In recent years, the NBA GOAT discussion has become a two-horse race, with all of the discussion centering around who reigns supreme between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Though both of those No. 23s are incredibly worthy of such praise, it’s a bit reductive to the rest of the greats before them to allow nobody else to enter the conversation, especially Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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Former Laker Tracy Murray appeared on the most recent episode of Byron Scott’s Fast Break, and when asked to give his top five players of all time, he didn’t put MJ or LeBron at number one. He went with six-time MVP, 19-time All-Star, and six-time NBA champion.
Murray rounded out his list with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Bill Russell. Surprisingly for the self-professed lifelong Lakers fan, LeBron was nowhere in sight, but he did admit that the answer to this question depends a lot on one’s age. Being 53, Murray went with five guys from the older generation.
Although he did include two of the hated Celtics on his list, Murray admitted to being biased toward the Lakers, and Kareem in particular. He grew up in Pasadena and credits Kareem with inspiring him to become a basketball player.
“He’s the reason why I played,” Murray admitted. “He’s the reason why I went to UCLA, the reason why I picked up a basketball. Five years old I told my dad, I want to play basketball like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar … So Cap is always going to be number one in my eyes.”
What does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have going for him in the GOAT debate?
Murray, who has been the color analyst for UCLA men’s basketball since 2008, has talked about his California roots and his Lakers fandom before, which includes attending Lakers great Michael Cooper’s basketball camp when he was young.
Just because Murray is biased doesn’t mean he’s wrong about Kareem being the GOAT.
He has as many titles as MJ and was only just recently passed by LeBron as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Kareem played for 20 years, won Rookie of the Year, and also made 11 All-Defensive teams. He also invented and perfected an unstoppable shot, the iconic skyhook.
Kareem’s college career has to be taken into consideration as well.
He won a national championship in all three of his seasons at UCLA, winning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award all three times. He was also a three-time First-Team All-American and a two-time AP Player of the Year.
Add Kareem’s legacy of humanitarian work and social activism, plus the fact that he was one of the first athletes to break the “dumb jock” stereotype, and he has a compelling case to be the greatest to ever do it.
