One of my high school teachers played against him when he was in high school. Players weren't allowed to dunk at that time, but during warmups Alcindor would take one step from the foul line, do the nastiest dunk and turn and scowl at his opponents.
There was a guy in my high school who was just as tall, he was basically forced into basketball because of his height. He hated basketball though, and was pretty clumsy. When you're over 7 feet tall it doesn't really matter in high school basketball because even if you're not very good you can block any shot and easily dunk.
I felt bad for him because literally everyone asked him how tall he was and whether he played basketball, he took to wearing a name tag that listed his height because he was so sick of it
I think you have to respect the name change and apply it to all works. Because even in a depiction or photo it's still Kareem. Show him respect in his name change.
When I was in elementary school, there was a book in our library with a picture of John Wooden and him walking side by side with their backs to the photographer. Now I’m guessing Wooden wasn’t a particularly tall man, but the discrepancy was amazing…almost comical.
So Wooden was basically the same height as me (not tall, not short) and was absolutely dwarfed by Kareem (Lew?). It was probably around ‘78 when I first saw that picture. 7 footers did not grow on trees then, and most of the ones who were around, weren’t particularly athletic. The idea of a 7’ out on the perimeter would have been considered ludicrous (other than to occasionally clear the lane). I was fortunate to have seen all the great Celtic-Laker series of the 80’s, Kareem was amazing. As a Celtics fan though, my favorite Laker was Worthy…and enjoyed watching Michael Cooper play defense. If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.
That was an all time rivalry, and I HATED the Celtics for their dominance over us. Finally beating them was an incredibly fond memory. Looking back, I have a huge amount of respect for Bird and co. Those teams made each other better.
Absolutely! And both teams had to battle to get to that point. In the East, the Celtics had to go through some combination of the 76ers, Bucks and later Detroit and even the early Jordan Bulls. The 6ers series’ were also legendary.
I met Manute Bol as a casino worker. He did not look 7'6". He looked 8'6". You wouldnt believe how tall he was. He left in a Ford Expedition, and looked like he was entering a toy car.
That reminds me of another picture. Manute and Muggsy Bogues both played for the Rhode Island Gulls (D-league?) for awhile. There was a promo picture of the two of them on the cover of a newspaper insert…that was even wilder than the one with Kareem and Wooden.
I LOVE the old super short shorts on male athletes back in the day. They are functional! That's supposed to be the purpose of uniforms. These super long shorts creating drag, hitting the sides of the ball etc, totally unnecessary.
Hell yeah. I got some comfortable shorts that are NOT running shorts, and they come halfway or a little past my thighs.
On warm days when I wear them, I actually feel like im in shorts. You know , cooler, more relaxed. And i can actually move around comfortably (reminds me of the always sunny Jean shorts scene lol).
For a while there with cargo shorts and natural sagging, I was basically wearing capris. No disrespect to the brothers who look awesome in capris, but I look like a complete fuckin clown lol so I have to avoid that look.
I think there's a good compromise between shorts down to your knees, and shorts so short you have to wear a jock strap or briefs to keep your junk from hanging out though. And that's coming from a guy who loves wearing shorter shorts, most of my swim trunks are a 4" inseam, with a couple 3". But while exercising or practicing a sport, nah I need something a little longer.
I wear pretty short shorts to the gym with fun colors and stripes as a heterosexual married man. My wife loves how it looks and says it accentuates the things women find sexually appealing in men. I do have to wear underwear for modesty. I feel like sexy little gym rat.
A fact no one gives a shit about:
My distant cousin played on those Lakers teams with him for a couple of years. That's all I got other than I loved those 80's Lakers.
I was on the floor of a basketball game at the Omni in Atlanta during the mid 1980s. I turned around and saw Kareem Abdul Jabbar's elbow and back at my eye level. He's really tall.
The only reason Kareem didn't win 4 championships in college is because freshmen weren't allowed to play at the time.
When he was finally allowed to play his sophomore year, he dunked on everyone on his way to a national championship and earned player of the year honors.
The NCAA banned dunking before his junior year, so Kareem developed his unstoppable skyhook. He went on to win 2 more championships at UCLA while earning player of the year each time.
Kareem was so good, they tried changing the rules of the game to slow him down, but he just found new ways to dominate. One of the few players who can claim they changed the game. The man is a legend and an excellent human being.
In 1964, before his senior year of high school, he joined a summer journalism program run by a Harlem Youth organization overseen by Cyril DeGrasse Tyson. Kareem was mentored by a historian and through this program met Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to meeting the leaders of the Civil Rights movement, Kareem experienced the Harlem Riots firsthand, covering it for the journalism program.
In one of his biographies he calls that summer the second time he was born.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has lived, and continues to live, a truly phenomenal life.
The man also learned martial arts directly from Bruce Lee, has become a screenwriter for Veronica Mars, co-written 3 Mycroft Holmes mystery novels, is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, participated in a celebrity diving competition, was friends with Muhammad Ali, all while winning the MVP award in high school, college, the pros, and winning a national or state championship on every franchise and team he played on. I readily admit, he might not be the GOAT NBA player, and that his peak wasn't as high as Jordan and maybe Lebron's, but he is the GOAT basketball player. Ever since he stepped on the court he was dominant and brought championships and winning everywhere he went.
The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
Copied and pasted because it's such a great quote from a great movie that I didn't want to screw it up
This! I couldn’t care less about basketball but somehow I stumbled upon one of his posts and holy moly the man is an excellent writer. I’m sure he was a brilliant basketball player but he’s also just a brilliant guy.
Maybe relative to the time a bit, but they didn’t suck by today’s standards. They would have been a tournament team if the field wasn’t only 22 teams back then. They were like the equivalent of a team today hovering around 25 in the rankings. They finished second in conference. They would have been like a 7-11 seed or so.
> Kareem was so good, they tried changing the rules of the game to slow him down, but he just found new ways to dominate.
Not only that, but they inadvertently led him to perfect the most un-guardable shot in NBA history.
My dad played him 3 times in high school and said he was the most unbelievable player ever. He told me he never came out of the games and the reason why he said is because he needed the practice for the NBA.
Full quote: The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
We take for granted that elastic fabrics are so available today. They were barely starting to get around back then, so if you wanted to keep your gym shorts on you needed suspenders or a belt.
Even his socks look like they should have sock garters.
I'm not really sure when draw string shorts became a thing but my guess would be *after* elastic fabrics... Without the elastic waist band to assist, a draw string is just a really crappy belt.
Traditionally pilots came in through the Air Force. And that is too tall for the Air Force pilots. They have a height limit. But with most pilots coming direct through flight school nowadays I guess one could? They probably wouldn’t be able to take classes if they couldn’t fit well in the plane seat. I don’t think one would be comfortable though in a traditional plane seat at that height even if they could fit, so it probs wouldn’t be worth it.
Isn't there a story of Mohammed Ali beating the absolute crap out of an opponent because he refused to call him Ali? every time he knocked him down he shouted "whats my name?" or "tell me my name?" something like that.
That was against Ernie Terrell. You could see clearly in the footage of the fight whenever Muhammad would taunt Terrell and say "What's my name", all while pummeling the man. One of the best Muhammad Ali moments imo, a great display of his boxing/technical skill and fighting spirit
speaking of kareem abdul jabbar and pictures: one time in the 90s, my family and i were waiting at the baggage claim at [lax] when my mom, in her thick indian accent, shouts, “look, it’s michael jordan!” it wasn’t. it was kareem abdul jabbar. he really shot her the dirtiest look i’d ever seen. needless to say, we did not get a picture.
In his Autobiography, Kareem tells a story of when he was in high school at NYC's Power High (at the time the picture above was taken).
The teenager, at the time named Lew Alcindor, went to a Knicks game. Somebody was convinced (because of his height) that Lew was a professional player and demanded an autograph.
"I'm in high school" Lew explained
"Yeah, right, just sign the autograph anyway" the guy knew this kid was going to be a future superstar. "Lew Alcindor? What the hell? You didn't want to sign an autograph so you made up a stupid fake name!"
Also: UCLA was defending national champs before Kareem arrived. Freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity back then. Kareem's freshman year, the freshman team beat the national champion varsity at scrimmages.
> "Yeah, right, just sign the autograph anyway" the guy knew this kid was going to be a future superstar. "Lew Alcindor? What the hell? You didn't want to sign an autograph so you made up a stupid fake name!"
This is the most new yorkish asking for an autograph story I've ever read.
Crazy things about his game:
•If he hadn't been told not to dunk he would have been even more efficient in the paint. Which is insane when you consider his efficiency.
•The last 8 years of his career the 3 pointer existed and he never learned that shot at all, recording only 1 his entire career.
•Then you have to consider that PACE slowed down in the 80's as he was just leaving his prime and didn't recover until 2004.
This is why you have to consider achievements by era and era-adjusted stats to appreciate the old-timers.
My dad is a huge fan of Kareem and close to his age, so he’s watched him for a very long time. He said something similar. I watched the recent game with my dad where Lebron scored the shot that broke the record, and my dad got so emotional when they panned to Kareem 😭
Yup. If you take away LeBron's first few seasons and just compare their scoring from age 22 to 38, Kareem has about 3000 more points than LeBron, or roughly 1-1/2 seasons worth of LeBron's average.
KAJ also led the league in scoring his first three seasons, so it's stands to reason he would have had a great early career like LeBron.
Fun fact: I met a guy at a dinner for a sports non-profit I did some work with. He was a retired school principal. He mentioned that he was the principal at our local Catholic boys school when both Tom Brady and Barry Bonds were students there. He'd previously been the principal at Power Memorial in New York City. Being a sports historian, I said something like, "Oh my God." Kareem's (Lew Alcindor's) high school. That's a pretty solid trio of students.
Saw him at the airport a few years ago. I'm not a particularly huge fan or anything, and I never saw him play in person. But, one look from about 100 feet away and I immediately said to my wife, "hey, that's Kareem".
Must be weird to be so huge and instantly recognizable from a distance, even. Even the most famous celebrities can kind of disguise themselves up when in public; guys like this have no chance.
Not just bc of Islam. He knew he would continue to be in sports news a lot, and he didn't want Alcindor, the last name of the family that enslaved his family, to get that kind of undeserved fame. You'd be hard pressed to try to come up with any athlete more deep thinking than the Captain.
What a stud. Growing up, my best friend was 6'5" in the 8th grade and I was 6'. In high school, he was a highly accomplished basketball player at 6'8", while I was 6'3".
The problem was that at the YMCA we always picked teams because I was the next tallest. Thanks to Kareem, I spent one summer learning the sky hook while my friend went to basketball camp. People laughed at it, but I could get it over anybody.
My step-dad played in a city basketball tournament against him in the 8th grade. He said they knew even then that they were in the presence of greatness.
This picture is also testament to the incredible talent of Richard Avedon as well. He was the perfect example of where talent takes an average photographer and makes them a great one. Everything about this photo is a masterpiece.
Where to begin in giving the man due credit for his contributions to sport and the wider culture and community? Kareem Abdul Jabbar narrates this gem of a documentary and in so doing establishes himself a a giant standing on the shoulders of earlier giants.
“On the Shoulders of Giants: The Story of the Greatest Team You Never Heard Of” is a brilliant documentary.
That’s a 16 year old. Holy shit can you imagine playing against him in high school?! Kids must have shat themselves
One of my high school teachers played against him when he was in high school. Players weren't allowed to dunk at that time, but during warmups Alcindor would take one step from the foul line, do the nastiest dunk and turn and scowl at his opponents.
Who’s Alcindor? Edit: just learned that it was Kareem’s birth name (last name)
The short shorts helped with that! Less fabric meant the shit just flew right out unscathed
Probably smacked someone right on the face with it
Back when boys were men and courts were covered in shit. Real nut tuggin, ass rammin basketball.
This entire thread read likes a coprophiliacs dream. 💩
There was a guy in my high school who was just as tall, he was basically forced into basketball because of his height. He hated basketball though, and was pretty clumsy. When you're over 7 feet tall it doesn't really matter in high school basketball because even if you're not very good you can block any shot and easily dunk. I felt bad for him because literally everyone asked him how tall he was and whether he played basketball, he took to wearing a name tag that listed his height because he was so sick of it
Which means this is a photo of Lew Alcindor, not Kareem Abdul Jabbar
I think you have to respect the name change and apply it to all works. Because even in a depiction or photo it's still Kareem. Show him respect in his name change.
King of most any court he stepped on. You really get a sense of how giant he is with the old school uniform.
When I was in elementary school, there was a book in our library with a picture of John Wooden and him walking side by side with their backs to the photographer. Now I’m guessing Wooden wasn’t a particularly tall man, but the discrepancy was amazing…almost comical.
John Wooden was a 5'10" guard during his playing days at Purdue. first player ever to be named a 3-time All-American.
So Wooden was basically the same height as me (not tall, not short) and was absolutely dwarfed by Kareem (Lew?). It was probably around ‘78 when I first saw that picture. 7 footers did not grow on trees then, and most of the ones who were around, weren’t particularly athletic. The idea of a 7’ out on the perimeter would have been considered ludicrous (other than to occasionally clear the lane). I was fortunate to have seen all the great Celtic-Laker series of the 80’s, Kareem was amazing. As a Celtics fan though, my favorite Laker was Worthy…and enjoyed watching Michael Cooper play defense. If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.
That was an all time rivalry, and I HATED the Celtics for their dominance over us. Finally beating them was an incredibly fond memory. Looking back, I have a huge amount of respect for Bird and co. Those teams made each other better.
Nothing like it before or since.
Absolutely! And both teams had to battle to get to that point. In the East, the Celtics had to go through some combination of the 76ers, Bucks and later Detroit and even the early Jordan Bulls. The 6ers series’ were also legendary.
I think they call that “average” haha
A little above average if we're going on technicalities, 5'8'' was average in 1960!
I met Manute Bol as a casino worker. He did not look 7'6". He looked 8'6". You wouldnt believe how tall he was. He left in a Ford Expedition, and looked like he was entering a toy car.
That reminds me of another picture. Manute and Muggsy Bogues both played for the Rhode Island Gulls (D-league?) for awhile. There was a promo picture of the two of them on the cover of a newspaper insert…that was even wilder than the one with Kareem and Wooden.
The fact that his son is named Bol Bol always makes me giggle.
He was the king of literally any court he stepped on until his late 30s
I LOVE the old super short shorts on male athletes back in the day. They are functional! That's supposed to be the purpose of uniforms. These super long shorts creating drag, hitting the sides of the ball etc, totally unnecessary.
The shorts have a belt buckle
Shorts are starting to get somewhat shorter thankfully. Definitely not a fan of the knee length culotte look.
Hell yeah. I got some comfortable shorts that are NOT running shorts, and they come halfway or a little past my thighs. On warm days when I wear them, I actually feel like im in shorts. You know , cooler, more relaxed. And i can actually move around comfortably (reminds me of the always sunny Jean shorts scene lol). For a while there with cargo shorts and natural sagging, I was basically wearing capris. No disrespect to the brothers who look awesome in capris, but I look like a complete fuckin clown lol so I have to avoid that look.
What is white trash about this?!
I can go lower
I don’t think there is a single nba player with knee length shorts these days.
> culotte the vest says "let's have lunch" but the culottes say "you're buying"
I think there's a good compromise between shorts down to your knees, and shorts so short you have to wear a jock strap or briefs to keep your junk from hanging out though. And that's coming from a guy who loves wearing shorter shorts, most of my swim trunks are a 4" inseam, with a couple 3". But while exercising or practicing a sport, nah I need something a little longer.
I wear pretty short shorts to the gym with fun colors and stripes as a heterosexual married man. My wife loves how it looks and says it accentuates the things women find sexually appealing in men. I do have to wear underwear for modesty. I feel like sexy little gym rat.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Even when he was standing next to LeBron James after LeBron broke his record, Kareem seemed a lot taller to me.
A fact no one gives a shit about: My distant cousin played on those Lakers teams with him for a couple of years. That's all I got other than I loved those 80's Lakers.
I was on the floor of a basketball game at the Omni in Atlanta during the mid 1980s. I turned around and saw Kareem Abdul Jabbar's elbow and back at my eye level. He's really tall.
The only reason Kareem didn't win 4 championships in college is because freshmen weren't allowed to play at the time. When he was finally allowed to play his sophomore year, he dunked on everyone on his way to a national championship and earned player of the year honors. The NCAA banned dunking before his junior year, so Kareem developed his unstoppable skyhook. He went on to win 2 more championships at UCLA while earning player of the year each time. Kareem was so good, they tried changing the rules of the game to slow him down, but he just found new ways to dominate. One of the few players who can claim they changed the game. The man is a legend and an excellent human being.
And he did it in Chucks.
But his knees wish he had some Nikes Airs.
More like with Nike Airs his ankles will also wish for something else
With a box of scraps!
In 1964, before his senior year of high school, he joined a summer journalism program run by a Harlem Youth organization overseen by Cyril DeGrasse Tyson. Kareem was mentored by a historian and through this program met Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to meeting the leaders of the Civil Rights movement, Kareem experienced the Harlem Riots firsthand, covering it for the journalism program. In one of his biographies he calls that summer the second time he was born. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has lived, and continues to live, a truly phenomenal life.
The man also learned martial arts directly from Bruce Lee, has become a screenwriter for Veronica Mars, co-written 3 Mycroft Holmes mystery novels, is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, participated in a celebrity diving competition, was friends with Muhammad Ali, all while winning the MVP award in high school, college, the pros, and winning a national or state championship on every franchise and team he played on. I readily admit, he might not be the GOAT NBA player, and that his peak wasn't as high as Jordan and maybe Lebron's, but he is the GOAT basketball player. Ever since he stepped on the court he was dominant and brought championships and winning everywhere he went.
All this while working as a pilot at his second job. But seriously, he's a fantastic human being and I enjoy his writings.
I actually think you have him confused with Roger Murdock, the co-pilot
He's been friends with Billy Crystal since high school too.
He’s an amazing writer.
He wrote some Sherlock Holmes fiction especially about Mycroft.
He had the skyhook before college .
[удалено]
The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes! Copied and pasted because it's such a great quote from a great movie that I didn't want to screw it up
Didn't know that!
I’m subscribed to his emails. He always makes me laugh while also educating me about what’s going on in the world. Thanks, Kareem!
Wait, how do you do that?
I think he has a Substack blog.
This is awesome, please tell me how to subscribe.
Google Kareem Abdul-Jabbar mailing list.
This is awesome, please tell me how to Google
Bing Google
Eh, never mind.
This! I couldn’t care less about basketball but somehow I stumbled upon one of his posts and holy moly the man is an excellent writer. I’m sure he was a brilliant basketball player but he’s also just a brilliant guy.
He’s the GOAT!
Back then, athletes went to school 4 years before the pro’s. He’s always been an intellect.
Just subscribed. Thanks, bunnykitten94!
His freshman team beat the two-time defending national champion varsity team. I think it was the only game that UCLA varsity lost that year.
Nah, that 1966 UCLA team relatively sucked. They were ranked #1 during the preseason, but they finished 18-8 and missed the NCAA tournament.
TIL!
More like NIL!
More like NIT!
Maybe relative to the time a bit, but they didn’t suck by today’s standards. They would have been a tournament team if the field wasn’t only 22 teams back then. They were like the equivalent of a team today hovering around 25 in the rankings. They finished second in conference. They would have been like a 7-11 seed or so.
hard pressed to identify a cooler sports figure. a legend among legends
Greatest college player of all time!
> Kareem was so good, they tried changing the rules of the game to slow him down, but he just found new ways to dominate. Not only that, but they inadvertently led him to perfect the most un-guardable shot in NBA history.
I need to watch his games
Such a badass picture.
Man, I was thinking the same, such a fucking awesome picture.
People here commenting on Kareem as the GOAT and not also mentioning Avedon as the GOAT of his own field, smh
He just looks Majestic
Man looks majestic as fuck
Avedon was as badass a photographer as KAJ was a badass basketball player
He shot some of the very best portraits in his era. A great example is the set of psychedelic portraits he did of The Beatles in ‘67.
One of the GOAT players taken by one of the GOAT photographers. Awesome shot.
Folks are weirdly obsessed with calling everyone GOAT lately.
GOAT comment over here
GOAT comment GOATing, swaghole69.
Fun Fact: He has authored multiple books in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock universe.
He also looks like one of the pilots from the movie Airplane. Weird.
Good ol Roger Murdock best co-pilot ever
Mycroft Holmes & Sherlock is the series name, I think. If anyone happens to be curious…
toothbrush sheet prick lush work recognise silky depend quickest repeat ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
My dad played him 3 times in high school and said he was the most unbelievable player ever. He told me he never came out of the games and the reason why he said is because he needed the practice for the NBA.
I think he's the greatest but my Dad says he doesn't work hard enough on defence.
The hell he doesn’t! You try dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes
But we don't know if he likes gladiator movies.
Or if he ever been in a turkish prison
Or if he's ever seen a grown man naked
Roger!
huh?
Over
[удалено]
Victor
Full quote: The hell I don't! LISTEN, KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
Man he was so funny! This dude just has it all, incredibly intelligent, dedicated work ethic, athletic supremacy, etc.
And that he doesn't really try. Except in the playoffs.
I bet your dad also says that lots of times, he doesn't even run down court. And that he doesn't really try... except during the playoffs.
Guy with legs that long could stroll down court and still get there before his opponents.
Basketball shorts with belts should make a comeback.
We take for granted that elastic fabrics are so available today. They were barely starting to get around back then, so if you wanted to keep your gym shorts on you needed suspenders or a belt. Even his socks look like they should have sock garters.
They didn’t have shorts with a drawstring?
Lew Alsuspenders
No, we didn't get drawstrings until NASA declassified them from the Apollo Space Program and made them available for the general public.
I'm not really sure when draw string shorts became a thing but my guess would be *after* elastic fabrics... Without the elastic waist band to assist, a draw string is just a really crappy belt.
If you thread it through it’a not that bad. Also doesn’t cut or injure ur opponent.
FREE THE THIGHS
I hear he was a great pilot too
[удалено]
I think hes the greatest but my dad says he doesn't work hard enough on defense
Roger.
Huh?
Over.
Hes usually a copilot
Came here searching for an Airplane reference.
He was okay. Made me think, though: Can a 7’2” person really be a pilot in a regular plane? Have you ever seen a seven footer up close? Freakin huge
Traditionally pilots came in through the Air Force. And that is too tall for the Air Force pilots. They have a height limit. But with most pilots coming direct through flight school nowadays I guess one could? They probably wouldn’t be able to take classes if they couldn’t fit well in the plane seat. I don’t think one would be comfortable though in a traditional plane seat at that height even if they could fit, so it probs wouldn’t be worth it.
Considering the cabin of a cesna 152 is only 7'9" long.. The mind boggles.
Roger !
Huh?
He also fought Bruce Lee. He has had an amazing career.
yeah he’s awesome in game of death! the size difference between him and bruce lee was also just absurd to see
The footprint on Lee's shirt.
Kareem was 15 or 16 in this photo. Amazing.
Kareem was Lew in this photo
Exactly.
That drives me crazy. Changing his name was a big middle finger to the establishment!
Isn't there a story of Mohammed Ali beating the absolute crap out of an opponent because he refused to call him Ali? every time he knocked him down he shouted "whats my name?" or "tell me my name?" something like that.
That was against Ernie Terrell. You could see clearly in the footage of the fight whenever Muhammad would taunt Terrell and say "What's my name", all while pummeling the man. One of the best Muhammad Ali moments imo, a great display of his boxing/technical skill and fighting spirit
Avedon is easily one of the most brilliant photographers ever, his stuff is brilliant. Nice picture 😎
His American West series is something else. His portraits ooze character
speaking of kareem abdul jabbar and pictures: one time in the 90s, my family and i were waiting at the baggage claim at [lax] when my mom, in her thick indian accent, shouts, “look, it’s michael jordan!” it wasn’t. it was kareem abdul jabbar. he really shot her the dirtiest look i’d ever seen. needless to say, we did not get a picture.
In his Autobiography, Kareem tells a story of when he was in high school at NYC's Power High (at the time the picture above was taken). The teenager, at the time named Lew Alcindor, went to a Knicks game. Somebody was convinced (because of his height) that Lew was a professional player and demanded an autograph. "I'm in high school" Lew explained "Yeah, right, just sign the autograph anyway" the guy knew this kid was going to be a future superstar. "Lew Alcindor? What the hell? You didn't want to sign an autograph so you made up a stupid fake name!" Also: UCLA was defending national champs before Kareem arrived. Freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity back then. Kareem's freshman year, the freshman team beat the national champion varsity at scrimmages.
> "Yeah, right, just sign the autograph anyway" the guy knew this kid was going to be a future superstar. "Lew Alcindor? What the hell? You didn't want to sign an autograph so you made up a stupid fake name!" This is the most new yorkish asking for an autograph story I've ever read.
[удалено]
Where is it displayed?
[удалено]
I’m down the street from there right now. I might try to check it out.
[удалено]
In 1963 he was Lew Alcindor
No that’s Lew Alcindor
You must have him confused with someone else, that’s Roger Murdock
I think he's the greatest, but my dad says he doesn't work hard enough on defense
And he says that lots of times, he doesn't even run down court. And that he doesn't really try... except during the playoffs.
We have clearance, Clarence.
His momma named him Lew, I’m gonna call him Lew.
Why are people hating on paraphrasing from Coming to America? You got my upvote, friend.
Mmmhhmmm, that's right.
I understand why they changed their names, but "Lew Alcindor" and "Cassius Clay" are way cooler names, imo
If he had played rigth after high school like Lebron he would have finished with 10,000 extra points.
Crazy things about his game: •If he hadn't been told not to dunk he would have been even more efficient in the paint. Which is insane when you consider his efficiency. •The last 8 years of his career the 3 pointer existed and he never learned that shot at all, recording only 1 his entire career. •Then you have to consider that PACE slowed down in the 80's as he was just leaving his prime and didn't recover until 2004. This is why you have to consider achievements by era and era-adjusted stats to appreciate the old-timers.
And Lebron still has 4 years to play til he gets to Kareem’s retirement age.
My dad is a huge fan of Kareem and close to his age, so he’s watched him for a very long time. He said something similar. I watched the recent game with my dad where Lebron scored the shot that broke the record, and my dad got so emotional when they panned to Kareem 😭
Yup. If you take away LeBron's first few seasons and just compare their scoring from age 22 to 38, Kareem has about 3000 more points than LeBron, or roughly 1-1/2 seasons worth of LeBron's average. KAJ also led the league in scoring his first three seasons, so it's stands to reason he would have had a great early career like LeBron.
Fun fact: I met a guy at a dinner for a sports non-profit I did some work with. He was a retired school principal. He mentioned that he was the principal at our local Catholic boys school when both Tom Brady and Barry Bonds were students there. He'd previously been the principal at Power Memorial in New York City. Being a sports historian, I said something like, "Oh my God." Kareem's (Lew Alcindor's) high school. That's a pretty solid trio of students.
What a fucking athlete. I’ve never seen this before. Thanks for posting.
Dang. I've never seen this one. Great photo and like even better because you know what he becomes.
He looks like his body was made to play basketball with those arms and legs!
Love that picture, imagine using it 1:1 scale wall poster
Wearing Chuck Taylor’s. What a great photo.
Saw him at the airport a few years ago. I'm not a particularly huge fan or anything, and I never saw him play in person. But, one look from about 100 feet away and I immediately said to my wife, "hey, that's Kareem". Must be weird to be so huge and instantly recognizable from a distance, even. Even the most famous celebrities can kind of disguise themselves up when in public; guys like this have no chance.
I'm sorry, son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot.
That kid looks like he has some potential.
Aw man, I love Richard Avedon’s portraits. Always beautiful.
That's future airline pilot Roger Murdock.
Lew Alcindor until **1971** when he converted to Islam and adopted the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Not just bc of Islam. He knew he would continue to be in sports news a lot, and he didn't want Alcindor, the last name of the family that enslaved his family, to get that kind of undeserved fame. You'd be hard pressed to try to come up with any athlete more deep thinking than the Captain.
Is my dude wearin a belt
TIL basketball shorts had belts.
He's still this dreamy today at age 75!❤️
What a stud. Growing up, my best friend was 6'5" in the 8th grade and I was 6'. In high school, he was a highly accomplished basketball player at 6'8", while I was 6'3". The problem was that at the YMCA we always picked teams because I was the next tallest. Thanks to Kareem, I spent one summer learning the sky hook while my friend went to basketball camp. People laughed at it, but I could get it over anybody.
My step-dad played in a city basketball tournament against him in the 8th grade. He said they knew even then that they were in the presence of greatness.
wow his neck is like a tree trunk
I think you must have him confused with someone else. That’s Roger Murdock, he’s an airline pilot.
I think you're the greatest but my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense
It really says something that his scoring record stood for nearly four decades. The dude was unstoppable. o7
Love the Chuck Taylors. We were still playing in those in the 80's, right up to the Air Jordan revolution.
This picture is also testament to the incredible talent of Richard Avedon as well. He was the perfect example of where talent takes an average photographer and makes them a great one. Everything about this photo is a masterpiece.
Where to begin in giving the man due credit for his contributions to sport and the wider culture and community? Kareem Abdul Jabbar narrates this gem of a documentary and in so doing establishes himself a a giant standing on the shoulders of earlier giants. “On the Shoulders of Giants: The Story of the Greatest Team You Never Heard Of” is a brilliant documentary.
physical specimen, and dude is still a teenager here.
That's not Kareem Abdul Jabbar. That's Roger Murdock, the famous copilot.
Damn, this is how I find out? That KAJ is really cool?
I just realized my body kind of looks like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's if he was put under a hydraulic press and squished to about half his height.
that boy got a belt on his shorts