Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Skyhook remains the ultimate NBA
weapon.
Abdul-Jabbar could shoot it with both hands – although he
had more range with his right – and used it for 20 years to set the all-time
scoring record. It’s such an iconic shot that the rest of Abdul-Jabbar’s game
is somewhat underappreciated. He led the NBA in blocked shots four times – and teams
didn’t record that stat the first four years he played. He led the league in
rebounding once and was in the top three four other times. Kareem also was an
effective passer out of the post. He averaged 5.0 assists or better three times
and more than 4.0 assists per game six other times.
He stands out even more in the advanced stats. He led the
league in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) a record nine times. He never topped
30.0 in any single season, instead he had three of more than 29.0. He led in
Win Shares in nine seasons, only Michael Jordan matched that feat.
Statisticians can only calculate Box +/- and VORP back to 1973-1974 when the
number crunchers finally began tracking blocked shots and steals – another ABA
innovation. Abdul-Jabbar led the league in Box +/- the first six seasons it was
calculated and led the league in VORP six of the first seven.
He was clearly the dominant player in the NBA from 1969-1970 through 1980-1981. He was MVP a record six times during that time (1970-1971, 1971-1972, 1973-1974, 1975-1976, 1976-1977, and 1979-1980), second in the voting in 1972-1973, third twice (1969-1970 and 1980-1981) and fourth twice (1977-1978). After the 1980-1981 season, Abdul-Jabbar’s game began to slip, but he was effective enough that he still finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1985-1986 at the age of 38.
He was clearly the dominant player in the NBA from 1969-1970 through 1980-1981. He was MVP a record six times during that time (1970-1971, 1971-1972, 1973-1974, 1975-1976, 1976-1977, and 1979-1980), second in the voting in 1972-1973, third twice (1969-1970 and 1980-1981) and fourth twice (1977-1978). After the 1980-1981 season, Abdul-Jabbar’s game began to slip, but he was effective enough that he still finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1985-1986 at the age of 38.
Kareem’s teams played in 10 NBA Finals, two with Milwaukee
Bucks, who’ve never made it back without him, and eight with the Lakers. His
six NBA titles match Michael Jordan and trail only the unique Robert Horry and
a number of Celtics from the Bill Russell years. Still, Abdul-Jabbar’s playoff
record is a little bit more complicated.
Abdul-Jabbar led the playoffs in PER seven times. Wilt and Michael
Jordan did that six times. LeBron James has done it five. Despite the fact he
won six titles, Kareem only led the playoffs in Win Shares three times. He also
won just two NBA Finals MVPs.
·
He was the obvious choice in 1970-1971 when the Bucks swept the
Baltimore Bullets with Kareem averaging 27.0 points on 61 percent shooting and
18.5 rebounds.
·
In 1979-1980, after Kareem injured his ankle and missed game six,
Magic Johnson moved to center and clinched the NBA Title was a 42-point, 15-rebound
effort, earning the Finals MVP.
·
In 1981-1982, Magic was Finals MVP after averaging 16.2 points,
10.8 rebounds and 8.0 assists against the 76ers to Abdul-Jabbar’s 18 points and
7.7 rebounds.
·
Finally, in 1984-1985, Kareem was NBA Finals MVP again at the age
of 38. He opened the finals against Boston with a clunker. He scored 12 points
with three rebounds in a 34-point route by the Celtics. He rebounded from that
to average 28.4 points on 61 percent shooting, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists in
the next five games against the famed Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird
frontline. The Lakers won four of those to win the title.
·
Kareem was 39 and 40 for the final two titles against the Celtics
and Pistons and clearly past his prime.
Kareem was a hard player to love and his name rarely comes
up in the GOAT discussions. He didn’t have Chamberlain’s overwhelming
athleticism. He wasn’t the immovable object that Shaq was. He wasn’t a sky-walker
like Dr. J. He didn’t have Hakeem’s Dream Shae. But if you look at the total
body of work and how long he dominated the NBA, he was clearly the greatest player
in NBA history until No. 1 and No. 2 came along.
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Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar bio info
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Career
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1969-1989
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Games
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1,560
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Points
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24.6
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Rebounds
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11.2
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Assists
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3.6
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FG Pct.
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55.9%
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All-Star games
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19
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NBA MVPs
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6
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NBA titles
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6
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Playoff seasons
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18
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Playoff games
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237
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Points
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24.3
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Rebounds
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10.5
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Assists
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3.2
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FG Pct.
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53.3%
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Hall of Fame
|
1995
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Top 100
rankings
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||
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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484.33
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6th
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5-year
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2,142.69
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3rd
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10-year
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3,827.49
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3rd
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Career
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6,370.90
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1st
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Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar at his peak
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|||
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1970-1971
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Abdul-Jabbar
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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29.0
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25.06
|
|
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Win Shares
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22.3
|
15.87
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|
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Box +/-
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NA
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NA
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|
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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51.3
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40.92
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125.35
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Playoff PER
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25.3
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25.46
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Win Shares
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3.3
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2.95
|
|
|
Box +/-
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NA
|
NA
|
|
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VORP
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NA
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NA
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Total Advanced Stats
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28.6
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28.41
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100.66
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Reg. Season Win %
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80.49
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80.49
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Playoff Win %
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85.71
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85.71
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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698/780
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67.12
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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25.0
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25.00
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Total Score
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484.33
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Abdul-Jabbar’s 10 greatest seasons
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1970-1971
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484.33
|
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1976-1977
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426.44
|
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1979-1980
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421.73
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1973-1974
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416.70
|
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1971-1972
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393.49
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1984-1985
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374.54
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1969-1970
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352.99
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1978-1979
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323.97
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1981-1982
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317.91
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1983-1984
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315.38
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Career
winning percentage
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|||
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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1,074
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486
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68.85%
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Playoffs
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153
|
84
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64.56%
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