While there will always be an argument over who is the greatest player in the history of the NBA, perhaps someone who gets overlooked is Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Abdul-Jabbar won six championships in his NBA career and was the league’s all-time scoring leader for nearly 40 years.
During the 1980-81 season, Kareem was still in his prime. Fresh off a regular season MVP Award and an NBA Championship the previous year, in which some argue his performance in the first five games was enough for the NBA Finals MVP, Kareem was still a dominant force.
On Dec. 21, 1980, Kareem was again unstoppable, scoring 42 points and leading the Lakers to a 135-122 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
In doing so, Abdul-Jabbar became just the fifth player in NBA history to score a minimum of 25,000 points. He joined Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek and Jerry West.
With Magic Johnson out at the time because of a knee injury, the offensive burden fell to Kareem and he was more than capable of handling it. He averaged 26.2 points per game that season and would continue to be a 20-point-per-game scorer for another five years.
It is a shame that Kareem can sometimes be forgotten about when talking about the greatest players of all-time. He has 19 All-Star selections, six MVP Awards, two NBA Finals MVPs and 15 All-NBA Team selections.
His lasting legacy however, will forever be his legendary scoring prowess. The sky hook remains the most unstoppable shot in NBA history and on this night, Kareem continued to cement his legacy.
LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record
Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record feel early in 2023 when another Lakers legend in LeBron James passed him during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Abdul-Jabbar was on hand for the game to support James and famous handed him the game ball and then posed for some pictures when the new scoring leader.
While James and Abdul-Jabbar haven’t had the greatest relationship in the past, it was awesome to see the love and support the latter gave the former, watching his record fall with extreme grace.
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