Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is now 78 years old, which means he’s seen a lot of basketball, and he played against a lot of great players in his day. In this video, he lists his five favorite players:
- Bill Russell
- Larry Bird
- Hakeem Olajuwon
- Bill Walton
- Elgin Baylor
These are very different men, but they all have some things in common.
First, they played the game the right way. Second, they are all people who are not just strong-willed and principled, they are highly intelligent.
Not surprisingly, three of them are centers – Russell, Walton and Olajuwon. For anyone of Jabbar’s
age, Russell is an icon, partly because he completely redefined his position and partly because he showed immense character and courage as the racism he was born into began to break down. It was not an easy process.
Walton was a fellow UCLA product and, like Jabbar, intensely curious. Walton was eccentric, but he was highly intelligent and principled and he and Jabbar greatly respected each other.
Olajuwon was sort of the next step in the evolution of center. Jabbar admired his footwork, defense and exquisite sense of timing.
Interestingly, Bird is the second Celtic on this list. He’s here because Jabbar loved his intelligence for the game and his passion. Like most Lakers, he couldn’t stand the Celtics, but it was impossible not to appreciate Bird’s brilliance.
Finally, Baylor. Before Julius and Michael, there was Baylor, who was the first guy to really play in the air in that way. When you see the Baylor section in this video, you’ll get an idea of just how great he was.
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