The timeless debate deliberating the greatest player of all time in the NBA captures the attention everyone young and old, including legends of the game. While of late, the debate is centred around two candidates, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, there are many who feel other players, including Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, have rich resumes to warrant a case in the GOAT race.
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Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas presented the GOAT case for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The legendary big man’s candidacy and exploits seems to have been forgotten by the modern fans. In 2022, Abdul-Jabbar’s former Lakers teammates, Byron Scott and James Worthy, made the case for Kareem’s claim to the GOAT throne on the ‘Byron Scott Podcast’.
Scott said,
“You got to take the full body of work. You got to look at what he did in high school. He lost two games in high school. You look at what he did in college, he lost one game in college. Then he gets to the pros, he wins six MVPS and six championships. If you look at all the body of work, there’s not a greater player.”
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Meanwhile, Worthy pointed out how Kareem’s freshman team had beaten the Varsity team in high school, which was ranked #1 nationally. He added how the Lakers legend thrived in the NBA against some of the best centers in the world, like Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, and dominated the league for over two decades.
That alone gets him over the hump.
Thomas took to his Instagram page to share the clip of Scott and Worthy in agreement with their stance regarding Abdul-Jabbar’s GOAT status.
IT gonna push everyone but MJ as the GOAT pic.twitter.com/NESnuqc9Tr
— What are (W)NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) October 20, 2024
The opinions of Scott and Worthy are on point. They pointed toward Kareem’s ability to impact winning from the start of his career. Throughout eight years of high school and college basketball, the big man held a record of 212-8.
In other words, Abdul-Jabbar won 96.4% of the games he played during that time. His career win-loss record stands at 1074-486.
Additionally, there is no other player in NBA history that has won six MVP awards in their career. Michael Jordan and Bill Russell each have five, tying them for the second place. Abdul-Jabbar also held the record for most points all-time before James broke it in February of 2023.
A key point in favor of the argument in support of Kareem is that he only made one three-pointer in his career. This means, he converted significantly more baskets to position himself among the top scorers of all time.
Kareem has made the most field goals at 15,837 in the league’s history, ahead of LeBron. James, who has exactly 14,837 made field goals in his career and is behind by 1000.
It’s really surprising how posterity has overlooked KAJ in the GOAT debate. The only reason for that could be the center style of play wasn’t attractive enough to impress modern fans. But Abdul-Jabbar can definitely give anyone a run for their money with his resume.
