11/05/24
June 02, 2011
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s nasty open letter to Scottie Pippen: It's a tricky situation, navigating all these barroom hypothetical arguments about who's done what and who was the best at whatever. But there are some things people are missing, when it comes to Scottie Pippen's continued annihilation of the 2010-11 Chicago Bulls, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's patronizing tsk-tsk'ing of Pippen after the former Bull dared compare LeBron James' potential legacy to that of Michael Jordan's.
posted by BornIcon to basketball at 08:09 AM - 9 comments
he still comes off as kind of a jerk
Who? Kareem? Pippen? Dwyer?
Dwyer is an idiot.
posted by graymatters at 01:19 PM on June 02, 2011
I think I agree with your opinion on Dwyer. She changed "he may be the greatest player" to "he may someday be the greatest player," and acts as if they are the same thing. That word someday is in there for a reason, and it completely changes the meaning of the sentence.
I don't see what is wrong with what Jabbar said. Of course, he should continually remind people that basketball wasn't invented by Jordan. A lot of great basketball was played before the dunk was popularized. That's all he is doing, and I see no reason to read any sinister hidden motives in it.
posted by bperk at 04:27 PM on June 02, 2011
Kareem is loosing a lot of favor I think over his public whining about not having a statue at Staples Center. Although I believe he deserves one, and I doubt anybody would argue, the fact remains he looks bad bitching about it. This letter is not making invalid statements and he is entitled to his opinion, but there is really no way for him to say these things without it making him look bitter, resentful and jealous. Bad move Kareem.
posted by Atheist at 05:10 PM on June 02, 2011
I thought the Kareem Staples Center thing was a joke and I never read the story. Wow!
Kareem, you need friends who will make this argument for you. Making it yourself never goes well.
posted by rcade at 05:45 PM on June 02, 2011
This is Shaq's week to be the favorite son ex-Laker center. Kareem better watch out or Wilt is going to creep up to #2.
posted by beaverboard at 07:36 PM on June 02, 2011
Now that Shaq's retired, is it possible that the Diesel will get a statue before Kareem?
posted by BornIcon at 07:54 AM on June 03, 2011
It's sad; the letter reads more like a statistical regurgitation a 10-year-old would give. BTW, what's with him doing TV commercials? Trying to get back into public relevance?
Of course Russell would have 11 rings: would the Celtics have been that talented had the NBA had 30 teams back then? With just 12 or so clubs, the talent was concentrated, plus opponents would get knocked silly by the Celtics numerous times a year.
As for Wilt's 50/25 season, two reasons: besides Russell, few could challenge him; plus, there wasn't much else on the Warriors that year.
Oh, and Wilt would have taken Shaq and just about everyone else in the past two decades to school. Guys like Duncan, Robinson and Ewing might have stayed close with their athleticism, but Wilt would get the muscular advantage underneath.
posted by jjzucal at 03:24 AM on June 04, 2011
... would the Celtics have been that talented had the NBA had 30 teams back then?
That logic goes both ways. The Celtics were beating teams that had more talented players than they would've had in a 30-team league.
posted by rcade at 11:30 AM on June 04, 2011
While he is absolutely right in his details, he still comes off as kind of a jerk.