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Shaquille O'Neal on LeBron James: He’s loving the fact that he’s the number one scorer in the league. But guess what? I’mma put this sh*t so far out of reach nobody will ever do it. I ain’t going to lie when I was playing looking at Kareem’s number. I was like, man, 36 thousand, 38. I’ll never get to that. I looked at it the other day. LeBron’s at 45. He still averaging 20. He going to mess around be at 50,000 points. Guess what? Me and you both will probably be dead before somebody passed it up.
Derek Fisher on LeBron James: I don't like I don't know why we so strongly just go so hard in the paint towards the negative. Cody Decker: We really do. And you know what? I want to take that that type of argument about the quote-unquote ring chasing that he does that again everybody is ring chasing. Fisher: But you're not ring chasing when you're the guy that creates the rings. Like go back in NBA sports history. It's not about where like what team the guy is on. It's about what team it's about where he is, not the city or the team. Lew Alcindor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He didn't chase rings. Where he went, the rings followed.
Who is your GOAT? Cooper: “My GOAT is Kareem. He is an unstoppable player. You look at three things for a GOAT. One, can they score at any time at any point in the game? Kareem was unstoppable, even double or triple-teamed. If you triple-teamed Kobe, LeBron or Magic when they come across the floor, they’re going to pass the ball. But with Kareem, you couldn’t double or triple team him. He had the Skyhook. Next, a GOAT makes others around him better. Kareem made others better. No one other than Magic made others around them better when they were double or triple-teamed. For a GOAT, if you foul, will he make his free throws? Kareem shot in the 80s in crunch-time free-throw shooting. So that’s why Kareem is my GOAT.”
The six-time NBA champion made it clear that his comments were not intended as criticism of Clark herself. Instead, he argued that placing any second-year player above a generation of established superstars diminishes what others have accomplished. "Don't get me wrong: Clark is a very good, possibly even a great, player," Abdul-Jabbar wrote. "But calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players."
Derek Fisher: "I think some of it, you think about the greats of Lakers past, many of those guys were kind of born and raised as Lakers for the most part. You think about James Worthy, number one draft pick. You think about Magic Johnson. Even though Kareem was traded to LA, he spent a considerable amount of time here in Los Angeles and really felt like a piece of the fabric of LA. And so many greats, even Shaq, eight years here. It is as though people forgot he played in Orlando as well. But it is the years here in LA that changed everything. Obviously Kobe being here for 20 seasons. And so I think other stars felt more like they became who they were as Lakers and I think a lot of Lakers fans had a difficult time receiving the fact that LeBron was already LeBron before he got here. He didn't owe Lakers fans anything. He was already LeBron. And I think fans had a hard time reconciling how to fully support a guy that didn't need support for anybody."
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NBA Courtside: Paul Pierce says if LeBron James goes to the Sixers it takes him totally out the GOAT debate: “No player that we consider that’s been in a GOAT debate has been a fourth option. No, seriously. Like Jordan, even when he went to the Wizards, was still the first option. Kareem was second option. Worh Magic. Like when we start having these debates about the GOAT and we say, we’ll, you know, Philly won a championship, but he was fourth option. He has five rings but fourth and fifth option, like so it’ll do something to his legacy. I really believe that.” (Via @NFGShow)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: @KingJames LeBron was a winner on and off the court, and Laker fans should appreciate his performance for the last 8 years. If LeBron goes home to Cleveland, it won’t matter if they win the World Championship or not because his hometown fans will get their opportunity to say their goodbyes to one of the greatest ever. And who knows one day he may become Mayor of Cleveland !!
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: @KingJames LeBron was a winner on and off the court, and Laker fan should appreciate his performance for the last 8 years. If LeBron goes home to Cleveland, it won’t matter if they win the world championship or not because it’s Hometown fans will get their opportunity to say their goodbyes to one of the greatest ever. And who knows one day he may become Mayor!! @Lakers @NBAcom
Byron Scott says LeBron James is not a top 5 All-Time Lakers player, he might be top 10: “I’m going by if you put that purple and gold there’s a different standard. So, I’m going to elaborate on a little bit. There’s a different standard and you look at the top guys, the Kareem, the Magic’s, the Kobe’s, the Shaq’s, you know, guys like that. Those guys got multiple championships with this organization.”
Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has put four of his NBA championship rings up for auction. Abdul-Jabbar has hundreds of items from his memorabilia collection available in the auction, being conducted by Goldin Auctions, with "much of the proceeds" going to his Skyhook Foundation charity to help benefit kids learn about science, technology, engineering and math. Besides the 1980, 1985, 1987 and 1988 championship rings he earned as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar is auctioning off a game-used signed and inscribed basketball from his final game in 1989. He finished his legendary career with an NBA-record 38,387 points.
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When it comes to choosing between storing a championship ring or trophy in a room, or providing kids with an opportunity to change their lives, the choice is pretty simple. Sell it all," Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his blog about why he's auctioning off valuables from his sports history. "Looking back on what I have done with my life, instead of gazing at the sparkle of jewels or gold plating celebrating something I did a long time ago, I'd rather look into the delighted face of a child holding their first caterpillar and think about what I might be doing for their future. "That's a history that has no price."
Some of the championship rings start with a minimum bid of $60,000. Also available on the website are game-worn jerseys, uniforms, trophies and even various keys to cities that he received. "Since my life is still happening and ever-evolving, I am less personally attached to those items than I am to my desire to create new history for myself -- and futures for others," Abdul-Jabbar said. "Much of the proceeds from my auction will go to support my charity, the Skyhook Foundation, whose mission is to 'give kids a shot that can't be blocked.' "We do this by sending children from economically challenged schools to five days in the Angeles National Forest to experience the wonders of nature and learn the basics about science, technology, and engineering."
He will become the 13th player in NBA history to reach a 20th season, joining LeBron James, Vince Carter, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis, Robert Parish, Kyle Lowry, Udonis Haslem, Jamal Crawford, Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "I knew a few off the top of my head, but I hadn't seen the list," Al Horford told ESPN. "It's hard to believe. It's something that, for me, I'm very grateful. It's just so hard to be in this league for that amount of years. There's a lot of commitment, a lot of sacrifice and time. I still feel like I'm able to contribute and have an impact on a team."
The Spurs succumbed to the same maddening script in their Game 5 loss, squandering a 16-point lead to dash Victor Wembanyama's dream of winning his first championship. Wembanyama was active early and finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, but he faded again with the season on the line. Brunson, the Finals MVP, outscored him 15-3 in the series-deciding fourth quarter. Nevertheless, Wembanyama ranked first in Player Efficiency Rating (26.3) during his first postseason run and led all players in total rebounds and blocks while finishing second to Brunson in points. Wembanyama's playoff averages of 23.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks have only been matched by Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon among players who reached the Finals. As NBA commissioner Adam Silver noted shortly before Game 1 of the Finals, Wembanyama is "ahead of any timeline that people had in mind."