Latest news with #Abdul-Jabbar
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"It makes me see that people don't have a very good perspective" - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on why not being mentioned in GOAT debate makes him cringe
"It makes me see that people don't have a very good perspective" - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on why not being mentioned in GOAT debate makes him cringe originally appeared on Basketball Network. The NBA's greatest player of all time conversation has long been a barbershop classic and a never-ending debate that fuels sports radio and lights up social media. But somewhere along the way, the narrative tightened its scope, trimming off the first few golden decades of basketball. The GOAT conversation, it seems, has become a post-1990s affair, dominated by highlights of Michael Jordan, debates over LeBron James' longevity and flashes of Kobe Bryant's killer instinct. What gets lost in modern memory is the era that laid the very foundation. Abdul-Jabbar's distaste One of those names that has been overlooked is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion and six-time league MVP. For someone like that, being routinely excluded from the GOAT debate is an oversight. "It makes me see that people don't have a very good perspective," Abdul-Jabbar said flatly. "I saw Wilt Chamberlain play. Nobody that's talking all that GOAT stuff now probably even saw him play. I saw Bill Russell play … They [the fans] have no idea." At 7-foot-2, Abdul-Jabbar was a force that defined consistency and brilliance for two decades. He retired in 1989 as the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, a record that stood unchallenged for nearly four decades until James surpassed it in 2023. But stats alone don't capture his impact. He won titles with both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, revolutionized the center position with his unstoppable skyhook and delivered under pressure in an era crowded with Hall of Fame talent. But the passage of time has diluted public memory. In the digital era, greatness is too often measured in algorithmic popularity, not historical substance. Wilt Chamberlain recorded NBA2K-like numbers and set almost every record that has been the standard in the league. Bill Russell, the ultimate winner with 11 titles in 13 seasons, anchored the Boston Celtics dynasty and redefined what it meant to lead on and off the court. Related: "Only two guys on that team could fight" - Charles Barkley says "Bad Boy" label for Detroit was highly exaggerated The televised era Abdul-Jabbar's frustration doesn't stem solely from personal exclusion. It's the larger erasure of basketball's pre-1990s greatness from popular discourse. The NBA's archive of televised games from the 1960s and 70s is sparse and social media rarely revisits those early battles in black-and-white or grainy film. Without the highlights, the constant media reinforcement or the perception of greatness becomes skewed. "Because it was long ago, they don't see him play on TV," Abdul-Jabbar said of Chamberlain. "That affects their perspective on who's great and who's the greatest." Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a game, but no video footage of that game is present. What hurts is not just being left out of the debate, but seeing entire eras and players — like Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West — get reduced to trivia answers rather than living pillars of the sport. For Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons, averaged over 24 points and 11 rebounds per game during his peak and led the Lakers through the Showtime era, the silence is louder than the praise. Even the narrative around GOAT status has shifted. Rings are emphasized, but Russell's 11 titles are glossed over. Longevity is admired, but Abdul-Jabbar's two-decade dominance is undervalued. His activism, standing alongside Muhammad Ali and speaking against injustice, adds another layer to his legacy, making him a cultural figure as well as a basketball icon. And yet, despite all this, his name often floats just outside the heated center of the GOAT debate. Related: "Everybody say he is the greatest of all time. I always say what criteria are you using" - George Gervin on why he questions Michael Jordan's status as the GOAT This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
28-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton are united in NBA draft history
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor) and Bill Walton are united as UCLA basketball icons. They both won multiple national championships and are among the very best college basketball players of all time. Kareem and Walton are easily top-10 college basketball players, based strictly on what they achieved when in college. Most college basketball experts would put both in the top five, probably the top three. These two giants also have one other thing in common: They are both No. 1 NBA draft picks who won NBA championships, fulfilling their potential as the top prospects they were. USA TODAY recalled Kareem's tribute to Walton after the ol' redhead's death last year: 'My very close friend, fellow Bruin and NBA rival Bill Walton died today. And the world feels so much heavier now,' Abdul-Jabbar wrote. 'On the court, Bill was a fierce player, but off the court, he wasn't happy unless he did everything he could to make everyone around him happy. He was the best of us.' Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar won the 1971 NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks and collected many more titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. Walton won the Portland Trail Blazers' only NBA championship in 1977 before then winning it all with the 1986 Boston Celtics. Two towering centers left behind legacies to match, with elite achievements in the world of pro basketball. As a postscript, it is also worth noting that "They met in the 1977 Western Conference finals, with Walton's Portland Trail Blazers sweeping Abdul-Jabbar's Los Angeles Lakers on their way to an NBA title. They would match up again in the playoffs, this time in the 1987 NBA Finals, with Walton then playing for the Boston Celtics. Walton and the Celtics won the 1986 NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets before Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers defeated them the following year."
Iraqi News
25-06-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq loses $250,000 per day due to airspace closure
Baghdad ( – Iraq lost at least $250,000 per day after deciding to close its airspace due to the exchange of missile attacks between Iran and Israel. Before the conflict arose, more than 700 planes flew over Iraq on a daily basis, and many of them have since been redirected to other countries' airspace, according to Shafaq News. Foreign airlines' service charge losses do not include those incurred by Iraqi Airways, Iraq's national carrier, which has ceased the majority of its domestic and international flights. According to Iraqi specialists, a passenger airplane using Iraqi airspace pays $450 in transit fees, while cargo airplanes spend roughly $700. Member of the Iraqi parliament's transport committee, Amer Abdul-Jabbar, indicated that Iraq has incurred significant losses since the airspace was closed on June 13 due to the Iran-Israel war. According to Abdul-Jabbar, direct losses are expected to be more than $250,000 a day, excluding losses incurred by Iraqi Airways as well as indirect costs incurred by foreign airlines, Iraq's airports, and ground services within the country. After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on June 13, claiming that it was preventing Tehran from getting nuclear weapons, airlines continued to avoid huge sections of the Middle East. This avoidance was due to ongoing missile confrontations between Israel and Iran, the latest disruption in the region.
Iraqi News
17-06-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Airspace closure causes Iraq to lose $250,000 daily
Baghdad ( – Iraq's parliamentary transport committee revealed on Tuesday that the closure of its airspace caused by the Israeli-Iranian war costs the country more than $250,000 every day. Committee member Amer Abdul-Jabbar told Shafaq News that over 500 aircraft crossed Iraqi airspace daily before the outbreak of the war between Iran and Israel. Iraq earned $450 for each aircraft that crossed its airspace, which suggests that the monthly profits were around $6.7 million, as stated by Abdul-Jabbar. The Iraqi lawmaker indicated that the country has lost additional earnings, such as those generated from arriving and departing planes, cargo, and other airline services. On May 13, Baghdad suspended all civilian and military flights until further notice, citing concerns of an escalation and significant security threats to Iraqi airspace. Tensions between Israel and Iran have risen significantly since June 13, when Israel launched a surprise attack on Iranian territory. Tehran reacted that night with a barrage of missile assaults on Israeli military targets and infrastructure. The exchange of strikes has resulted in scores of fatalities and extensive material damage on both sides, causing widespread international and regional worry, as well as concerns that the situation might escalate into a larger conflict that jeopardizes the region's security and stability.
Shafaq News
17-06-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
$250K-a-day loss: Iraq tallies cost of Iran-Israel war
Shafaq News/ Iraq is losing over $250,000 per day due to the airspace closure amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, an Iraqi MP revealed on Tuesday. The member of the Parliamentary Transport Committee, Amer Abdul-Jabbar, told Shafaq News that 'more than 500 aircraft used to pass through Iraqi airspace daily before the outbreak of the war, with Iraq collecting $450 per plane, meaning monthly revenues amounted to several million dollars.' He added that Iraq has also lost other aviation-related revenues, including those from incoming and outgoing flights, ticket sales, services, and airline operations. Abdul-Jabbar urged the Ministry of Transport to document all losses in official records to be submitted in a protest memorandum by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the UN, demanding compensation for damages.
