“Goodness knows how many points he would have had with that skyhook shot” Lakers owner publicly showers love on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his ‘GODLY’ abilities
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Jeanie Buss with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is still one of basketball’s greatest talents. The Bucks rookie was a star in making and did deliver a championship for them in 1971, but more known for his time at the Los Angeles Lakers and with the “show-time Lakers” team that made him an even bigger star. The former No. 1 pick played from 1969 to 1989 and won 6 titles, 6 MVP awards, and 2 Finals MVP awards in the process. He still holds the record for most points scored in the regular season, and many saw it as an unbreakable record till LeBron James had some massive productions of late.
Recently, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was a guest on the “The Atheltic NBA Show” podcast. During her appearance, she opened up about the legendary big man being passed on the all-time scoring list. 50-year-old owner said, “I honestly believe that that was going to be the case that nobody would ever touch Kareem’s record. Kareem played for 20 years, you know, he didn’t get to start till he was 22. And part of his career, there was no 3-point line. Goodness knows how many more points he’d have if he was shooting the skyhook from behind the 3-point line.”
Well, Skyhook from the 3-point line seems a pretty wild thought, but for the Lakers anything is possible. But Jeanie Buss brought up an interesting point when breaking down Kareem’s record. The New York-born center didn’t start playing till he was 22, missing out on nearly 3-4 years of his young age. In comparison, LeBron James entered the league right after high school, giving him more time in his youth to chase the scoring mark.
Would Kareem Abdul-Jabbar score more points in today’s era?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar already had set the record for most points scored in the regular season, but the records are meant to be broken. 7’2” center achieved the record in the late 90s, and for 30+ years it remained intact despite many prolific scorers making appearances in the league. We can understand the gravity of the record-breaking scenario over here from this simple example. But interestingly if we put Kareem in today’s era, would he be able to have similar products on the court, or would he struggle in the new “long-range game style”?
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First and foremost, if he left college after one season like prospects does today, the record could have been set with more points for sure with a larger career window. His Skyhook was considered to be an “un-guardable” shot and would have been a massive hit in this era also. He was a 56% shooter from the field and hardly had shots taken away from the rim. Free-throw efficient Center converted 74% of his “charity-line shots” which was also a pretty good conversion ratio.
The only point that would go against Kareem scoring more points would be the style of play today. 2-time scoring champion Kareem played in the era, where big men dominated the games, their close-to-rim dominance made them offensive drivers for their respective teams. Kareem was one of the best in that category but not much effective away from the rim.
The Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was able to do maximum damage against defenders with his patented skyhook. Today’s more open games would have allowed Kareem to be more effective around the hoop, while a pair of long-range shooters around him will make the team offensively dominant. But teams would also love to have a player of Kareem’s quality to have a double threat, the argument for more points can be debatable, but Kareem would certainly have more efficiency.
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)