LA Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal joined the NBA in 1992, three years after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired. Shaq went on to become one of the most dominant Centers in the league and was often compared to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Of course, O’Neal was humble enough to be happy with the comparisons and looked up to the legendary Lakers Center. He was famously ignored by Kareem even after joining the Lakers, and never got the kind of mentorship he craved. O’Neal talked about the incident 12 years ago in his book “Shaq Uncut,” and the two ended up squashing their “beef” earlier this year.
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Regardless, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently gave some choice advice to Victor Wembanyama, who made his Summer League debut in a win against the Charlotte Hornets. Wembanyama looked ordinary, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had some telling advice, claiming that he himself sometimes felt clueless towards the start of his career, according to ESPN.
While Wembanyama will be happy to hear the words of encouragement, Shaquille O’Neal might wonder what he had to do in order to receive similar advice back when he was playing. Shaq had an illustrious career, winning 3 of his 4 rings with the LA Lakers, and was yet ignored on multiple occasions by the legendary Lakers Center.
Shaquille O’Neal painted a telling picture of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his book
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was caught unguarded after he heard about Shaq’s comments. In his book, O’Neal claimed that he spent years unhappy with the fact that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar regularly ignored him:
“Kareem was never around. And, whenever I did see him, he usually ignored me. The disappointing thing to me was, being in LA all those years and trying to fill those shoes, I would have liked to have a conversation with him.”
In a Facebook post, Kareem responded to the comments. He claimed that he had no idea Shaq felt this way and wanted his help and advice. Additionally, he had also spent some time with Shaq back at LSU. This was when he was called upon by his then-coach Dale Brown, according to SB Nation.
“All I wanted to do was impress you, sir. … I will never ever have beef with the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar”
This exchange between Shaq and Kareem 🥺❤️ pic.twitter.com/j73ZEd5oGQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2023
However, Shaq’s father, Phillip Harrison, had told the coach that Shaq didn’t need help with the hook shot. This led to Kareem never getting the opportunity to work with him again. The two eventually squashed their beef, and the problem itself appears to be a simple misunderstanding.
Abdul-Jabbar himself reached out to Victor Wembanyama after his Summer League debut
Of course, Kareem himself did not take the kind of initiative that might have been required to mentor a young and upcoming O’Neal. That seems to be no longer true, with Victor Wembanyama receiving some choice words that he will probably value.
Wemby’s Summer League debut did not pan out as seamlessly as expected. He finished with just 9 points, going 15% from the field, leading to some fans already questioning his potential.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recognized that Wembanyama might be fazed. He also took the time out to personally talk to the 19-year-old. Kareem claimed that he himself underwent a similar situation initially. This in itself is bound to ease the pressure on Victor Wembanyama.
