At the peak of his powers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one of the most feared players in the NBA. That fear extended off the court as well, as he was known for being somewhat reserved around players, teammates, and the media. That said, his sense of humor was well known among those close to him, and his teammates were always open to playing pranks on him.
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While speaking to Jennifer Hudson, Kareem talked about the pranks that were, and still are, a part of NBA locker rooms. When Hudson asked if teammates played pranks on each other, he replied, “All the time.”
The Los Angeles Lakers legend went on to elaborate, explaining how, after a game in Boston, some of his teammates got together and cut up his jeans. The reason? They were getting back at Kareem for some of the pranks he had played on them before.
“I remember one time I left Boston, and they had cut up my jeans,” he recalled. “Well, they were getting even with me for some of the tricks I had played on them. We had a really good one where we switched shirts. Two guys that used to hang out together, Larry Spriggs and Mike McGee, often dressed alike, and they came in one night wearing the same shirt, except Larry was a lot bigger than Mike.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened next. Kareem explained that McGee was once hit across the eye and had to leave to get stitches, but because the outfits had been switched, he ended up wearing Spriggs’ shirt, which fit him like a blanket.
This side of Kareem may be new to most people, but he had a simple explanation for why he felt these pranks were essential. “Some part of a professional athlete, you gotta deal with boredom,” he said. “You know, you gotta go someplace, you gotta study players, know ’em, you gotta go over ’em again, and once you get it down, it’s repetitive, and it’s boring. So we do the best we can to keep it light, entertain each other.”
James Worthy, who shared the court with Kareem during their Lakers days, also recalled that pranking the six-time MVP was one of the biggest mistakes you could make. Not because he’d have an outburst, but because he would meticulously plan to get you back, no matter how long it took.
Take the jeans incident, for example. Byron Scott and Michael Cooper were the ones who cut them up, and Kareem bided his time, waiting for the perfect moment to get his revenge. For Cooper, it came in the form of Nair hair remover on his scalp after the DPOY made the grave mistake of falling asleep on the team jet. He ended up with a bald spot on the top of his head for days.
For Scott, it was holes in the toes of his socks, cut out during a winter road trip. That time of year gets really cold, and Scott had to deal with frigid temperatures in less-than-ideal socks. Kareem would never openly show that his teammates’ pranks got to him, but he always made it a point to respond in kind.
