Legendary NBA big man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has seemingly reconsidered his opinion on who the best point guard to ever grace the league is. He now says it’s Los Angeles Laker great Magic Johnson.
On a video posted to Twitter, now
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explained that after giving it some thought, he should have taken into account the success he had with Magic Johnson in the Lakers squad when making his choice.
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The 76-year-old Hall-of-Famer said:
“Earlier this week I was asked who the best point guard in the NBA is. A very difficult question… I chose Oscar Robinson. But first of all I should have said that Magic should really be the priority because I played with him in five world championships and he is my best teammate ever. So I can’t put anyone else in front of him.”
However, he was quick to say that Oscar Robertson’s greatness could not be denied, adding:
“But I have to give Oscar credit for being the complete player that he was and being an example for a lot of players behind him. And it’s almost impossible for me to determine who is the best among all those guys. But I can tell you why – and that’s the success I’ve enjoyed with Magic. So there you have it.”
How many rings does Kareem Abdul Jabbar have?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in the NBA for twenty years and won six titles.
He won his first national championship in 1971, playing alongside Oscar Robertson, who was already at the end of his illustrious career. Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to their first-ever NBA title, defeating the Baltimore Bullets in their best-of-seven series and winning Finals MVP in the process.
Four years later he moved to the Lakers, but did not win a title with them until the 1979-80 season, Magic Johnson’s first year in the NBA.
It was the first of five they would win together in the 1980s. The last two of their championships came in succession in 1987 and 1988. He played one more season after that and then retired from the game.
In addition to winning six NBA titles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a six-time NBA MVP, 19-time NBA All-Star, five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member, two-time scoring champion, four-time blocks leader, and a one-time rebounding leader, among others awards.
He had career averages of 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks. The basketball great long held the best scoring record of all time with a total of 38,387 points, until Lakers superstar LeBron James broke it last season.