Frank Urbina: Luka Doncic with a 34-point, 20-rebound, 12-assist masterpiece today. Only other players ever to drop at least 34 points, 20 boards and 12 assists in a game: -Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -Elgin Baylor (two times) -Wilt Chamberlain (six times) pic.twitter.com/0HePrrDmVO
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rumors
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler, a close ally of Trump and co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, thinks players seeking social justice may put off some fans, which is a bottom-line analysis rather than a passion to do the right thing. Loeffler reads from the same dog-eared playbook of most racists-in-denial pontificating from their plantation porch. She first claims she’s not racist, then delivers massively inaccurate justifications for being selectively racist: “There’s no room for racism in this country, and we have to root it out where it exists. But there’s a political organization called Black Lives Matter that I think is very important to make the distinction between their aim and where we are as a country at this moment. The Black Lives Matter political organization advocates things like defunding and abolishing the police, abolishing our military, emptying our prisons, destroying the nuclear family. It promotes violence and antisemitism. To me, this is not what our league stands for.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: It’s disturbing that she doesn’t know (or does know and prefers lying) that Black Lives Matter is not a monolithic organization but an affiliation of activist groups. She chooses to spout fear-inducing lies to rally racists: Abolish police? Abolish military? Empty prisons? Destroy the nuclear family? Being truth-challenged is one reason the WNBA players’ association has asked the commissioner to remove Loeffler as a co-owner. If we were to “root it out where it exists”, we would start with Loeffler, Dan Snyder and Woody Johnson. Which brings up the question of what to do with racists who own sports teams. Loeffler insists, “They can’t push me out for my views. I intend to own the team. I am not going.” I agree that owners shouldn’t be pushed out for their views, but for their behavior if that behavior promotes hate toward marginalized groups, because we know that such hate often leads to violence against them. Even when it doesn’t directly lead to violence, it perpetuates the lies and prejudices that allow people to ignore the inequities in education, health, voting and jobs that these people face. Which is why we need to call them out publicly and relentlessly, if not to change their minds, then to change their public behavior.
Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s son has been sued by the neighbour he attacked in June. Raymond Winsor claims he suffered a skull fracture and brain bleed during a fight with Adam Abdul-Jabbar, 28. The plaintiff was arrested in San Clemente, California after challenging Winsor with a knife. But Abdul-Jabbar’s lawyer Shawn Holley tells TMZ Sports that Winsor has failed to mention that “he provoked the incident by physically attacking Adam”.
Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said the first time he met Lewis, he was so emotional shaking Lewis’ hand “because it was such an important life event for me.” “John Lewis’ stature in the Civil Rights Movement was gigantic and the example he set for people like myself will endure,” Abdul-Jabbar tweeted. “I’m glad that he got to see the efforts of his past 60 years of activism bear such precious fruit these last few months as people took to the streets, just as he had, to fight for a just and free America.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Yes, some of the above have apologized — DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson, Chelsea Handler — while others continue to defiantly marinate in their own prejudice. Their arrogant and irrational response to accusations of anti-Semitism, rather than dissuade us, actually confirmed people’s worst opinions. Ice Cube’s response was remorseless: “What if I was just pro-Black? This is the truth brother. I didn’t lie on anyone. I didn’t say I was anti anybody. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE. I’ve been telling my truth.” His “truth” was clearly anti-Semitic but, like Trump, he believes his truth exists outside facts. As writer Roxane Gay summed it up: “It is impossible to take you seriously with regards to social justice or anything when you post anti-Semitic imagery. What the fuck are you doing?”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is concerned that the anti-Semitic views spouted by former NBA player and activist Stephen Jackson, along with NFL player DeSean Jackson, can lead to what he fears most: “apathy to all forms of social justice,” which he dubbed the “Apatholypse.” As part of his columnist role at The Hollywood Reporter, the former Los Angeles Lakers and UCLA Bruins star center took both Jacksons to task, along with Big3 founder Ice Cube for his own insensitive social media threads, in a piece titled “Where is the Outrage Over Anti-Semitism in Sports and Hollywood?”
Abdul-Jabbar was quick to point out that while the apologies from DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson largely fell flat, the lack of condemnation from most others in sports and entertainment, compared to the rise in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, was troubling. “It’s a very troubling omen for the future of the Black Lives Matter movement, but so too is the shocking lack of massive indignation,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “Given the New Woke-fulness in Hollywood and the sports world, we expected more passionate public outrage. What we got was a shrug of meh-rage.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.” My old UCLA coach, John Wooden, used to quote that Walt Whitman poem often, and I’ve been hearing its echoes on the streets lately. The people out protesting systemic racism and vowing change are “singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs” about the America that could be — that should be. But in my 60 years of social activism, I’ve heard these gospel songs before and my fear is that once the spotlights go down, the sympathetic audience — now moved to tears by the chorus — simply goes home, the words to the songs quickly forgotten.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: It’s exhausting and frustrating trying to convince such people that systemic racism pervades all aspects of American life. It’s like talking to a flat-Earther. Proof is useless. Their steadfast refusal to believe the hundreds of studies by prominent scientists reminds me of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician, responsible for millions of lives being saved by discovering that hospital deaths could be drastically reduced merely by washing hands with disinfectant. Most of the medical community rejected his conclusion — despite growing evidence that he was right. He was ultimately committed to an asylum, where he was beaten by guards and died 14 days later. Only after his death were his theories widely accepted. They couldn’t see germs, so they weren’t real. Sound familiar? In “The Usual Suspects,” character Verbal Kint says, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” I’d tweak that a bit. The other greatest trick is convincing the world racism doesn’t exist. We have to stop trying to roll these deliberate dullards uphill because, like Sisyphus, we’ll never get them to the top of the mountain to see the possible paradise on the other side.
RAY: So, instead of Denver the previous year, you wound up with Milwaukee. That must have been quite a culture shock coming from LA. Marques Johnson: I know Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had his issues there culturally. Kareem grew up in New York, went to college in Los Angeles. I grew up in Los Angeles after moving to California from Louisiana at five years old. But LA is all I know: sunshine and beaches and that kind of lifestyle. The only thing I knew of Milwaukee was from what I had seen on Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley shows back in the late 70s. It looked like a quaint enough city. I was just excited about having an opportunity to play in the NBA. The one thing that always bothered me is that I thought I should have been the No. 1 player picked in that draft. But at that time, there was a racial component involved. There was a lot written by the media in those days that the NBA had too many African Americans. There was a quota system in the mid to early 70s, where teams, especially Southern and Midwest teams, would always have six or seven white guys on the roster.
Caruso said he was impressed listening to Lakers legend and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during a video conference call that the Hall of Famer had with his teammates early last month. The conversation left Caruso wanting to do his part for change and to keep the moment going strong. “Like I said from my perspective of being a white guy in a predominately Black league, just tell the truth,” he said. “Tell what’s going on, be an advocate for the people and be a voice for the people that can’t be heard. It’s a long-run game. This isn’t going to change in a month, probably won’t get changed in a year. It’s going to be time and time again where you’re going to have to step up, be courageous, use your voice and try to make an impact and change lives for the better.”
Who is the NBA GOAT? Caron Butler: It depends. Just based off stats, Kareem. His longevity is impressive. After that, you shift to LeBron, Kobe, MJ, guys of that stature.
Green pointed to how the Lakers ran their business under late owner Jerry Buss. He noted that during his playing days both with the Showtime Lakers — with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — and the Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, ownership was all about the employees who made the organization great. “We understood that,” Green said. “It’s a family, and that’s what’s going on here. It makes it an easy decision to come out here with my whole crew and help.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 28-year-old son was arrested earlier this week for allegedly stabbing his neighbor in San Clemente, authorities confirmed Friday. Adam Abdul-Jabbar was booked Wednesday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said. He was released on bond the same day.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s son was arrested Wednesday after cops say he stabbed his Orange County neighbor multiple times, TMZ Sports has learned. 28-year-old Adam Abdul-Jabbar — who appeared on “Celebrity Family Feud” with his famous father back in 2017 — has been booked on 1 count of assault with a deadly weapon, records show.
Cops say the victim transported himself to the hospital “with multiple non-life-threatening injuries.” According to his booking sheet, Abdul-Jabbar stands 6’7″ and weighs 180 lbs. He has since been released from custody, cops say. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials tell us.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar credits actor and martial artist Bruce Lee for helping him remain relatively injury-free during his 20-year NBA career. The basketball legend spoke about training with Lee during a Friday appearance on “SportsCenter.” “Bruce always emphasized the effectiveness of stretching,” Abdul-Jabbar told’ ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. “So before we worked out, we stretched all the time. And that was it. I took that to another level by studying yoga and being able to advance as a yoga student, and that really was the best preventative maintenance that I could have been doing in the offseason.”
NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter and discusses his relationship with martial arts trailblazer Bruce Lee. Kareem reveals how he initially met Lee and how training with him for years allowed him to stay healthy throughout his NBA career.
The Lakers held a Zoom conference on Tuesday with players, coaches and some executives to discuss the ongoing protests and civil unrest in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, according to people who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Former Lakers great Karem Abdul-Jabbar, who never has shied away from speaking about social injustice, was the guest speaker and he was riveting, according to people familiar with the call.
Participants talked about how the Lakers organization and players can help steer a positive change going forward in Los Angeles and around the country in a racially charged environment. LeBron James, who has been expressing his views about the problems African Americans face daily in this country, was one of the prominent players to speak Tuesday.
Abdul-Jabbar was asked “a lot of great questions” about how he dealt with racial issues while playing basketball during the 1960s and ‘70s, when there was civil unrest around the country. James told Abdul-Jabbar how cool it was to see the picture of a young Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell and other prominent athletes gathered in 1967 in Cleveland with other civil rights activists. The group had come together to support Ali’s position in his refusal to be drafted.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel and general manager Rob Pelinka also spoke on the call Tuesday. Team owner Jeanie Buss and Tim Harris, the president of business operations and chief operating officer, were part of the virtual conference as well. The meeting when for about an hour. “The Lakers did a great job letting their players have a voice,” one person said. “The Lakers understand what’s happening. They have always been about helping their community and that hasn’t stopped even now when the Lakers and others sports teams are needed the most.”
When Unseld died Tuesday at age 74, the Hall of Fame center who rose to prominence at Louisville’s Seneca High School and the University of Louisville was remembered as one of basketball’s most rugged rebounders and the source of its most lethal outlet passes; comparatively short by the standards of his position, but as solid and as steadfast as an oak. “He was like a big roadblock on the basketball court,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said on the “Rich Eisen Show” on Tuesday. “He was only like 6-7, 6-8, but you still couldn’t get rebounds over him because he just denied (position) on the court. He was awesome in that sense.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: What do you see when you see angry black protesters amassing outside police stations with raised fists? If you’re white, you may be thinking, “They certainly aren’t social distancing.” Then you notice the black faces looting Target and you think, “Well, that just hurts their cause.” Then you see the police station on fire and you wag a finger saying, “That’s putting the cause backward.” You’re not wrong — but you’re not right, either. The black community is used to the institutional racism inherent in education, the justice system and jobs. And even though we do all the conventional things to raise public and political awareness — write articulate and insightful pieces in the Atlantic, explain the continued devastation on CNN, support candidates who promise change — the needle hardly budges.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: But COVID-19 has been slamming the consequences of all that home as we die at a significantly higher rate than whites, are the first to lose our jobs, and watch helplessly as Republicans try to keep us from voting. Just as the slimy underbelly of institutional racism is being exposed, it feels like hunting season is open on blacks. If there was any doubt, President Trump’s recent tweets confirm the national zeitgeist as he calls protesters “thugs” and looters fair game to be shot.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Yes, protests often are used as an excuse for some to take advantage, just as when fans celebrating a hometown sports team championship burn cars and destroy storefronts. I don’t want to see stores looted or even buildings burn. But African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.
More than 20 years after Drexler and MJ last laced it up against each other, Drexler has his own opinion on the GOAT debate. Clyde the Glide believes neither Jordan nor LeBron James should be the only two automatically pegged as the NBA’s greatest player of all time: “I have a real problem with that, because out of all the guys that played the game, for you to have a conversation of these two guys as the GOAT when you’ve got Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest players to ever live – I think you start with those two.”
“When I was talking the GOAT for me means highschool, college, pro dominance, longevity, all of that. Kareem I don’t think lost in highschool. I think he was 85 and 2 in college, won a championship every year, was the best player every single year. They changed the rules for him. That’s why he got the sky hook. He comes to the league, obviously dominates, has the most points of all time, and things like top 5 or top 10 rebounding. He has 5 rings. His career speaks for itself. Played 20 years. “But it’s that 30-year span of just complete and utter basketball dominance in how define it is taking the big picture view. I don’t argue MJ’s pinnacle of dominance. I definitely don’t argue that. I want no smoke MJ fans. Everybody got mad, I was like ‘let me just explain myself’.”
However, one former player who had his fair share of success during his career, believes that the conversation being limited to only LeBron and Jordan is a mistake. Clyde “The Glide” Drexler was a household name during his storied career with the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, and he thinks other players deserve to be in the “GOAT” conversation. “I really have a problem with that. Because out of all the guys that played the game, you’re only having a conversation with these two guys as the GOAT,” Drexler said in an interview on The A-Team, a Houston-area sports podcast. “When you got Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest players who ever lived, I think you should start with those two. You got guys like Larry Bird, Dr. J, George Gervin, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West all of those guys are in the conversation. I love both Michael and LeBron but let’s not take something away from the other guys who played.”
However, one former player who had his fair share of success during his career, believes that the conversation being limited to only LeBron and Jordan is a mistake. Clyde “The Glide” Drexler was a household name during his storied career with the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, and he thinks other players deserve to be in the “GOAT” conversation. “I really have a problem with that. Because out of all the guys that played the game, you’re only having a conversation with these two guys as the GOAT,” Drexler said in an interview on The A-Team, a Houston-area sports podcast. “When you got Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest players who ever lived, I think you should start with those two. You got guys like Larry Bird, Dr. J, George Gervin, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West all of those guys are in the conversation. I love both Michael and LeBron but let’s not take something away from the other guys who played.”
Doc Rivers may have the largest All-Time starting five squad ever. Austin Rivers joined his father on the GO OFF podcast, where the two talked about All-Time starting fives, Kobe stories, and their player/coach dynamic. When it comes to an All-Time starting five, Doc Rivers is in favor of size. “I’m going Kareem at the center,” Rivers said. “I’m going Tim Duncan at the four, because those both are two-way players. I’m going Michael, and Magic at the one and two. This may be the biggest team ever. And then LeBron at the three.”
Celtics legend Paul Pierce recently made waves when he left LeBron James out of his list of the Top 5 greatest players in NBA history. The retired 19-year NBA veteran listed Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant ahead of James.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: One thing we could use right now is a passionate rallying speech from our president that inspires us all to do the right thing, not just for ourselves, but for our country. It is the speech Trump should deliver, not because he wants to be reelected, but because it would address the country’s major concerns, end the political squabbling, provide a reasonable plan going forward, and give Americans confidence that their government is working to protect their health and economic concerns. It needs to be the speech of a statesman not a, well, Trump. If I were Trump’s speechwriter, using the lessons I learned from great talks I heard in my basketball career, this is what I would give him to deliver:
Eddie Johnson: Look. Tired of these quote unquote GOAT officials! Ok MJ is 6-0 in finals, but Isiah beat him constantly and beat Bird and Magic. MJ beat Isiah once and a beat up Laker team once and never beat Boston! So Isiah is the Goat. Magic, Kareem, MJ, LBJ and Bird are all Goats! #Goat
Here is what NBA legend Isiah Thomas had to say on who is the GOAT for him on the latest ‘Inside The Green Room’ podcast: “My GOAT is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. There is no person in the history of all sports, from grade to school to high school, to college, to the NBA that had a better basketball playing career than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And then when you take into account what he’d done in terms of social justice during that period of time, the stance he took outside off the playing field, those are big things in my mind in terms of what the GOAT was,” he said.
Spencer Dinwiddie: And just for added context I definitely think MJ had the best prime NBA years of all time. And that Kareem is the basketball GOAT. But y’all thought MJ was a God in the 80’s/90’s because he was 6’6 with a 40 I’m 6’6 with a 40 in 2020 and y’all think I’m unathletic Rolling on the floor laughing
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds two pieces of satisfaction from his basketball career into his new life as a writer and activist. While he can’t touch the rim anymore, people still approach him with pure glee about feats he performed decades ago. He also beat the Boston Celtics that time. “1985,” Kareem said with a flashing-white smile. “That was our year. We finally beat the Celtics.”
Since Thomas competed against some of the greatest players of all time, I ask him before he gets off the phone to rank, 1-5, the best players of all time based on his first-hand experience — those he saw, those he competed against. He gives me this list: Kareem Bird Magic Jordan Dr. J “None of them can adequately tell their story without the Detroit Pistons,” he says. “Either we were good or we weren’t.”
Asked if he now considers Jordan the greatest of all time, Frazier stopped short. “I always ask what’s the criteria when you say the greatest ever,’’ Frazier said. “If it’s Superman, it’s Wilt Chamberlain. I have (Kareem) Abdul-Jabbar as a career-leading scorer. Versatility is Oscar Robertson. Winning is Bill Russell. Those are the four guys. Actually I’d say Wilt Chamberlain because when we played in the 70s and flied commercial, you go through the airport and people would say either ‘Are you a Globetrotter or Wilt Chamberlain?’ That’s all the people knew.’’
NBA Central: Jalen Rose says LeBron needs to pass players like Kareem,Russell and Magic before entering the GOAT convo (🎥 @GetUpESPN)
Abdul-Jabbar and his longtime manager, Deborah Morales, will be involved in similar donations at other hospitals in Southern California, according to the news release. Abdul-Jabbar’s most well-known charitable works are connected to his Skyhook Foundation, which, according to the NBA.com, “sends children from economically challenged backgrounds to summer camps focusing on science, technology and engineering.”
Chris Broussard & Rob Parker disputed a fan-voted bracket that put Michael Jordan & Larry Bird as the greatest college basketball player of all time. According to Broussard, Michael Jordan is not the greatest college basketball player of all time. “It is clearly Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And after him it’s probably Bill Walton. I don’t think Michael Jordan is even in the discussion of the greatest college player of all time,” he said.
Earvin Magic Johnson: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Lew Alcindor is decisively the undisputed GOAT of college basketball! During his 3 years at UCLA he led the Bruins to an 88-2 record, won 3 National Championships, was 3X National College Player of the Year, AND was 3X NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Hey Earvin – I would have to agree as my college years were incredible but playing for The Lakers and having you as my teammate was a G.O.A.T friendship.
