Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the record straight on his feelings about LeBron James surpassing him as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer Tuesday night with a letter he wrote for his Substack on Wednesday.
He praised James for his “unbelievable drive, dedication, and talent to survive in the NBA long enough to rack up [38,390] points when the average NBA career lasts only 4.5 years.”
Magic Johnson, a former teammate of Abdul-Jabbar, went on the record in Oct. 2022 to say he believed the NBA great wouldn’t handle the occasion well.
Abdul-Jabbar emphatically shut down that rumor.
“So much was written about how I would feel on the day he sank that record-breaking shot that I had to laugh,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
“It’s as if I won a billion dollars in a lottery and 39 years later someone won two billion dollars…His winning in no way affects my winning.”
He also reacted to comments by James during the preseason when he curtly said he had no relationship with Abdul-Jabbar.
“I blame myself,” Abdul-Jabbar said when it comes to not having a relationship with James. In his defense, he notes he’s “quiet, shy, and am such a devoted homebody that you’d think I have agoraphobia. I like to read, watch TV, listen to jazz. That’s pretty much it.”
Throw in some wine and tacos, and James and Abdul-Jabbar might become best friends.
In 2021, Abdul-Jabbar criticized James for his cautious support of the COVID-19 vaccine, and he also addressed that in his post, likening it to “the kind of nudging one teammate does with another.”
James should be able to relate.
