Originally aired in 1999. This was the 30-minute version that aired as part of the SportsCentury countdown. Subsequent airings have been the one hour documentary version.
In 1984, I remembered watching Kareem Abdul Jabbar on TV in a basketball game while I was in college. Breaking the NBA all time scoring record that's been standing for 11 years. And up to this day, it's still top of the list.
And even after Lebron breaks that record, Kareem will STILL be the all time scoring champ. WHY? Because he did it 2pts at a time. He didn't have the OPTION of the 3pt shot until he was an old man. I really think that any player who wants to break the official scoring title ought to have their 3pt shots removed and count as 2 pts when the record holder got his 2pts at a time. I think Lebron's 37000 pts is more like 34,000 when you take out all the 3's. And it's more like only 31,000 currently when you take out all the flop fouls and favorable calls he gets that kareem didn't get.
Him and Bill Russell were the most misunderstood basketball players of all time. They had to overcome racism (along with many other african, asian american players) and both were private people. Because they didn't like giving interviews when they were younger doesn't mean they're bad people. No one can be that open to others when the society itself make their lives miserable because of being tall or due to different color skin. Anyway, a well deserved top 3 to 5 basketball player of all time, he was unstoppable with the sky hook for 20 seasons as a professional basketball player.
Scored more points than any other player in NBA history One of the 50 greatest players in NBA history Won 6 Most Valuable Player awards 🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 6 nba championships 19 time all star ⭐️ 3x Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament 3x NCAA champion 11x NBA All-Defense 10x First Team all NBA 5x second team All NBA Led the NBA in points in 71 and 72 Led the league in rebounds in 76 3x Ncaa Player of the year 1st round pick by an NBA expansion out of UCLA in 1969 Milwaukee Bucks 1969-1975 Los Angeles Lakers 1975-1989 Basketball 🏀 Hall of Fame College basketball 🏀 hall of fame
Among his many accomplishments he is one of 6 players to be named Final Four MOP and NBA Finals MVP but the only player to have multiple awards for both.
They can talk about Lebron and Michael J but nobody dominated every level he played at and has the numbers Kareem has...To me the greatest basketball player ever...bar none.
Sportswriters/casters who wished they had any sports talent (aka skip bayless, dan patrick pugh ...yes you do stink, I would change it too) your 2 cents worth on what you think of Kareem or any pro athlete for that matter ain't worth ISH to me - never has never will....KAJ GOAT
The Bucks from 1969 to 1974 won 304 games and the Knicks 266 and yet Willis Reed was 15 and 6 against Kareem or Jabbar was 6 and 15 against Willis! In the 1970 playoffs in the 5 game Bucks series and the first 4 games of the finals against Wilt, Willis Reed scored 266 points with 120 rebounds shooting 53%. He was injured early in game 5, missed game 6 and Wilt had 45 and 27 and in game 7 could hardly walk but gutted out 27 minutes to inspire the Knicks as Clyde starred and DD had 18 points and 17 rebounds. Willis was injured in the 1971 playoffs tearing shoulder muscles in his left shooting arm and the Knicks lost for the only time in 6 playoffs to the Bullets in 7, 93-91, was out in the 1972 playoffs with knee surgery and Wilt finally won a title as a Laker and in the 1973 finals Willis with a bad left knee was able to gut out 96 minutes in games 3 to 5 against Wilt scoring 61 points with 33 rebounds shooting 54% winning a second MVP finals award. Only bad science and medicine could stop Willis Reed! A healthy Reed to 35 like Russell or almost 37 like Wilt and he would of won 5-6 NBA titles easy! Kareem Jabbar a 56% shooter and stud as a Buck averaging 30 and 16 and yet against Willis Reed 6 wins and 15 losses shooting only 50%! Jabbar was lucky Reed was injured in the 1971 playoffs or the Knicks would of played the Bucks and Jabbar would of had no NBA titles until he had Magic!
How in the hell could former player and coach Doug Moe claim that Kareem was a wash out as a player. During the late 1970's? He won I believe three most valuable player awards during that time period. What is ge talking about!
Kareem might be the most disrespected professional athlete in history, regardless of the sport. All-time leading scorer, all-time leader in blocked shots, six NBA titles, six-time MVP, two-time finals MVP, 19-time all star, five-time all-defensive first team, 10-time all NBA first team, rookie of the year, NBA rebounding champion, two-time NBA scoring champion, three-time NCAA national champion, three-time NCAA player of the year, three-time NCAA final four most outstanding player, and on and on. You almost never hear him in any present day top ten player lists. How bizarre is that? Even when Lebron passes his scoring mark, he will have done it in what is undoubtedly the softest era in NBA history and with the help of close to 2,500 three pointers that did not exist for the majority of Kareem's career. Kareem is the GOAT.
Best athletes I"VE seen and read about 1. Babe Ruth 2. Lou Gehrig 3. Michael Jordan 4. Jim Brown 5. Tom Brady 6. Wilt Chamberlain 7. Tiger Woods 8. kobe bryant 9. Jerry Rice 10. Roger Federer
The guy literally ruined basketball in the 1970's. His style was so efficient, so boring, and he was so damn dominant with that shot, that play style, it made the game boring. It took Freaking White Chocolate Pete Maravich and the introduction of ABA star Julias Irving "DR J" to pump some excitement into the league after Kareem took it over. It was the same in 1980's Strongman competitions. Bill Kazmaier was so dominating from 1979-83 that they banned him from competing for 5 years to give other people shots at winning. The thing with basketball is that the league wasn't new or non-established like WSM and strongman was back then, so they couldn't kick Kareem out for the good of the sport. Thus, they had to let DR J and other street ball style tomahawk dunkers into the league.
This dude was ridiculous’anytime the other team knew what was coming’and and was still helpless’ that’s just ridiculous. This is the goat period.
I agree! The GOAT!
I'm a 5'8 adult...this dude was 5'8 in the 4th grade 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Greatest finesse player of all time. The sky hook was unstoppable and no one can duplicate it!
Greatest offensive weapon in sports, ❤ for have yao ming to face young kareem Abdul-Jabbar skyhook
Gheorghe muresan & yao ming would ❤️ to have fought against the skyhook ;; block party
In 1984, I remembered watching Kareem Abdul Jabbar on TV in a basketball game while I was in college. Breaking the NBA all time scoring record that's been standing for 11 years. And up to this day, it's still top of the list.
And even after Lebron breaks that record, Kareem will STILL be the all time scoring champ.
WHY? Because he did it 2pts at a time. He didn't have the OPTION of the 3pt shot until he was an old man.
I really think that any player who wants to break the official scoring title ought to have their 3pt shots removed and count as 2 pts when the record holder got his 2pts at a time.
I think Lebron's 37000 pts is more like 34,000 when you take out all the 3's. And it's more like only 31,000 currently when you take out all the flop fouls and favorable calls he gets that kareem didn't get.
It would very differicult ( impossible)to break LeBron scoring record
Him and Bill Russell were the most misunderstood basketball players of all time. They had to overcome racism (along with many other african, asian american players) and both were private people. Because they didn't like giving interviews when they were younger doesn't mean they're bad people. No one can be that open to others when the society itself make their lives miserable because of being tall or due to different color skin. Anyway, a well deserved top 3 to 5 basketball player of all time, he was unstoppable with the sky hook for 20 seasons as a professional basketball player.
Facts
Love me some Kareem Abdul Jabbar. That coach felt that negative way about him, Donahue. Demon.
Scored more points than any other player in NBA history
One of the 50 greatest players in NBA history
Won 6 Most Valuable Player awards 🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
6 nba championships
19 time all star ⭐️
3x Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament
3x NCAA champion
11x NBA All-Defense
10x First Team all NBA
5x second team All NBA
Led the NBA in points in 71 and 72
Led the league in rebounds in 76
3x Ncaa Player of the year
1st round pick by an NBA expansion out of UCLA in 1969
Milwaukee Bucks
1969-1975
Los Angeles Lakers
1975-1989
Basketball 🏀 Hall of Fame
College basketball 🏀 hall of fame
LeBron Jame broke Kareem Abdul jabber career scoring points record
The greatest bail-out player i ever saw. I only caught him in the 80's, but what a player. Killed the Celts aspirations so many times.
Among his many accomplishments he is one of 6 players to be named Final Four MOP and NBA Finals MVP but the only player to have multiple awards for both.
They can talk about Lebron and Michael J but nobody dominated every level he played at and has the numbers Kareem has...To me the greatest basketball player ever...bar none.
Sportswriters/casters who wished they had any sports talent (aka skip bayless, dan patrick pugh ...yes you do stink, I would change it too) your 2 cents worth on what you think of Kareem or any pro athlete for that matter ain't worth ISH to me - never has never will....KAJ GOAT
Power Memorial Finest!!!!!!!
The Bucks from 1969 to 1974 won 304 games and the Knicks 266 and yet Willis Reed was 15 and 6 against Kareem or Jabbar was 6 and 15 against Willis!
In the 1970 playoffs in the 5 game Bucks series and the first 4 games of the finals against Wilt, Willis Reed scored 266 points with 120 rebounds shooting 53%. He was injured early in game 5, missed game 6 and Wilt had 45 and 27 and in game 7 could hardly walk but gutted out 27 minutes to inspire the Knicks as Clyde starred and DD had 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Willis was injured in the 1971 playoffs tearing shoulder muscles in his left shooting arm and the Knicks lost for the only time in 6 playoffs to the Bullets in 7, 93-91, was out in the 1972 playoffs with knee surgery and Wilt finally won a title as a Laker and in the 1973 finals Willis with a bad left knee was able to gut out 96 minutes in games 3 to 5 against Wilt scoring 61 points with 33 rebounds shooting 54% winning a second MVP finals award.
Only bad science and medicine could stop Willis Reed! A healthy Reed to 35 like Russell or almost 37 like Wilt and he would of won 5-6 NBA titles easy!
Kareem Jabbar a 56% shooter and stud as a Buck averaging 30 and 16 and yet against Willis Reed 6 wins and 15 losses shooting only 50%!
Jabbar was lucky Reed was injured in the 1971 playoffs or the Knicks would of played the Bucks and Jabbar would of had no NBA titles until he had Magic!
How in the hell could former player and coach Doug Moe claim that Kareem was a wash out as a player. During the late 1970's? He won I believe three most valuable player awards during that time period. What is ge talking about!
✌️ Kareem (J. Lucas) Bird James Magic vs wilt (petite) dr. j kobe oscar 🤔🏀✌️
What happens if they didn't ban the dunk? Would Kareem have been the greatest collage player ever.
He was then bill Walton the big redhead
Banning the dunk .made jabber develop the skyhook shot
Kareem might be the most disrespected professional athlete in history, regardless of the sport. All-time leading scorer, all-time leader in blocked shots, six NBA titles, six-time MVP, two-time finals MVP, 19-time all star, five-time all-defensive first team, 10-time all NBA first team, rookie of the year, NBA rebounding champion, two-time NBA scoring champion, three-time NCAA national champion, three-time NCAA player of the year, three-time NCAA final four most outstanding player, and on and on. You almost never hear him in any present day top ten player lists. How bizarre is that? Even when Lebron passes his scoring mark, he will have done it in what is undoubtedly the softest era in NBA history and with the help of close to 2,500 three pointers that did not exist for the majority of Kareem's career. Kareem is the GOAT.
Kareem or Duncan?
Best athletes I"VE seen and read about
1. Babe Ruth
2. Lou Gehrig
3. Michael Jordan
4. Jim Brown
5. Tom Brady
6. Wilt Chamberlain
7. Tiger Woods
8. kobe bryant
9. Jerry Rice
10. Roger Federer
Gorde howe: ty comb
Walter johnson
@@lloydkline1518 ty Cobb : pete rose legendary baseball hitter
@@lloydkline1518 ty cobb?;; Walter Johnson
Wayne Gretzky
The guy literally ruined basketball in the 1970's. His style was so efficient, so boring, and he was so damn dominant with that shot, that play style, it made the game boring. It took Freaking White Chocolate Pete Maravich and the introduction of ABA star Julias Irving "DR J" to pump some excitement into the league after Kareem took it over.
It was the same in 1980's Strongman competitions. Bill Kazmaier was so dominating from 1979-83 that they banned him from competing for 5 years to give other people shots at winning.
The thing with basketball is that the league wasn't new or non-established like WSM and strongman was back then, so they couldn't kick Kareem out for the good of the sport. Thus, they had to let DR J and other street ball style tomahawk dunkers into the league.
If Kareem is #26 who was #1? Yup, you guessed it, teacher's pet, Jordan. Over Pele, over Ali, over everyone. It was a JOKE.
He was angry because he was over 7 feet tall but his member was only a shy 5 inches.
How do you know, have you seen it?
Kareem top 12
1. Jordan
2. Ali
3. Brady
4. Ruth
5. Russell
6. LeBron
7. Tiger
8. Serena
9. Phelps
10. Gretzky
11. Kareem
12. Mayweather
No wilt Chamberlain smh
Sorry ali is ahead of Jordan
Decent list take LeBron off of it
Montana better than Brady. Also Ruth should be #1 . Always. His legacy lasted 100 years and still the most popular baseball player of all time
Your whole list is off . Kid
Bruce lee beat the shit out of him.
Just a movie.
@@williegordon7899 Bingo
Not just a movie knock it off
Wilt put skyhook shot into trash 🗑 can
The unblocking shot
Wilt; nate Thurmond,; Ralph Sampson;; etc etc knock air out of the skyhook shot put skyhook shot into trash 🗑 can
That's. Why. They. Banned. The. Dunk. In. College Basketball. Cause. They. Didn't. Want. A. Black. Athlete. Totally. Dominating. The. Game. Like. He. Did.