Wilt Chamberlain Mentored Young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Inviting Him To Play Cards At His New York Apartment

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was flabbergasted when he visited Wilt Chamberlain at his New York apartment for the first time in his life.

Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are widely known as perhaps the 2 greatest players ever at the center position. Their career trajectories are different, but their careers overlapped with one another for 4 years.

Wilt came into the league in 1959 and began instantly dominating every team and player he played against. Kareem did much the same when he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969.

While Wilt won the MVP trophy as a rookie, Kareem won the accolade twice in his first 3 seasons in the league. Kareem could’ve added a third straight, just like Wilt from 1963-65, but for Dave Cowens’ intervention.

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Kareem looked upto Wilt Chamberlain as a high school player

Kareem was only 12 years old when Wilt Chamberlain played his debut NBA season with the Philadelphia Warriors. At this time, the only other center to play near Wilt’s level was Bill Russell.

But Bill Russell didn’t have the scoring skillset or the wow factor to his game that Wilt possessed. Therefore, it was more natural for Kareem to look up to the 7’2″ behemoth who’d taken the NBA by storm.

Kareem copied Wilt’s scoring methods – particularly his fadeaway jumper – while practicing with his high school team. He also employed the dunk with carefree ease, like his predecessor.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was invited by Wilt to party at his Park West apartment in New York

After a couple of meetings at the Rucker tournament, Wilt took a liking to the 17-year-old Lew. He invited him to come over to his nightclub called Smalls Paradise, even though Kareem was below drinking age.

One other time, Wilt invited Kareem to his house to play cards with him and his friends. This was the first time in Alcindor’s life that he’d been exposed to the lifestyle of a black celebrity. In Kareem’s words from Becoming Kareem:

“Wilt’s apartment was the ultimate bachelor pad, with an antique gold finish on everything in sight. His stereo system was the latest in high-tech, surrounded by a large record collection with some of the jazz albums I owned. Only more. Much, much more.”

“For the first time, I had a coach who was teaching me the possibilities of a successful black man’s lifestyle. If this was the lifestyle I had in store for me, then bring it on!”

Also Read – “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wish I Had Legs Like That”: How Wilt Chamberlain Complimented the Captain During Their First Meeting