The greatest basketball player of all time...

[Belly Bob]

...auctions off his trophies for the sake of underprivileged children:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26085760/abdul-jabbar-puts-four-title-rings-auction

I think it's strange that Kareem isn't mentioned more often in discussions about who's the greatest basketball player ever and in talks about sports heroes. 

[BigDrop]

I first saw Kareem play as Lee Alcindor against DeMatha in 1964 then again in ‘65 when DeMatha ended Power Memorial’s 71 game winning streak.  The night of the loss he graciously, courageously went into DeMatha’s locker room and personally congratulated every player on the DM team.

Whether he, Wilt or Bill Russell were the greatest of my (or any) generation I don’t know.

But that night he earned my respect for life.

Bravo, Kareem!

[HawgGoneIt]

Who needs rings and trophies anyway? He had them and enjoyed them already. In the end, that shit means nothing compared to the positive influence that he can make on those kids' lives.

 

His legacy just got bumped up a notch imo.

[Nolebull813]

My 10 year old is a huge basketball fan. He tells me about things I never knew. He watches old basketball from the 50’s and 60’s and even knows all about the ABA. 

We have discussions about who is the best all time and he thinks Kareem is the best ever simply on the 19 all stars, 6 titles and MVP’s. It’s crazy the accomplishments he put up. 

Plus a 3x NCAA champ and like 80-2 in high school, you can make the argument he had the best career in the history of the sport when you combine all levels. 

My son even reminds me his name is Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. 😂

[Nolebull813]

I got Jordan number 2 based on his accomplishments and the fact that he was a 9 time first team all defense. In my opinion that’s what keeps him over Lebron 

[Bodysurf]

Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!

[golfaddict1]

22 hours ago, Bodysurf said:

Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!

Such a good flick.  Cracks me up every time.  Fought Bruce Lee too.  If it wasn’t for his eye problem, he would have squashed Lee like a grape.    His biorhythm stats were down that day too.  He limited Lee to just 1 first down early Lol.  

[World Citizen]

On 2/26/2019 at 6:05 PM, Nolebull813 said:

I got Jordan number 2 based on his accomplishments and the fact that he was a 9 time first team all defense. In my opinion that’s what keeps him over Lebron 

100% agree on MJ being better than Lebron.  # 2?  Who knows.  

 

[bigrobstercraws]

That sky hook was automatic. 

Another guy who doesn't get his due in the GOAT conversations is Larry Bird...a guy Kareem said was the best player he ever played against. 

[golfaddict1]

NBA.com article 3 days ago.... 

"Also one of the league’s elite scorers, LeBron is the only player who ranks among the all-time top 10 in both points and assists. He is fifth in scoring with 32,162 career points. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson is the only other player who has come close, placing sixth all-time in assists and 12th in points."  *  Ratings below include NBA and ABA stats.     

Dirk will be passing Wilt soon on the scoring pts list as will LeBron soon be passing MJ.  Chris Paul closing in on 

Isiah Thomas in assists, and then the Big O at #6 next perhaps by end of next season.  

 

[golfaddict1]

52 minutes ago, bigrobstercraws said:

That sky hook was automatic. 

Another guy who doesn't get his due in the GOAT conversations is Larry Bird...a guy Kareem said was the best player he ever played against. 

Yea Jabbar and Sky hook... money.   Just like Bird at the free throw line or in a big shot moment.   I really hated Bird lol, simply because of how great he was and made things look so easy.  I followed the Knicks back in the day... also favored the Lakers and the Sixers rather than Boston.   What great series those were and the Knicks-Celtics tilts were always fun.    

I dig the Patriots and Red Sox, but Celtics and Bruins not at all.   

[Sweetlarry]

Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

 

Honorable mention Larry Bird

 

had he not been injured Pistol Pete Maravich was a warlock in sneakers. Dude averaged 44+ a game with no 3pt line or shot clock. 

 

 

[bigrobstercraws]

45 minutes ago, golfaddict1 said:

Yea Jabbar and Sky hook... money.   Just like Bird at the free throw line or in a big shot moment.   I really hated Bird lol, simply because of how great he was and made things look so easy.  I followed the Knicks back in the day... also favored the Lakers and the Sixers rather than Boston.   What great series those were and the Knicks-Celtics tilts were always fun.    

I dig the Patriots and Red Sox, but Celtics and Bruins not at all.   

I've been a Laker fan since Show Time. I absolutely hated the Celtics of that era. I still hate Boston due to it. lol

He scored 47 points with his left hand once. He wasn't hurt. He just wanted a challenge and only took left-handed shots the entire game. He took one right-handed shot the entire game and that was the game-winner in OT. That's a basketball god.  Imagine his stats with today's non-contact rules. 

Philly also added some great series to make the East really competitive back then. Philly-Boston started the infamous, "Beat LA" chant. 

[bigrobstercraws]

38 minutes ago, Sweetlarry said:

Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

 

Honorable mention Larry Bird

 

had he not been injured Pistol Pete Maravich was a warlock in sneakers. Dude averaged 44+ a game with no 3pt line or shot clock. 

 

 

Magic said Bird was the best player he ever faced.

Bird said that about Magic. 

This was one of the best sports rivalries ever. These two legends of the NBA are forever linked. 

[I AM IRONMAN]

23 hours ago, golfaddict1 said:

Such a good flick.  Cracks me up every time.  Fought Bruce Lee too.  If it wasn’t for his eye problem, he would have squashed Lee like a grape.    His biorhythm stats were down that day too.  He limited Lee to just 1 first down early Lol.  

Bruce whipped chuck Norris don't forget..he would have  kicked KAJ's nuts into his throat if he wanted....LOL

[BigDrop]

On 2/26/2019 at 7:16 PM, BigDrop said:

I first saw Kareem play as Lee Alcindor against DeMatha in 1964 then again in ‘65 when DeMatha ended Power Memorial’s 71 game winning streak.  The night of the loss he graciously, courageously went into DeMatha’s locker room and personally congratulated every player on the DM team.

Whether he, Wilt or Bill Russell were the greatest of my (or any) generation I don’t know.

But that night he earned my respect for life.

Bravo, Kareem!

FWIW, in 2007 ESPN named Kareem and Wilt 1-2 as the greatest players of all time.

[CaliNorth]

2 hours ago, BigDrop said:

FWIW, in 2007 ESPN named Kareem and Wilt 1-2 as the greatest players of all time.

Not worth a whole lot. Seeing Lew Alcindor and Power play Dematha in what is arguably the most famous H.S. game ever played, is worth a lot. A whole lot. Wish I could have witnessed that history. Another moment worth a lot were the lucky 1,000 who braved the cold in Hershey Pa. to witness Wilt score 100 against Knicks. No film of that game. Was there any film of Power and Dematha that you know of ?

[Ararar]

all you need to know about Kareem is he dropped 50 on Wilt and 14 years later dropped 49 on Hakeem and Sampson

[Ararar]

Wilt was a victim of GM who didn't know what they were doing.Lets look at the two championship teams he was on.Both teams he wasn't asked to be the dominant scorer like he was on other teams.He was surrounded by HOF players and all stars.Both teams set the record for most wins by a team in a single season.Wilt needed a GM like Bill Russel had.

[ThunderRam]

We all know this topic is extremely subjective. Even more so, it’s really only fair to judge and include players from our own individual viewing eras.

For me, I didn’t get into watching the NBA and NCAA b-ball as early as I did football and baseball. It really wasn’t until 1984ish when I first watched Celtics-Lakers Finals. While Kareem was still pretty darn good then, he wasn’t the late 60’s and 70’s version. 

That said, I don’t think I’d ever consider Kareem as ‘greatest player’ but he certainly was one of the most dominant — especially during his prime. I recall stories of his freshman year at UCLA dominating the Varsity in scrimmages but couldn’t play due to existing rules. Hell, the dunk was outlawed for nearly a decade because of him. Still, he developed the most indefensible shot the game has ever seen. The skyhook.

I differentiate between ‘best all-around player’ and ‘most dominant’. Big men like Wilt, Russell, Kareem and Shaq were dominant. But was Wilt or Russell better all-around players than Oscar Robertson? I don’t think so. Just as I don’t believe Kareem was better than Magic, Bird or Jordan. Shaq was more dominant than Kobe but Kobe was a better basketball player.

Thats how I see it.

[NYHSFAN33]

5 hours ago, CaliNorth said:

Not worth a whole lot. Seeing Lew Alcindor and Power play Dematha in what is arguably the most famous H.S. game ever played, is worth a lot. A whole lot. Wish I could have witnessed that history. Another moment worth a lot were the lucky 1,000 who braved the cold in Hershey Pa. to witness Wilt score 100 against Knicks. No film of that game. Was there any film of Power and Dematha that you know of ?

Power Memorial with Kareem played DeMatha 2 years in a row, both in Cole Fieldhouse in Maryland.  In 1964, Power Memorial defeated DeMatha 65-62.  In 1965, DeMatha won 46-43.  Both were 2 of the top HS basketball teams in the nation over those years.  Not sure if there is any full game video from either year, but Power Memorial was a basketball juggernaut back in those days. They won 3 straight NYC Catholic school titles and only lost 2 games in Kareem’s 3 years playing varsity basketball, unprecedented accomplishments playing in such a tough league that hasn’t been duplicated since. 

[CaliNorth]

6 hours ago, NYHSFAN33 said:

Power Memorial with Kareem played DeMatha 2 years in a row, both in Cole Fieldhouse in Maryland.  In 1964, Power Memorial defeated DeMatha 65-62.  In 1965, DeMatha won 46-43.  Both were 2 of the top HS basketball teams in the nation over those years.  Not sure if there is any full game video from either year, but Power Memorial was a basketball juggernaut back in those days. They won 3 straight NYC Catholic school titles and only lost 2 games in Kareem’s 3 years playing varsity basketball, unprecedented accomplishments playing in such a tough league that hasn’t been duplicated since. 

My uncle played against Alcindor when he played at Salesian  H.S.   I remember him telling me they practiced before their  game with Power by holding up a broom stick. Alcindor was way ahead of his time, excluding Wilt of course. That hook shot was the most unstoppable weapon in NBA history. Only one player that I saw who could contest Kareem ( Wilt could also, but he was old at the time ) was Walton at Portland before he got hurt. Bill was so fundamentally sound with great athletesism . If walton had stayed healthy, he could have been ranked one of the greatest centers of all time as well. I think Walton never lost a game in HS, and all the way up to his senior season at UCLA as well.

[BigDrop]

19 hours ago, CaliNorth said:

Not worth a whole lot. Seeing Lew Alcindor and Power play Dematha in what is arguably the most famous H.S. game ever played, is worth a lot. A whole lot. Wish I could have witnessed that history. Another moment worth a lot were the lucky 1,000 who braved the cold in Hershey Pa. to witness Wilt score 100 against Knicks. No film of that game. Was there any film of Power and Dematha that you know of ?

Yes, there’s ten or so minutes of the Power/DeMatha game on YouTube.  I also know the Hersheypark arena where Wilt scored the 100 points.  I sold Hershey the concept for their water park (“Hershey’s Boardwalk”)  and the world’s largest interactive water play structure (“East Coast Waterworks”) which is less than 100 yards away.  Please forgive my hyperbole but I’ve literally walked through that arena and, over the years, had meetings with several who had their offices in it.

Probably 35+ years of going to Hershey for business and then, when I was young, riding their Comet coaster in the late ‘50’s.  

I love Hersheypark and, fwiw, those who run it today have the same pride and love in their hearts.

Wilt scored his 100 points in a good place. 

Fast forward the first two minutes of this.  Also, about the 9:10 or so marker you’ll see Kareem enter the DeMatha locker room and congratulate the individual players.

DeMatha had three players on that team who went into the NBA.  All five starters were first team All Met DC in that year or next.  I am making the sincere argument (and respect to a Baltimore Dunbar early ‘80’s team) that this was the greatest high school basketball team ever.  I should also note that DM almost beat Kareem (Lew Alcindor) in his jr year with DM leading almost the entire game.  There were 12,500 people for Cole’s first sell out.

 is the link to You Tube for the game.

[BigDrop]

 this shows the front page of the Daily News the day of the Power game.  There has never been another high school basketball game anywhere in America that received the buildup of these.  (Respect to Indiana.)

[btango]

Big Drop, this one is for you.

Several years ago I went into Cole Field House and I could feel "it" running through my body!  As a kid growing up in NC we watched every televised basketball game we could.  Carmichael Auditorium, Reynolds Coliseum, Cameron Indoor Stadium, University Hall, Carolina Coliseum, and Memorial Coliseum were cathedrals.  No so much Littlejohn Coliseum.  ACC hoops was unreal with the round robin schedule and winner only to the NCAA tournament.  Every team played for seeding.  Miss those days of the eight schools and then seven with South Carolina leaving.  Was still good with GA Tech (Alexander Memorial) when they got the program going under Bobby Cremins.

In 1996 I was working with a performer that played Hershey Stadium.  Got a tour of the arena from the facility manager.  Love those old school arenas!