inspire us to reach for the stars, but also to remain with our feet firmly on the ground among our loved ones. Dr. Buss embodied that compassionate entrepreneurial spirit. He strove to reach greater heights without forgetting his community roots. During his stewardship, the Lakers exemplified his personal standards of excellence and became one of the dominant teams in the NBA and a force of good within the community. The man may be gone, but he has made us all better people for knowing him. --- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Facebook.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Dr. Buss is an important part of the Laker family so I hope his stay in the hospital is short and he has a speedy recovery. #Jerrybuss Twitter @kaj33

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

A Lakers spokesman declined to comment on his condition. Several current and former Lakers players have visited Buss, including Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Jerry Buss, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

“The characters talk boldly about sex, but their actions are often shy and unsatisfying. The contrast of the generation that’s been taught that pretty much anything goes sexually trying to act cool while struggling with their vulnerabilities is generally fresh and original and insightful about this generation.” That’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Hall of Fame basketball player, reviewing the HBO series “Girls” for The Huffington Post. He doesn’t love the show, but he does appreciate it. His review has a number of interesting observations about the show, and some laughs as well. Perhaps this is not surprising from a guy who was so funny in the 1980 movie “Airplane!” (scene below): New York Times

Media, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

So LeBron James has broken Kobe Bryant's record for being the youngest player to score 20,000 points. But who will have more points at the end? The Miami star on Wednesday at Golden State reached the milestone at the age of 28 years, 17 days. That topped Bryant having done it for the Lakers on Dec. 23, 2007 at 29 years, 122 days old. James had 25 points in the Heat's 92-75 win. That gives him 20,007 for his career. FOXSports Florida

Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

While these guys have put up so many points after starting so young, it remains to be seen whether either could break the NBA record of 38,387 put up by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1969-89. Bryant, who is 34 and has 30,619 career points, obviously could get there well before James. But he won't if he sticks with what he has speculated and retires when his contract expires at the end of next season. "I think Kobe will keep playing until he can't because he's so competitive," said Denver guard Andre Miller, a 14-year veteran who doesn't buy that Bryant will hang it up at age 35. Even if he keeps playing, Miller isn't so sure Bryant will break Abdul-Jabbar's record. But Nuggets coach George Karl believes it will happen. "I would think Kobe could do it," Karl said of Bryant, who will face James on Thursday night at the Staples Center. "He can do that in 3 ½ years." FOXSports Florida

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, George Karl, Andre Miller, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Records aside, when both players are retired, who's going to have the most points? "I would think Kobe because when all is said and done, I just don't think LeBron likes to score enough," Karl said. Miller agrees. "I think Kobe will score more because I think that when LeBron gets to be more of a veteran, he'll score less," Miller said. "I think that he'll still be getting like eight or nine rebounds and assists a game but maybe only 20 points instead of what he's scoring now." FOXSports Florida

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, George Karl, Andre Miller, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Marc Stein: More @David Lee props. Last guy before Lee to post a 20-and-10 game on all 7 stops of 7-game trip, Elias says, was Kareem (@Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) ... in 1972 Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Golden State Warriors, David Lee, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Dwight Howard on Kareem's support of him: "It’s mean a lot. I just recall sitting down and talking to him and him telling me, ‘All the hard work you put in in the last eight years is going to pay off and just remain the same way. Don’t change for anybody.’" Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

As Howard touched on a couple other Kareem questions, you couldn't help but notice Abdul-Jabbar's No. 33 jersey hanging up on the wall at the Lakers' practice facility behind him. On their summer meeting: "We haven’t had a chance to really sit down and talk since then. He understands that with the season and everything is going on it’s best to kind of like just wait until we have some more sitdowns." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

On Kareem's support of him: "It’s mean a lot. I just recall sitting down and talking to him and him telling me, ‘All the hard work you put in in the last eight years is going to pay off and just remain the same way. Don’t change for anybody.’" On their heights: "He was 7-5. I’m only 6-9, 6-10 on a good day. Maybe. I try to do a skyhook, but those 7-footers are right there." On Kareem's advice to him: "Just have fun. He liked that I’m out there smiling and I bring a joy to the game." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Abdul-Jabbar, a critic of the Lakers organization in the past, was less skeptical. "I think Mike D'Antoni is a great coach. He's proven that," Abdul-Jabbar said. "His offensive schemes work. He really got the Phoenix Suns up and moving, and I think that will work well for the Lakers team with the talent that they have. "It should be a very interesting season." USA Today

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: I feel it's appropriate to comment on the announcement from the NBA that David Stern will retire as commissioner of the NBA in February 2014, 30 years after taking the job. In that time, the NBA has moved near the top of the pro sports heap in terms of popularity. Young athletes from around the world are keen to play basketball and hope to play in the NBA. That was not the case when Mr. Stern took the reins in 1984. ESPN.com

David Stern, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

“They had all kinds of forwards out there,” McHale said. “I think it’s a sad state when you can’t (find) enough centers in our league anymore to fill up the roster. I don’t know if it’s a position-less game. If Moses Malone was playing right now and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish, you’d have centers. I don’t know where they went. They went the way of the dinosaur, I think". Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone 

Three weeks later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stopped by the suite at L’Ermitage and formally welcomed Howard into the pantheon of Lakers centers. Abdul-Jabbar showed Howard a championship ring and gave him a jersey. “He told me I had athleticism like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell,” Howard says. “He said, ‘You’ve put in a lot of work for the last eight years, you’ve sowed your seeds, and now it’s time to reap the benefits.’ ” When Abdul-Jabbar left, Howard wept, and not simply because he’d gained the acceptance he always sought. “With everything I was going through, all the pain,” Howard says, “I was just so happy someone understood how hard I had worked.” SI.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell 

One night after being immortalized with a statue outside Staples Center, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be made fun of in a hotel ballroom. Voluntarily, of course. Hosted by comedian George Lopez, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Celebrity Roast will take place Nov. 17 at a downtown Los Angeles hotel, featuring appearances by many of Abdul-Jabbar's former teammates with the Showtime Lakers, including Magic Johnson. The event also marks the beginning of the "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Experience," a multi-city tour featuring memorabilia from throughout his life and career. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Staples Center