Kyrie Irving says and believes in things that would not make sense for most normal human beings in their right mind. Yet, the way he has been treated by media, fans, and some players over the years is ruthless. Especially Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Advertisement
The legend of the game of basketball has been brutal whenever he has spoken about Kyrie. Whether it was his stance on vaccination or his recent anti-Semitic views, Irving keeps receiving unfiltered criticism from the 7’3 old man who has had strong opinions and voice since his playing days.
But a certain somebody who has had some battles against the highest point scorer in NBA history and won the championship against him in 89’, believes, that the former superstar is just trying to keep himself relevant by always critiquing younger players.
John Salley believes Kareem Abdul Jabbar is seeking relevance whenever he jumps on Kyrie Irving and LeBron James
In a recent appearance on NFL legend and Fox Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, former Pistons and Lakers big man, John Salley, took shots at his former club’s icon.
“I think somebody is saying to him (Kareem), ‘if you wanna get things going and become relevant, and be able to garner money where they bring you in, you gotta say something that is asinine.’”
We saw Wilt Chamberlain do it to Kareem in public after Wilt’s retirement. And we are now witnessing Abdul-Jabbar carrying that torch of an old-school bully in a much similar way.
Although he is not wrong with his take on Kyrie, his consistent and lightning-fast criticism of the likes of Irving and LeBron James on almost every issue, is proof of him trying to keep himself relevant, much more than him being a “voice of the people” of some sort.
Why would one of the GOATs of the game fight for relevance, if at all it is true?
Despite playing the game for over 20 years, being a 6x MVP, 6x NBA Champ, Top Scorer of all-time, 19x All-Star and with many more unbelievable achievements for one player, the 75-year-old has been overlooked for the GOAT title since Michael Jordan came in and started dominating in the league full of legends.
Since then, Kareem has been vocal about his case of being GOAT. And he hasn’t had much success in it after the Bulls legend matched his rings tally back in 1998.
Whether he likes it or not, Jordan was and will be the better player among the two for most basketball enthusiasts. As far as LeBron goes, Kareem’s debate about him being better than The King should be relevant even after James crosses him on the all-time scoring list.
