Kareem: The Most Underrated Athlete of All Time

Basketball culture’s upper echelon of greatness largely revolves around two legends: Michael Jordan and LeBron James. A name too often forgotten is one Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The NBA’s all-time leader in points and win shares has become criminally underrated in his inhuman contributions to six championship teams and an equally impressive six MVP campaigns.

Additionally, Kareem’s 15 All-NBA selections and 11 All-Defense selections over his 19 year career provide further evidence of his unparalleled dominance on both ends of the court. While a valid argument could be made that Kareem played in an exponentially weaker era than both Jordan and James, I would refute that point with the conjecture that Kareem’s era featured the highest quality of play from big men in the league’s history with perennial superstars such as Bill Walton and Moses Malone. Despite Kareem’s numerous accolades as listed above, his legacy is largely defined by what has been called the most unguardable move in all of sports by players and analysts alike: the skyhook. The skyhook became stuff of legend due to the brilliant utilization of Kareem’s 7’5 frame and the shot allegedly never being blocked. The irreplicable shot solidifies Kareem as an all time great to most and the greatest player to ever live to me. Few athletes have ever had such an immediate impact on any team they join. The acquisition of rookie Kareem in 1969 turned the 27-55 Milwaukee Bucks into a 56-26 force in the eastern conference, losing in the playoffs to the eventual champions in the New York Knicks. Alternatively, Jordan and James improved their teams records by 11 and 18 wins respectively as opposed to Kareem’s absurd 29 wins.

Basketball fans young and old, I implore you; it's time to stop the disrespect towards Kareem’s talent that has lingered over the 31 years since his retirement. The athlete formerly known as Lew Alcindor has earned his place in every GOAT debate that has taken place or will take place in the future. Whether or not people view him as the actual greatest of all time, the audacity to not include him is a disgusting trend rooted in ignorance that needs to end.