Kareem is a little p-o'd

[bevo barry]

The Link

 

[YoLaDu]

In his post NBA life, Jabbar has come off as a whiney, petty jerk with an insecurity streak a mile wide. In general, just an unpleasant guy to be around. Completely needy, but prickly to everyone he comes in contact with.

His constant cry of victimhood and "I can't understand why nobody likes me" routine is boorish.

 

[mcbrett]

Plus- my dad says Kareem sometimes doesn't work hard on defense, and sometimes he doesn't even run up the court! He never really tried, except during the playoffs.

Kareem

 

[Rex Kramer]

Best movie ever made, and the origin of my handle.

 

[Horn89]

Everything Yo said.

The all-time scoring leader is a little ******* baby.

 

[Hornius Emeritus]

Here is the letter. It doesn't sound like Kareem is a little "p-o'd" to me:


How Soon They Forget: An Open Letter to Scottie Pippen

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.

In terms of winning, Michael excelled as both an emotional and scoring leader but Bill Russell’s Celtics won eight consecutive NBA Championships. Bill's rebounding average per game is over 22.5 lifetime, MJs best rebounding years was eight per game (1989). But we will never know exactly how many shots Bill Russell blocked because again, they never kept that statistic while he played. However, if you ask anybody that played against Russell, they will just roll their eyes and say he blocked all the shots he wanted to block in the crucial moments of a game.

Bill played on a total of 11 championship teams and as you very well know, Scottie, the ring is the thing, and everything else is just statistics. So I would advise you to do a little homework before crowning Michael or LeBron with the title of best ever. As dominant as he is, LeBron has yet to win a championship. I must say that it looks like Miami has finally put the team together that will change that circumstance. Its my hope that today’s players get a better perspective on exactly what has been done in this league in the days of yore.

Affectionately,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer

 

[Crockett]

Kareem wrote a nice letter. Hey, at least Pippen is not arguing that Andrew Bynum is in the running to be the all-time greatest center in Laker History.

 

[Nuclear Bear]

My father's all time favorite player is Kareem.

I think Kareem gets pissy because he is probably one of the 5 best NBA players of all time....yet he doesnt really get the due that Magic, Bird, Jordan, or some other all time greats get.

According to my dad, people discount KAJ because he had the Shaq factor....he was just so big and so dominant for such a long time that people took him for granted.

If any of you have read Bill Simmons book of basketbal lhe states that the most remarkable thing about Kareems career is 1971 and 1985.

Kareem won Finals MVP in 1971 and the award again 14 years later....with similarly dominant numbers!!!

Very few athletes in the history of anything can say they were that dominant for that long.

Not Jordan, Bird, Magic.....any of em.

The only players that come close off the top of my head are Malone and Stockton.

 

[Rex Kramer]

Agree with both Yo and Nuke above. Nuke's post may explain what Yo states, which is accurate to me. KAJ is definitely an interesting case.

And KAJ's letter on Wilt and Russell is largely accurate. I would, however, like to see Wilt play in the Jordan era, when there were more athletic 7-footers to combat Wilt. He certainly wouldn't have scored 50 ppg in a season - nowhere close. In KAJ's letter, I take exception to the lack of distinction between eras, and comparing Jordan's rebounding stats with that of a center.

 

[Third Coast]

I would say that Bill Russell was the best defensive player I have ever seen.

 

[buckhorn]

Kareem is a stickler in a bookish, elder statesman sort of fashion. He is a jazz hound, for chrissakes.

Pippen was just talking out of his ***. He is pimping with the sports media in an effort to pull himself out of monumental debt and, as we all know, the sports media will say something to fill space without thinking at all.

Jordan is an all-time great. Trying to elevate Chamberlain or Russell above him seems trite, admittedly. LeBron is not even in the equation, at this point. He is an all-time talent, but he has alot of work to reach the heights involved with Jordan, Kareem, or even Kobe.

Kareem is over-looked because he was not flashy, was indeed bookish, had ridiculous physical advantages, and was last seen collecting rings on a flashy team that sometimes seemed to move without him. He also flagged a bit at the end.

He is one of the top 5 or so players of all-time, and I believe a player who would have the same success no matter the era in which he played. He was a winner at all levels and transcendent at all levels.

We all get forgotten, Kareem. It's okay.

 

[Statalyzer]

I agree with most of what buckhorn said - the sky hook would be the surest 2 points in the game if Kareem were playing today.

 

[Joe Fan]

If you can believe it, I actually saw him deliver a commencement address to a graduating class at UCLA (my gf's sister). This was in what might be described as the peak of the Rome Era and all I could think about was how Rome always called him "Jabong."

It was was predictably horrible. He did try to strike strike some positive notes, but it was disjointed, misdirected, rambling and painfully long. He made a pretty comical figure at the podium in the robe and all.

But the overriding reason I have always hated this guy is due to the excuses he is still making for losing to UH, Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney in the Astrodome, a game I attended as a kid. The Big E scored 39 points with 15 rebounds to Jabong's 15 points, ending UCLA's 47-game winning streak. He maintains to this day that he "had something in his eye," refusing to give Hayes credit.

 

[bevo barry]

Joe Fan...having grown up in the Bayou City I was a big fan at the time of Cougar BKB and of The Big E in particular (and Don Chaney, too!). I was either in the 9th or 10th grade when the Bruins played the Coogs in the Dome. What a game! However, in Kareem's defense, he had sustained an eye injury a game or two prior to the Houston game (corneal abrasion???) and had just gotten his eye patch off prior to the matchup. So maybe indeed he was not 100%. But with the electric atmosphere in the Dome and with E playing in the Zone, I think UH wins that night even if Kareem is a full 20/20. Regardless, Kareem and the Bruins got their sweet revenge in the Big Dance later that season. That game was painful to watch for any fan of The Big E.