National Basketball Association

NBA Icon: Q&A with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:40 p.m. ET

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INGLEWOOD, CA - JUNE 1982: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots over Caldwell Jones #11 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1982 NBA basketball Finals at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The lakers won the Championship 4 games to 2. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Caldwell Jones

A conversation with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an experience in basketball history. A New York City legend back in the golden age of the playground game, he changed coast to play for three John Wooden's championship teams in Westwood. Then he was the captain of the Showtime Lakers, winning five titles in LA. The NBA's all-time leading scorer (who made just one three-pointer), he won the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 (their only championship in franchise history), was a six time league MVP (tied with MJ for most all-time) and is a nineteen time All-Star (an NBA record).

Beyond his stellar basketball resume, Kareem stands tall (not just at 7'2) as an icon for the sport. From his signature Skyhook to his focus on yoga to prolong his career, Kareem was as original of a player as NBA has ever seen. He traded roundhouses with Bruce Lee, was a co-pilot in Airplane, was the first player to trade his Chuck Taylors for Adidas Superstars and was appointed cultural ambassador by Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2012.

For so long we were used to New York being the mecca for basketball. From the playground game, to high school competition, it was the breeding ground for the best players on the planet. How have things changed in New York from your era?

When I played, high school basketball was a big deal in New York and a lot of people were interested in it. I don't see the players coming out of the New York City school system like they used to.

It just seems that the emphasis is going elsewhere and kids in this city aren't playing the game like they used to.

But it really all starts on the playground. It's where you develop your individual skills, learn how to compete and where you can always find a run. How did the playground factor into your development?

That's where I learned to play the game. Actually, though, my first love was baseball. I wanted to play for the Dodgers. When I was a kid, I was a Dodgers fan.

There was a lady, who babysat me, a friend of my mom's and she lived right near the Polo Grounds. You could get into the Polo Grounds for like a quarter after the fourth inning. So, a lot of times she would just take me. I saw Willie Mays play his first year, that was also Joe DiMaggio's last year, I saw them play.

I was into baseball, and Dodger baseball with Jackie (Robinson), Roy Campanella, Duke Snyder and Carl Furillo. It was a very important part of my life, growing up.

I remember listening to the games, and Stan Musial was like Darth Vader. He was tough, he was a one-man gang, but he was awesome.

Then how did basketball make its way into your life?

I saw a movie on the (Harlem) Globetrotters, called "Go Man Go", and thought you know 'basketball might be cool'. I didn't think it was as good as baseball, but it I said it "might be", and I started fooling around with it.

My body got perfect for basketball. Thank heaven for basketball. I didn't have Randy Johnson as a role model.

How did you handle the adjustment, taking your game from the New York playground style of play to John Wooden's way in Westwood?

You know it didn't really change my game that much. Walt Hazzard was the captain of Wooden's very first NCAA championship team, and he was from Philly. He played that Philly game which was quite similar to the way we played in the City. So there were elements of east coast basketball in Wooden's more successful teams because he recruited from all over the country.

MILWAUKEE - 1974: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Milwaukee Bucks walks towards the bench during the NBA Finals played in 1974 at the Milwaukee Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1974 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images)

When you transitioned from the college game to the pros, it was a fluid as we have ever seen. An All-Star and Rookie of the Year in your first year, a championship in your second. Was the emphasis on the one-on-one style of play in the NBA a difference maker for you, versus the extremely detailed, strict team concept that UCLA was?

That's now. When I first came into the league it wasn't one-on-one, it was five-on-five, and teams had a team concept that required that you move the ball and everybody had to play defense.

You had Bill Russell and Wilt (Chamberlain) dominating the game in different ways. There were things that you could learn from them. I learned that Wilt's way didn't work that well. It was all about him, it wasn't about the team.

That was Wilt's approach and it didn't prove to be very overwhelming.

You then go to LA, and that style of play was so revolutionary for its time. How did the concept of Lakers Showtime basketball get sold to you?

The wonderful thing was, no one had to sell that to me. I learned how to play basketball watching Bill Russell's Celtics -- starting in high school. So I understood what it took. You've got to involve everybody that can help you win. It can't be about one player.

Playing for coach Wooden just reinforced that. So I understood what it took to play winning basketball from day one.

Looking at the league now and the style of play, how has the role of the big man changed in today's game?

Anybody that knows how to post up can go out there and do it today. There's nothing stopping anybody from going out there and playing a dominant post up game. It's just that there are no players that are forcing that issue.

When you get the player that can deliver in the paint, he's going to create problems for the other team. It was always happens that way.

Does that start as a young player, being attracted to the three-point shot instead of the post up game?

Right. Young players are falling for a ruse, in that they put a premium on a low percentage shot. High percentage shots win games.

I looked at the stats in 1985 we played the Celtics in the Finals, the most three-point shots taken by either team in a game...was seven.

Nowadays, they're shooting twenty in a half, easily. So that reliance on the three-point shot, it has changed the game. Playing from my era, that's what I see. Why don't you work the ball inside and take a high percentage shot?