Kareem Abdul-Jabbar refutes Magic Johnson, who claimed his former teammate would grieve LeBron James passing his scoring tally.
Advertisement
‘LeBron is the GOAT’ noises have become louder than ever before in the past 24 hours and change. The King surpassed Kareem’s regular season points tally with a 38-point display on Tuesday.
The game was stopped right in the middle for fans and everyone present to commemorate the landmark achievement. Adam Silver congratulated James for his achievement, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave him a basketball as a symbolic passing of the torch.
However, on what was such a momentous night for NBA fans worldwide, James wound up with a loss. He hobbled off the floor late in the 4th quarter after scoring only 2 points in the period. The Thunder took the game 133-130 at the full-time whistle.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar denies the Magic Johnson claim about his unhappiness at LeBron James’ feat
Having been present for James passing his tally, Kareem will also be at Crypto.com Arena for a pre-game felicitation for LeBron ahead of their Bucks game.
Ahead of this game, Abdul-Jabbar has penned down a column about his feelings on LeBron passing him. He has lavished some well-deserved praise on the Lakers superstar while also dismissing the notion that he resents LeBron. In particular, he singles out Magic Johnson:
“I love Earvin and, after forty years of friendship, he knows me pretty well. If he publicly announced that I had suddenly shrunk to 5’2”, even I would be tempted to believe him. But, in this case, he was very, very wrong.”
“The only time I ever think of the record is when someone brings it up. I retired from the NBA 34 years ago. For the past 20 years, I’ve occupied myself with social activism, my writing career, and my family—especially my three grandchildren.”
“Sorry, Earvin. I love you, brother, but this time you got it wrong. I’m not the grumpy grandpa on the porch yelling at kids to stay off my lawn.”
What does LeBron have to do to be considered the GOAT?
It’s very unlikely that James ever ascends to the unanimous GOAT stature that Michael Jordan had till like 2018. At a minimum, most basketball fans believe that Jordan’s peak was the highest ever ascended by a player.
Yet, given the extreme longevity displayed by James at the highest level, he’s going to have a ton of records to his name for the rest of posterity. In the years to come, voices advocating for his case will only grow louder.
Ultimately, team sports are about winning championships, however, and James will likely need at least one final cry before he takes the lead in most GOAT discussions. For the time being, Jordan’s status seems to be safe, though under greater peril with each passing LeBron game.
