That was a quote from Magic Johnson’s book "My Life", about his relationship with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If anyone knew Kareem the best on the Lakers, it was Magic, who was assigned to Jabbar in his rookie season as a rite of initiation.
I had the same sense of trepidation in approaching the six-time NBA Most Valuable Player when we were granted an interview at the adidas Superstar Camp in Shanghai recently. He did, after all, build that monolithic façade that he was unapproachable. But then, our interview with him lasted almost half an hour, the longest of any of the delegations present. He spoke candidly and openly, even cracking a joke in his usually deadpan. What struck me most was the detail with which he recalled his life. We asked him about his relationship with adidas, how he came to instruct at the camp in China, and his Sky Hook collection for the brand.
"I think that the reason they gave me a chance is the fact that what I did, the legacy I left, still has not been surpassed in terms of achievement. And achievement has to count for something. So teaching young people who want to achieve, they can still emulate what I did," he explained.
With such a long list of achievements in the NBA record book–some of which will never be erased–which moment stood out the most?
"I don’t know if I can say it was the defining moment of my career, but certainly it was the most satisfying moment of my career: beating the Celtics in 1985," says Jabbar, who won five NBA titles with Los Angeles to Boston’s three in the 1980’s. "I won the MVP in the playoffs and I’m still the oldest person to do that. So it was a very, very important milestone for me, because it was a testimony of my endurance and quality of my career from the front to the back."
At that point, the Lakers were 0-8 against the Celtics in NBA finals series since the 1950’s. Definitely, it was a breakthrough for the franchise. But was there anything else Kareem wishes he had done better, looking back after being retired for 16 years?
"With regard to basketball, I don’t have any complaints. A few things could have gone better: if we hadn’t been injured in 1983 and in 1989– we could have won seven championships with the Lakers. That’s just the breaks of the game. Personally, I had hoped to meet Sophia Loren, but it never happened," he quipped and smiled. "We all have to deal with some disappointment." Always one to recognize history and all his major influences, the 20-year NBA veteran also credits former Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan with the seeds of what eventually became his trademark shot.
"Sky hook is basically what I use from what I learned from George Mikan," Jabbar recalls. "When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, the people in my grade school were saying, "Hey, you’re pretty tall. You might be a center one day. So maybe you should learn these moves in the pivot." And I was just fortunate enough to be working on it that early, as part of my game."
Jabbar was clearly fond of his years at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to an undefeated record for three years. Kareem wore a UCLA cap at the camp’s awarding ceremonies. Since we were on the subject of basketball influences, we asked him whom he preferred to play for, his college coach John Wooden, or his Laker mentor Pat Riley.
"You can’t compare them. John Wooden has forgotten more about the game than Pat Riley will ever get to know," Jabbar answered quickly. "And that’s not a knock on Pat. But John Wooden is just a cut above every other coach I’ve played for. Pat Riley worked hard and did a great job; I take nothing from him. John Wooden is just in a class by himself."
As with many retired players, Jabbar also had a lot to say about the current version of the NBA. Coming from an era of racial segregation and inner city struggle in New York, and even boycotting the 1968 Olympics because of America’s poor treatment of African-Americans, Kareem believes the modern crop of players don’t appreciate their heritage.
"I think young players today don’t appreciate how great the opportunity is for them to play in the NBA. They take it for granted that there is a professional basketball league that will pay them lots of money to do what they love. It wasn’t always like that," he elaborates. "In the early days, they had to endure segregated hotels in Atlanta, things of that nature, being cheated out of their salaries. That was part and parcel of it. There’s a whole lot of things about this game that were quite different. People didn’t see that it would end up like this, the most popular game in the world."