They couldn't stop Kareem from scoring so they banned the dunk thinking that would stop him. So Kareem brought out the skyhook and overcame the ban on dunking. Still not being able to stop Kareem, opposing players tried to scratch his eyes. That worked for a few games, then Kareem wore goggles to protect his eyes. With nothing left to stop Kareem he went on to win six NBA championships, six MVP awards, and became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. No player has ever had the ability to score from 10 feet out like Kareem could. He was the Lakers half-court offense in 1980’s.
+Floyd Munn I remember reading it when I was in 7th or 8th grade and liking it a lot. In fact, a couple years ago I re-read it and liked it even more. Definitely an underrated book. If you have time, do check it out.
There was NEVER a NBA or ABA rule against dunking. The NCAA’s ban on dunks lasted for ten seasons until 1976-1977 - so the Doctor wasn't allowed to dunk in college, but certainly could AND DID as soon as he entered the ABA - around 1971. He probably DID dunk in High School before that though.
@@ckobo84 I’m sure race played a factor in banning the dunk because one has to wonder if a dominant white center would have come along, the NCAA probably would have lauded him instead of handicapping him.
Still in my opinion the greatest player I ever saw. UCLA freshman team scrimmage and beat the UCLA varsity team that were the NCAA champs.Freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity in those days.
+Ernie Johnson John Wooden said that Jabbar could score at least 40 points a game or more if he wanted to in college, but if he would allow that to happen they wouldn't have won 3 straight National Championships. Basketball is a team sports John Wooden always preach that.
Back in the day Lew Alcindor when a freshman wasn't on the varsity team at UCLA. All Freshman were on the jr. varsity team. When they talked about Lew and the Varsity team they said Alcindor and the jr Varsity team beat the Varsity team regularly. They couldn't wait until Alcindor became a sophomore and could be on the varsity.
Now you see that dunking can be detrimental with the no dunk rule Jabar developed the best post move ever the, Sky Hook and developing a soft touch around the paint is crucial for players to become great scorers Look at McHale and Moses Malone,Hakeem, Bird, MJ and other greats it's harder to hit from 3' than 15' or30' sometimes with dudes in your face
I should point out though, that Jabbar claims he developed the skyhook at a young age in gradeschool working on the Mikan drill, before he ever had to deal with dunking being banned in the NCAA.
Wilt Chamberlain Archive Yes that's true but I wonder why nobody has copied it I remember Artis Gilmore trying it but he was not as successful ,and if you notice Kareem had to get one dribble to kinda get his rhythm or he would miss it usually. Larry Bird said of Kareem after loosing to the LA Lakers in the finals, the year Kareem won the Finals MVP "they have a big guy with a shot that nobody can block and when he is hitting it there's not much you can do about it"
+David Hammond I dont understand, if he's close enough to dunk the ball cant he just not touch the rim and it wont be considered dunking? or do they have a different definition of dunking than i do...
+Minkar Thats what they use to do just drop the ball in the rim. When i first remember watching college basket ball in the seventies David Thompson was known for catching the alley oop and just dropping in the rim.
Kareem to me is the best offensive inside player, just so dominant and unstoppable. I sometimes struggle to pick Hakeem over him, but it's only because Hakeem played in a time where there was a lot more demand of players athletically and strategically and more intensity, it wasn't as simple as casually running up, getting an inside pass and easy skyhook. Hakeem I think had to hustle more, but hard to pass up a guy that was so simple yet so effective. Hakeem had more moves, but Kareem only needed one move, and it was unstoppable.
They banned the dunk but the only way you could have stopped him from scoring was to ban Kareem himself. That was the most dominating player on the planet in his time.
Thanks for another excellent video! I was fortunate to have seen Kareem in his prime and in my opinion he is the second most dominant player in the history of the game behind Wilt. Kareem also won 3 NCAA titles in 3 years and Imo the most dominant college player ever. His skyhook is arguably the most devastating single weapon/shot in the history of the game. In his prime he was easily the best center in basketball.
who's being negative? give me their names and address. Kareem played in three different decades and as other big men came on gone...Kareem was still around winning championships.
God DAMMIT, WHY oh WHY doesn't a modern centre master the sky hook and bring back real back to the basket moves and those sweet inside J's! A centre back in the day was pure stylish CLASS!!!
Back in the day it was all about centers like bill russel, wilt, and magic but ended up being a point gaurd then the guards started to appear and ever since then its been an all team effort
There's no one NBA center in today's game remotely close to Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Unseld, Bellamy, Thurmond, Reed, Cowans, Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing, Shaq, Malone or Lanier.
Yup, the game today is all about traveling, palming the ball, carrying over (ridiculously called the "cross over"), endless three point attempts, non defensed dunks, and a total lack of fast break offense, or low post play. Boring and predictable. Thanks ESPN, for ruining every major sport by attempting to make athletic competition into "entertainment" for unintelligent fans. If guys like Tim Duncan is too "boring" for you, it's because your team is filled with spectacular losers. It's not about entertainment, it's about winning.
Zion, Giannis, Simmons, Davis, Westbrook are "remotely close" to any one of those players you mentioned. All of those old time players were from a completely different era, where there wasn't even a 3 point line. The modern day NBA is more about ball spacing, screens, pick and rolls, and positionless basketball. Just wait till they introduce the 4 point line. 🤣
Kareem became more and more unstoppable even with the banning of the dunk. UCLA was at its pinnacle during his time there and it's cool to hear the John Wooden's comments on his greatest player.
20 rebounds in todays NBA? No way. He would probably score 30 but i don't think anyone could average 20 rebounds in todays NBA, not even wilt or russell
All you have to do is look the the 90s when Dennis Rodman averaged 18+ for a year or so. He was 6-8 230. Wilt was 7-2 300 and just as athletic or more than Rodman. The pace of the 90s was slower than Wilt's day and perhaps slower than today. It's all hypothetical. We don't know. Wilt played from the 50s to 70s, not in the 90s or 00s.
From 1935 until the 1980s, the basketball rules makers were utterly horrified at the idea of big tall strong players controlling the game so they passed rules change after rules change to handicap tall players.
I miss old school big men like Kareem, Hakeem and Shaq. Guys who could actually read the game. Now it's all about athleticism, quick feet and pick'n'rolls. But I guess it's inevitable, it goes too fast nowadays.
He would be on the bench in the 80's and 90's. Dude is good not great. And his defense is horrible. Barkley, Webber, Karl Malone, Olajuwon, Ewing, Robinson, Duncan, Shaq, Larry Johnson even, Mourning, Kareem, Bird, Mchale, Rodman, Moses Malone, Big Game Worthy, Wilkins, would have DESTROYED him and he would have had SERIOUS problems dealing with very good players like Derek Coleman, Shawn Kemp, Jamal Mashburn, Larry Nance, Mark Acquire, Alex English, Cliff Robinson. Also the league was filled with SUPER VILLIANS like Laimbeer, Mahorn, Oakley, Xavier Mcdaniel, Anthony Mason, Mark Eaton and Mutombo who would slap the crap out of players, hurt players and more with no fouls called. Al Jefferson would therefore look pitiful. His confidence would be shattered as he sat quietly on the bench. Ditto for Memphis frontcourt lol
The zone defense rules in the NBA changing in the mid 2000s is why they are much less common now. You can much more easily hedge on a low post threat before he has the ball, making it much harder to even get him the ball. It's a lot more turnover prone because of that change as well.
I do vividly remember when he came to the Bucks and when the Bucks began. My brother got that jersey number for his team in High School and just played every game and was in every group in the city- trophy after trophy. And I remember on the little transistor radio every time he made a shot "Al cin dor!"
I recalled watching him play alongside the great Oscar Robinson in Milwaukee, where he won his first nba championship. I witnessed him blocking a shot on The great Jo Jo White of Boston who was shooting the ball from the corner and Lew Alcindor ( his name at the time) while nearly under the rim went up and block the shot in mid air. Incredible on defense as well as on offense. He was a decent free throw shooter for a big man also e.g. shot in the 70% range during his career. His was a delight to watch. He was also a great actor on court. The refs would call him for a foul and his would make this loud outcry e.g. AWHAA !!! He would afterwards walk quietly on the defensive end of the court to prepare to play defense. Hilarious, funny, and entertaining. My favorite of all time. He won more MVPs than all past and present nba .players, because he was the all time M.V.P. of the N.B.A. Kareem Abdul Jabbar . Magic let everyone know who was the foundation of showtime by saying, " He is our leader ". Thanks Capt.
the dunk was banned because of Don Haskins and the 1966 Texas Western aka UTEP team. there is a picture of David Lattin dunking over Pat Riley in 1966 NCAA title game.
Yes, I also believe that Coach Rupp played a MAJOR hand in having the dunk banned. His loss to Texas Western was a huge blow to his ego...and those black players were slam dunking all over Rupp's white team. White players had a tough time defending the dunk. I'll never believe that it had anything to do with the excessive amount of points that KAJ was racking up. That was just the NCAA's excuse--and it was a poor one at that.
Add Alcindor's dominance in 67 with Texas Western destroying Kentucky in 66 and the NCAA saw a future where they couldn't control the game. The ban was ridiculous, but the thought of black players dominating the game made it an easy decision. Sadly, it kept me and my class from dunking in junior high, high school and college...68 through 76. I started dunking in the 8th grade... But, I could only do it on the playgrounds.
Making the game harder for Kareem, Wilt and Russell. Meanwhile making it easier for others. Imagine that. They are still doing that today, changing the rules to favor long distance shooters and those that are less athletic. Making the NBA great again.
Kareem was a BAD man! I count myself lucky to be able to witness someone taking GODs design of the human body to new levels. MJ was another one of those humans who really showed off the beautiful and awesome design of GODs human body design.
99.8% of all species that ever lived on earth are now extinct. A dumb way to go about it if there were a designer, but makes sense for evolution and natural selection.
to Jules Winfield,thats was the most ridiculous comment of all time. Wilt didn't have a better team,Russell played with 9 or 11 hall of famers. He didn't make them great,they were already great. Bob Cousy was great before Russell even got there. Russell had the better teams
I have been saying the very same thing now for 40 years. The Celtics were a playoff contender before Russell arrived. And that crap about the Celtics not wanting Wilt is bullshit, because Red Auerbach himself was trying to get Wilt to go to Harvard of all places so that he could get him in the territorial draft which was instituted in the NBA back in the 50's! Russell played a role for the Celtics to just play defense and rebound, but Wilt was definitely the much better player.
Bill Walton played almost like Kareem did before the skyhook. I've wondered if that was because of Wooden's influence, or if that style was recruited, or if that was the archetypical center of the day.
If Kareem didn't become Muslim/change name and was friendlier to media he would be considered greatest of all time equally with mj. Before you reply look at the numbers.
+jays0909 He's considered to be on the same level as Michael. Being a Muslim or not being "friendly" didn't and probably wouldn't have an effect on how he was looked at as a basketball player.
+ThePlaterism he is considered on the same level as Michael by those who are viewing him through an un biased filter but most casual fans etc do not cause the media is who shines the spotlight on specific athletes without that casual fans don't care. My reference was to him being unfriendly with media, who decides who gets the attention and so forth so absolutely it does...
+jays0909 well then casual fans need to learn to think on their own and come to their own conclusions. It's as simple as that. Who gives a damn what anyone else thinks?
i am not looking at no numbers personality has nothing to do with how great a player is ranked. tim duncan quiet as hell...top15 players of all time...now if he was loud mouthed would that make him the top 5? nope.
Alcindor in his prime could even compete with Wilt when Wilt was in his 14th season - wouldn't have been pretty to see a young Chamberlain against Kareem when Kareem was in his 14th season...
I remember when Red Sarachek would work on Kareems footwork after Powers practice and before Yeshiva universities practice coach Jack wad one of Reds deciples
The theory was height and elite athleticism was triumphing over skill . No one considered that they could be merged in Kaj mj et. al. THEYD ALREADY WIDENED THE LANE AND OUTLAWED GOAL TENDING DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE, IMPOSED THE 3 SECOND , AND THEN THE 5 SECOND DRIBBLING COUNT. KAJ WAS MERELY THE BEST AT TECHNIQUE AND ATHLETIC development because he worked at it with some great teachers like jack donohue and john wooden took tutelage from WILT. AND HAD THE FORTITUDE COURAGE , PERSEVERANCE , AND INTELLIGENCE TO MAKE HIMSELF THE GOAT OF HIS ERA. THE DUNK BAN ACTUALLY HELPED HIM EXPAND HIS GAME WHICH HE PLAYED WITH THE GRACE OF A GIRAFFE PICKING LEAVES OFF A 100 FOOT TREE. ANIMALS GENERALLY DONT MESS WITH GIRAFFES BECAUSE THEY CAN SEE TROUBLE A LONG WAY OFF CAN RUN LIKE GAZELLES AND CAN STOMP YOU IF YOU CROWD THEM AS THEYRE DECEPTIVELY STRONG . KAJ IS A MAN OF INTELLIGENCE GRACE STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY. AN AUTHOR AN AND EXPERT WHO SEES FAR BEYOND ON A DUNK BAN. THE SKY HOOK EXISTED BEFORE IT BUT GOT PERFECTED ALONG WITH JUMP HOOKS , TURN AROUNDS BANK SHOTS AND RUNNERS BECAUSE HE WORKED AT HIS CRAFT. OH YES THE DUNK IS AN EXHIBITION OF POWER BUT GENERALLY NOT GRACE.
There is no player in the nba today who can go up that high with the ball in hands with one step like kareem in collegue, omg he took one step was almost at the half of the paint went up as high as he could way above the square and then dunked it extremly hard. I believe Kareem and Wilt had to be the biggest collogue beasts of all time then comes shaq who was 2-3 inches shorter
Kareem denied my dad an autograph at one time, which he was going to give to me. This was in the late 70's. Read any story about him, he never gave autographs.
200mphz06 that may be the dumbest thing ive heard this month. Suicide bombers commit suicide to display their loyalty to their God not to become martyrs.
Tyrelle Davenport Suicide bombers do what they do for political reasons. If it were solely for loyalty to their God they would simply bomb their neighbor or cousin.
+SrykerJlt I don't know how we got from talking b-ball to talking about suicide bombers. That topic is for another forum. Maybe 200mphz06 got lost. lol
Well basketball is a big mans game, Kareem could adapt to the new rules without any type of difficulty because he was that flexible and talented not to mention unstoppable, he was the GOAT in his era according to my estimation...
Wilt was 7-1 and 1/16th of an inch tall without shoes, with a 7-8 inch armspan, in the NBA he played at weights between 258 and 310lbs Kareem was 7-1 and 7/8ths of an inch tall without shoes, with a 7-5 inch armspan, in the NBA he played at weights between 231 and 267lbs
Wilt Chamberlain Archive Jabbar claimed he was 7'1, but ask any centers he played against, they'll tell you they're 7', and that Kareem had a good 5 inches on them.
Nba history of Racism ..... 1) The Lanes where widened because Wilt Chamberlain was dominating way to much. 2) NCAA bans the Dunk to stop Kareem Abdul Jabar from Dominating next level. ( Coach John Wooden teaches him to adjust and develop The Sky Hook!, the most dominating Shot in History ) 3) When the Slam Dunk was first allowed , they originally wanted to make it only worth 1 point. It was deemed way to flashy and classless. If you watch early Dunk Competitions , commentators actually state that touching the rim to much is a bad thing. Dominique Wilkins Slam Dunk was actually put down as to much contact with Rim.
I beg to differ. I believe it came from the 6'4 to 6'9 brothers who were dunking in college games especially the guys from texas western a la Wille Cager David Lattin, Nevil Shed. Also New York street ballers as well.
Sad to know the Rules have been changed to the point of effectively eliminating the Center and " back to the basket" skills...the game is poorer for it. Kareem is hugely underrated, rivaled only by Wilt(truly the greatest athlete to ever play the game) and Hakeem on the Offensive end.....
Because freshman couldn't play varsity at UCLA back then, Kareem led the freshman team to a preseason shallacking of the varsity, who were coming off a national champoinship!
BlackStarr007 ??? You're kidding...right? From 1967 to 1976 it was illegal to dunk in both high school and college. 'The Alcindor Rule'...do some research.
Now I see! The dunk shot was outlawed because of Lew Alcindor. In those days, “the powers to be” said that the shot showed no skill in the game of basketball and that the players were bending the basketball rims. However they still could not stop Alcindor. He developed the “ Sky Hook”!!!!🏀
Saw him play at UCLA and the pros. Also saw all the greats after (Jordan, Magic, Bird etc) and IMO, Cap is best of all. While MJ may have had a higher ceiling, KAJ was the best over the length of his career. Check out the stats of the Bucks the year prior to his arrival and then the year he came aboard and you will see the impact. Next do the same with MJ and you will see it's a no brainer. KAJ=GOAT. KAJ faced the best and beat legendary teams; MJ faced far inferior opponents.
Then compare the same stats for the Celtics and Russell's arrival - and don't forget to factor in that the Celtics TRADED AWAY A 6 TIME ALL-STAR AND FUTURE HALL OF FAME PLAYER for the right to draft Russell. Walton had a similar effect in HIS rookie year as well - and all *3* were far more effective in their rookie years than Jordan was.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 Walton averaged 12.8 points and 12.6 Rebs, 4.8 assists as a rookie. Russell averaged 14.7 points and 19.6 Rebs, 1.8 assists on 42% shooting. I'll take rookie Jordans 28.2 points, 6.5 Rebs, 5.9 assists, 2.4 steals on 51% shooting.
I think a players peak is more important than the scope of their career when ranking the best NBA players of of all time. Also averaging 6 more points per game over the course of a career is very significant.
@mericanmodi8479 ONE bloody season. By the last championship, Russell and Sam Jones was tiring to the point they RETIRED at the end of the season, Havlicek was prime, and both Tom Sanders and Bailey Howell were in their last EFFECTIVE season and fading badly - and as usual, they were FACING teams with 3 or 4 PRIME Hall of Fame level players pretty much every night. The "advantages" Russell had are often overstated.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
They banned the wrong shot. They should have made hook shooting illegal. LOL.
+Joseph Wright ...funny, but TRUE!!!! They should have banned the Sky Hook!! LOL!!
Anthony Moody
Banning the dunk is a rule designed for someone like Shaquille O'Neal.
True
+Joseph Wright typical response from someone who is typically an idiot
+gary watkins man shut your too black to be seen head ass up
They couldn't stop Kareem from scoring so they banned the dunk thinking that would stop him. So Kareem brought out the skyhook and overcame the ban on dunking. Still not being able to stop Kareem, opposing players tried to scratch his eyes. That worked for a few games, then Kareem wore goggles to protect his eyes. With nothing left to stop Kareem he went on to win six NBA championships, six MVP awards, and became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. No player has ever had the ability to score from 10 feet out like Kareem could. He was the Lakers half-court offense in 1980’s.
+Frank Jones How many rings did Russell win. I'm told that he had a ring for each of his fingers plus one extra!
+Liam Keyes eleven
+Liam Keyes more rings than fingers.
So? Go post it on Russell's videos. Enough of the hate! Russell was Russell, Kareem was Kareem. They were BOTH great.
Yep. Kareem down in the post... Sky hook all day!!! #dagr81
Remembering Kareem from his last years with the Lakers it is easy to forget how athletic and agile he was. Thanks for sharing the footage!
There's an excellent book out there which is the autobiography of Kareem, it's called 'Giant Steps' it was published in 1984.
Word I remember seeing it in my high school library
+Floyd Munn
I remember reading it when I was in 7th or 8th grade and liking it a lot. In fact, a couple years ago I re-read it and liked it even more. Definitely an underrated book. If you have time, do check it out.
Yup, I read it when it came out
@@veerchasm1 in 1984?
Julius Erving didn't dunk till 1971 because of the rules .
The dunk was banned in college that is why Kareem learned the sky hook in college
My gut feeling is banning the dunk may have been racially motivated thinking it would give white players a better chance to compete.
@@ckobo84 in the pro's it wasn't banned it just wasn't good for your health if entered the paint to dunk.
There was NEVER a NBA or ABA rule against dunking.
The NCAA’s ban on dunks lasted for ten seasons until 1976-1977 - so the Doctor wasn't allowed to dunk in college, but certainly could AND DID as soon as he entered the ABA - around 1971.
He probably DID dunk in High School before that though.
@@ckobo84 I’m sure race played a factor in banning the dunk because one has to wonder if a dominant white center would have come along, the NCAA probably would have lauded him instead of handicapping him.
Still in my opinion the greatest player I ever saw. UCLA freshman team scrimmage and beat the UCLA varsity team that were the NCAA champs.Freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity in those days.
+Ernie Johnson John Wooden said that Jabbar could score at least 40 points a game or more if he wanted to in college, but if he would allow that to happen they wouldn't have won 3 straight National Championships. Basketball is a team sports John Wooden always preach that.
Jabbar won 3 straight National Championship in college.
Banning the dunk did absolutely nothing. People instead just dropped it in from above the rim without touching the rim. It was an ill conceived idea.
@Mac Turner Bill Walton.
@Mac Turner An absurd remark. Your racism is showing your ignorance of the game and it's players.
@@obbor4 Pigskins burn in the sun.
@@macklinflaherty6588 Trash.
@@africanlogic757 lol
Great clips! Just discovered this channel yesterday, and i love it!
Back in the day Lew Alcindor when a freshman wasn't on the varsity team at UCLA. All Freshman were on the jr. varsity team. When they talked about Lew and the Varsity team they said Alcindor and the jr Varsity team beat the Varsity team regularly. They couldn't wait until Alcindor became a sophomore and could be on the varsity.
one more thing . the varsity won a national championship.
John Rose #1 team in the nation but #2 team on campus
@@roybuford7538 "#1 team in the nation but #2 team on campus" Wild!!
Now you see that dunking can be detrimental with the no dunk rule Jabar developed the best post move ever the, Sky Hook and developing a soft touch around the paint is crucial for players to become great scorers Look at McHale and Moses Malone,Hakeem, Bird, MJ and other greats it's harder to hit from 3' than 15' or30' sometimes with dudes in your face
I should point out though, that Jabbar claims he developed the skyhook at a young age in gradeschool working on the Mikan drill, before he ever had to deal with dunking being banned in the NCAA.
Wilt Chamberlain Archive Yes that's true but I wonder why nobody has copied it I remember Artis Gilmore trying it but he was not as successful ,and if you notice Kareem had to get one dribble to kinda get his rhythm or he would miss it usually. Larry Bird said of Kareem after loosing to the LA Lakers in the finals, the year Kareem won the Finals MVP "they have a big guy with a shot that nobody can block and when he is hitting it there's not much you can do about it"
+David Hammond I dont understand, if he's close enough to dunk the ball cant he just not touch the rim and it wont be considered dunking? or do they have a different definition of dunking than i do...
+Minkar Thats what they use to do just drop the ball in the rim. When i first remember watching college basket ball in the seventies David Thompson was known for catching the alley oop and just dropping in the rim.
+David Hammond Look at the footage again David, he had the hook and his other moves along with his dunks before the no dunk rule.
1:53 is the funniest play I've ever seen
It's called "It will eventually go in" play...
Laughed my ass of on that play
High school varsity starter against the middle schoolers
2 points AND 2 rebounds1
Please note how Kareem is shooting bank shots and handling the ball. Highly skilled. The GOAT at all levels.
at 1:37 he got quadruple teamed
Yet unstoppable
Kareem to me is the best offensive inside player, just so dominant and unstoppable. I sometimes struggle to pick Hakeem over him, but it's only because Hakeem played in a time where there was a lot more demand of players athletically and strategically and more intensity, it wasn't as simple as casually running up, getting an inside pass and easy skyhook. Hakeem I think had to hustle more, but hard to pass up a guy that was so simple yet so effective. Hakeem had more moves, but Kareem only needed one move, and it was unstoppable.
That moment when rules try to restrict you but you dont give a fk cuz u are the best anyways ehehehehehe
RayVitoles he’s not better than wilt😂💯
They banned the dunk but the only way you could have stopped him from scoring was to ban Kareem himself. That was the most dominating player on the planet in his time.
It's honestly amazing watching this old footage the game was just to easy for him 🐐🙇
Your channel shows a lot of info for the people who loves old NBA. Thanks.
Thanks for another excellent video! I was fortunate to have seen Kareem in his prime and in my opinion he is the second most dominant player in the history of the game behind Wilt. Kareem also won 3 NCAA titles in 3 years and Imo the most dominant college player ever. His skyhook is arguably the most devastating single weapon/shot in the history of the game. In his prime he was easily the best center in basketball.
@mericanmodi8479correct. All he had was highly blown up stats in an era which was very fast-paced.
to all people: give kareem his props and stop finding ways as to why he is not this or not that, stop that negativity on my man kareem abdul jabbar.
who's being negative? give me their names and address. Kareem played in three different decades and as other big men came on gone...Kareem was still around winning championships.
Tom Yazel A lot of people. I don't think i should consider them people.
Why don't you give him respect by capitalizing the first letter in his name?
Shawn Johnson wilt still better😂💯🤷🏾♂️
He is top 5 all-time, and he also had a long and consistent career (very unusual for such a tall player)
God DAMMIT, WHY oh WHY doesn't a modern centre master the sky hook and bring back real back to the basket moves and those sweet inside J's! A centre back in the day was pure stylish CLASS!!!
Back in the day it was all about centers like bill russel, wilt, and magic but ended up being a point gaurd then the guards started to appear and ever since then its been an all team effort
***** Who is Magic, which center are you referring to as Magic?
Magic Johnson point guard for the LA Lakers.
Oh, you said he was a center.
different game wouldn't work today
Why couldn't Tim Duncan play basketball in college?
No Dunkin' allowed.
But he played 4 years in college thought
Cooper Morris
Tis a joke, lad.
Harry Balzak I know mate, respect, eh
+Harry Balzak it doesn't even make sense. Horrible "joke". What a reach GTFOH
Kobe Juan
How does it not make sense? You poor confused little man...
Might I suggest a reading comprehension refresher course?
He scored 52 pts in his collegiate game. After the dunk was outlawed, it made some of the better players eve more dangerous.
I remember when he came to play on our courts while he was still in high school. We were in awe at his size. 😊
There's no one NBA center in today's game remotely close to Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Unseld, Bellamy, Thurmond, Reed, Cowans, Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing, Shaq, Malone or Lanier.
Yup, the game today is all about traveling, palming the ball, carrying over (ridiculously called the "cross over"), endless three point attempts, non defensed dunks, and a total lack of fast break offense, or low post play. Boring and predictable. Thanks ESPN, for ruining every major sport by attempting to make athletic competition into "entertainment" for unintelligent fans. If guys like Tim Duncan is too "boring" for you, it's because your team is filled with spectacular losers. It's not about entertainment, it's about winning.
@@obbor4 the cross over isnt a carry tho
@@youturnmeonbut8832 Not when it's done right, but often it isn't, it's just carrying over.
@@obbor4 People like you piss me off. Why do you care so much? Its not like you were drafted to the nba.
Zion, Giannis, Simmons, Davis, Westbrook are "remotely close" to any one of those players you mentioned. All of those old time players were from a completely different era, where there wasn't even a 3 point line. The modern day NBA is more about ball spacing, screens, pick and rolls, and positionless basketball. Just wait till they introduce the 4 point line. 🤣
Beautiful to watch. So much grace and power.
How kareem does interviews is how i would do it. He speaks perfectly everytime
guys, I know nothing about basketball, but I could say this Kareem can't be stopped.
Kareem is the bridge from the Russell/Chamberlain era to the modern era bigs that can shoot like Porzingis and Towns
Kareem became more and more unstoppable even with the banning of the dunk. UCLA was at its pinnacle during his time there and it's cool to hear the John Wooden's comments on his greatest player.
*NCAA bans dunking*
Kareem: OK, here comes the skyhook!
Quadruple teamed 1:36
He will dominate today's game for sure. Avg 25-28 points 12-14 rebounds.
+Travis Tovey 30+ per game, 20 rebounds in today's NBA.
+Bobby Dullay for 3 seconds you can and that is just enough time to do what you got to do
really? did you watch him play
20 rebounds in todays NBA? No way. He would probably score 30 but i don't think anyone could average 20 rebounds in todays NBA, not even wilt or russell
All you have to do is look the the 90s when Dennis Rodman averaged 18+ for a year or so. He was 6-8 230. Wilt was 7-2 300 and just as athletic or more than Rodman. The pace of the 90s was slower than Wilt's day and perhaps slower than today.
It's all hypothetical. We don't know. Wilt played from the 50s to 70s, not in the 90s or 00s.
From 1935 until the 1980s, the basketball rules makers were utterly horrified at the idea of big tall strong players controlling the game so they passed rules change after rules change to handicap tall players.
He was jumping so high when he was young that he would sometimes throw a sky hook DOWNWARDS into the basket!!! That is crazy
I sincerely hope Victor Wembenyama is researching the great Jabar.
He has a great career ahead barring injury.
I miss old school big men like Kareem, Hakeem and Shaq. Guys who could actually read the game. Now it's all about athleticism, quick feet and pick'n'rolls. But I guess it's inevitable, it goes too fast nowadays.
kingcam0775 Are you kidding me?
Them bigs in memphis are a throwback for sure. #zbo. #gasol
He would be on the bench in the 80's and 90's. Dude is good not great. And his defense is horrible. Barkley, Webber, Karl Malone, Olajuwon, Ewing, Robinson, Duncan, Shaq, Larry Johnson even, Mourning, Kareem, Bird, Mchale, Rodman, Moses Malone, Big Game Worthy, Wilkins, would have DESTROYED him and he would have had SERIOUS problems dealing with very good players like Derek Coleman, Shawn Kemp, Jamal Mashburn, Larry Nance, Mark Acquire, Alex English, Cliff Robinson. Also the league was filled with SUPER VILLIANS like Laimbeer, Mahorn, Oakley, Xavier Mcdaniel, Anthony Mason, Mark Eaton and Mutombo who would slap the crap out of players, hurt players and more with no fouls called. Al Jefferson would therefore look pitiful. His confidence would be shattered as he sat quietly on the bench. Ditto for Memphis frontcourt lol
Nova Knowself
you missed the point of his argument completely.
The zone defense rules in the NBA changing in the mid 2000s is why they are much less common now. You can much more easily hedge on a low post threat before he has the ball, making it much harder to even get him the ball. It's a lot more turnover prone because of that change as well.
This is one of the best RUclips pages!!! wow
I do vividly remember when he came to the Bucks and when the Bucks began. My brother got that jersey number for his team in High School and just played every game and was in every group in the city- trophy after trophy. And I remember on the little transistor radio every time he made a shot
"Al cin dor!"
amazing - I've always read in the books and papers about his early dominance but seeing it is much more impressive
I recalled watching him play alongside the great Oscar Robinson in Milwaukee, where he won his first nba championship. I witnessed him blocking a shot on The great Jo Jo White of Boston who was shooting the ball from the corner and Lew Alcindor ( his name at the time) while nearly under the rim went up and block the shot in mid air. Incredible on defense as well as on offense. He was a decent free throw shooter for a big man also e.g. shot in the 70% range during his career. His was a delight to watch. He was also a great actor on court. The refs would call him for a foul and his would make this loud outcry e.g. AWHAA !!! He would afterwards walk quietly on the defensive end of the court to prepare to play defense. Hilarious, funny, and entertaining. My favorite of all time. He won more MVPs than all past and present nba .players, because he was the all time M.V.P. of the N.B.A. Kareem Abdul Jabbar . Magic let everyone know who was the foundation of showtime by saying, " He is our leader ". Thanks Capt.
the dunk was banned because of Don Haskins and the 1966 Texas Western aka UTEP team. there is a picture of David Lattin dunking over Pat Riley in 1966 NCAA title game.
Yes, I also believe that Coach Rupp played a MAJOR hand in having the dunk banned. His loss to Texas Western was a huge blow to his ego...and those black players were slam dunking all over Rupp's white team.
White players had a tough time defending the dunk. I'll never believe that it had anything to do with the excessive amount of points that KAJ was racking up. That was just the NCAA's excuse--and it was a poor one at that.
Absolutely wrong...dunk wasn't banned till after Alcindors sophomore season.... know your facts !!!
Add Alcindor's dominance in 67 with Texas Western destroying Kentucky in 66 and the NCAA saw a future where they couldn't control the game. The ban was ridiculous, but the thought of black players dominating the game made it an easy decision.
Sadly, it kept me and my class from dunking in junior high, high school and college...68 through 76. I started dunking in the 8th grade... But, I could only do it on the playgrounds.
People say there are "generational" type players. Kareem was a once in forever player.
Wilt dominated in a league where he had worthy rivals Bill Russell and Kareem
Much Appreciation.
4 on 1, can't stop him
Making the game harder for Kareem, Wilt and Russell. Meanwhile making it easier for others. Imagine that. They are still doing that today, changing the rules to favor long distance shooters and those that are less athletic. Making the NBA great again.
Kareem was a BAD man! I count myself lucky to be able to witness someone taking GODs design of the human body to new levels. MJ was another one of those humans who really showed off the beautiful and awesome design of GODs human body design.
GOD! GOD! GOD! HUA!!! ...lol
99.8% of all species that ever lived on earth are now extinct. A dumb way to go about it if there were a designer, but makes sense for evolution and natural selection.
Good design? Why on earth did god decide to install a theme park right in the middle of a waste treatment plant?
God is black
***** 3 words...Abstraction, Encapsulation and Composition.
Always felt like it doesn't count with these types of players because they're so tall but he was actually really good
This is golden, thanks!
to Jules Winfield,thats was the most ridiculous comment of all time. Wilt didn't have a better team,Russell played with 9 or 11 hall of famers. He didn't make them great,they were already great. Bob Cousy was great before Russell even got there. Russell had the better teams
I have been saying the very same thing now for 40 years. The Celtics were a playoff contender before Russell arrived. And that crap about the Celtics not wanting Wilt is bullshit, because Red Auerbach himself was trying to get Wilt to go to Harvard of all places so that he could get him in the territorial draft which was instituted in the NBA back in the 50's! Russell played a role for the Celtics to just play defense and rebound, but Wilt was definitely the much better player.
this man said "Undefeatable"
Bill Walton played almost like Kareem did before the skyhook. I've wondered if that was because of Wooden's influence, or if that style was recruited, or if that was the archetypical center of the day.
If Kareem didn't become Muslim/change name and was friendlier to media he would be considered greatest of all time equally with mj. Before you reply look at the numbers.
+jays0909 He's considered to be on the same level as Michael. Being a Muslim or not being "friendly" didn't and probably wouldn't have an effect on how he was looked at as a basketball player.
+jays0909 He's considered that by a lot of old timers
+ThePlaterism he is considered on the same level as Michael by those who are viewing him through an un biased filter but most casual fans etc do not cause the media is who shines the spotlight on specific athletes without that casual fans don't care. My reference was to him being unfriendly with media, who decides who gets the attention and so forth so absolutely it does...
+jays0909 well then casual fans need to learn to think on their own and come to their own conclusions.
It's as simple as that. Who gives a damn what anyone else thinks?
i am not looking at no numbers personality has nothing to do with how great a player is ranked. tim duncan quiet as hell...top15 players of all time...now if he was loud mouthed would that make him the top 5? nope.
1:54 should be outlawed. He was toying with them like a dad playing against toddlers.
sick mixtape
I remember watching him as a kid in Milwaukee at the arena and hearing over the loudspeaker "Lew-Al-Ciiiiiiiindor"!
Monsterbaby do you think kareem is the goat
he went to my grandmas birthday party when they where in highschool
Outstanding talent
Lew Alcindor, the numero uno gentle giant.
From: RETIRED Filipino-American Citizens here with my wife and son...
Salvador Servillon LEW ALCINDOR, the basketball KING of KINGS.
His story is amazing!
The music was too loud sadly, I couldn't concentrate on was he was saying in the interview.
please tell me which power memorial high varsity guys basketball team was the most elite when when led by the legendary lew alcindor
Man among little boys
Alcindor in his prime could even compete with Wilt when Wilt was in his 14th season - wouldn't have been pretty to see a young Chamberlain against Kareem when Kareem was in his 14th season...
I remember when Red Sarachek would work on Kareems footwork after Powers practice and before Yeshiva universities practice coach Jack wad one of Reds deciples
that dunk at 1:26 was some testosterone, would be nice to have seen him do more of that with the Lakers
1:32 ref was about to make an amazing call.
The theory was height and elite athleticism was triumphing over skill . No one considered that they could be merged in Kaj mj et. al. THEYD ALREADY WIDENED THE LANE AND OUTLAWED GOAL TENDING DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE, IMPOSED THE 3 SECOND , AND THEN THE 5 SECOND DRIBBLING COUNT. KAJ WAS MERELY THE BEST AT TECHNIQUE AND ATHLETIC development because he worked at it with some great teachers like jack donohue and john wooden took tutelage from WILT. AND HAD THE FORTITUDE COURAGE , PERSEVERANCE , AND INTELLIGENCE TO MAKE HIMSELF THE GOAT OF HIS ERA. THE DUNK BAN ACTUALLY HELPED HIM EXPAND HIS GAME WHICH HE PLAYED WITH THE GRACE OF A GIRAFFE PICKING LEAVES OFF A 100 FOOT TREE. ANIMALS GENERALLY DONT MESS WITH GIRAFFES BECAUSE THEY CAN SEE TROUBLE A LONG WAY OFF CAN RUN LIKE GAZELLES AND CAN STOMP YOU IF YOU CROWD THEM AS THEYRE DECEPTIVELY STRONG . KAJ IS A MAN OF INTELLIGENCE GRACE STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY. AN AUTHOR AN AND EXPERT WHO SEES FAR BEYOND ON A DUNK BAN. THE SKY HOOK EXISTED BEFORE IT BUT GOT PERFECTED ALONG WITH JUMP HOOKS , TURN AROUNDS BANK SHOTS AND RUNNERS BECAUSE HE WORKED AT HIS CRAFT. OH YES THE DUNK IS AN EXHIBITION OF POWER BUT GENERALLY NOT GRACE.
I think Kareem is probably the best of all time.
I don't know why Kareem doesn't get more respect one of the G.O.A.T IMHO
There is no player in the nba today who can go up that high with the ball in hands with one step like kareem in collegue, omg he took one step was almost at the half of the paint went up as high as he could way above the square and then dunked it extremly hard. I believe Kareem and Wilt had to be the biggest collogue beasts of all time then comes shaq who was 2-3 inches shorter
Kareem denied my dad an autograph at one time, which he was going to give to me. This was in the late 70's. Read any story about him, he never gave autographs.
+Mark T He was also famous for sucker punching.
Thats because hes muslim and doesnt believe in being idolized by others
200mphz06 that may be the dumbest thing ive heard this month. Suicide bombers commit suicide to display their loyalty to their God not to become martyrs.
Tyrelle Davenport Suicide bombers do what they do for political reasons. If it were solely for loyalty to their God they would simply bomb their neighbor or cousin.
+SrykerJlt I don't know how we got from talking b-ball to talking about suicide bombers. That topic is for another forum. Maybe 200mphz06 got lost. lol
Well basketball is a big mans game, Kareem could adapt to the new rules without any type of difficulty because he was that flexible and talented not to mention unstoppable, he was the GOAT in his era according to my estimation...
Who was the greatest leap at the time? Check out 01:32
Best college player ever. With him, UCLA was unbeatable
Towns needs to add this in off season sky hook is soooooo good almost unblockable!
1:32 did the ref jumped?
1:31 why did the referee that hype
Quavo the GOAT LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOO I WOULD BE TOO
Rare footage of Kareem missing a sky hook
You really should try to clean up the audio. Light background music doesn’t fix noisy audio, it makes it worse.
Was Kareem taller than Wilt?
Yes, but of course not by much.
Wilt was 7-1 and 1/16th of an inch tall without shoes, with a 7-8 inch armspan, in the NBA he played at weights between 258 and 310lbs
Kareem was 7-1 and 7/8ths of an inch tall without shoes, with a 7-5 inch armspan, in the NBA he played at weights between 231 and 267lbs
Wilt Chamberlain Archive Jabbar claimed he was 7'1, but ask any centers he played against, they'll tell you they're 7', and that Kareem had a good 5 inches on them.
+Wilt Chamberlain Archive, you are great!
epics7 Watch the 1986 Western conference finals and compare Sampson to Kareem. We know Sampson was 7'4 or 7'5, so he'd be a good reference.
I thought the NCAA banned dunks starting in 67. That year Kareem started college ball and I see him dunking ...
Nba history of Racism .....
1) The Lanes where widened because Wilt Chamberlain was dominating way to much.
2) NCAA bans the Dunk to stop Kareem Abdul Jabar from Dominating next level. ( Coach John Wooden teaches him to adjust and develop The Sky Hook!, the most dominating Shot in History )
3) When the Slam Dunk was first allowed , they originally wanted to make it only worth 1 point. It was deemed way to flashy and classless.
If you watch early Dunk Competitions , commentators actually state that touching the rim to much is a bad thing. Dominique Wilkins Slam Dunk was actually put down as to much contact with Rim.
I beg to differ. I believe it came from the 6'4 to 6'9 brothers who were dunking in college games especially the guys from texas western a la Wille Cager David Lattin, Nevil Shed. Also New York street ballers as well.
Sad to know the Rules have been changed to the point of effectively eliminating the Center and " back to the basket" skills...the game is poorer for it. Kareem is hugely underrated, rivaled only by Wilt(truly the greatest athlete to ever play the game) and Hakeem on the Offensive end.....
Because freshman couldn't play varsity at UCLA back then, Kareem led the freshman team to a preseason shallacking of the varsity, who were coming off a national champoinship!
Old heads will try to tell you the competition he played against was tougher than today's.
No. It's just that younger heads can't make the case that today's players are better without contradicting themselves.
1:54 lol Kareem a fucking savage for just waving the ball like that
I was never aware that the dunk was ever banned in college, for how long?
BlackStarr007 ??? You're kidding...right? From 1967 to 1976 it was illegal to dunk in both high school and college. 'The Alcindor Rule'...do some research.
Did you see the ref at 1:30. Dude was excited
The behind his head dunk probably did li fir the rules makers. They stupidly removed one of the most exciting shots in basketball.
Who wins mvp of the finals in your sport something like 12 years apart
Imagine Kareem and Wilt on good terms and on the same team, Kareem at the PF and Wilt at Center
Now I see! The dunk shot was outlawed because of Lew Alcindor. In those days, “the powers to be” said that the shot showed no skill in the game of basketball and that the players were bending the basketball rims. However they still could not stop Alcindor. He developed the “ Sky Hook”!!!!🏀
Did they ever take the Dunk Rule out 4 Russell n Chamberlain when they were in college ?
1:13 look at this hook shot. He made it an art form.
Saw him play at UCLA and the pros. Also saw all the greats after (Jordan, Magic, Bird etc) and IMO, Cap is best of all. While MJ may have had a higher ceiling, KAJ was the best over the length of his career. Check out the stats of the Bucks the year prior to his arrival and then the year he came aboard and you will see the impact. Next do the same with MJ and you will see it's a no brainer. KAJ=GOAT. KAJ faced the best and beat legendary teams; MJ faced far inferior opponents.
Then compare the same stats for the Celtics and Russell's arrival - and don't forget to factor in that the Celtics TRADED AWAY A 6 TIME ALL-STAR AND FUTURE HALL OF FAME PLAYER for the right to draft Russell.
Walton had a similar effect in HIS rookie year as well - and all *3* were far more effective in their rookie years than Jordan was.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 Walton averaged 12.8 points and 12.6 Rebs, 4.8 assists as a rookie. Russell averaged 14.7 points and 19.6 Rebs, 1.8 assists on 42% shooting. I'll take rookie Jordans 28.2 points, 6.5 Rebs, 5.9 assists, 2.4 steals on 51% shooting.
I think a players peak is more important than the scope of their career when ranking the best NBA players of of all time. Also averaging 6 more points per game over the course of a career is very significant.
@mericanmodi8479 ONE bloody season.
By the last championship, Russell and Sam Jones was tiring to the point they RETIRED at the end of the season, Havlicek was prime, and both Tom Sanders and Bailey Howell were in their last EFFECTIVE season and fading badly - and as usual, they were FACING teams with 3 or 4 PRIME Hall of Fame level players pretty much every night.
The "advantages" Russell had are often overstated.
Only nba player to play during both eras of black&white and coloured broadcast
They also widened the lane too