Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets a bronze statue at the Staples Center – NBA Update
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has finally been immortalized at the Staples Center.
The man, who is the all-time leading scorer in NBA, a six-time NBA MVP and has six NBA rings, has had testy relationship with the Lakers off late. The biggest reason for that had been the delay by the Lakers in mounting his bronze
bust. On Friday though, the a 16-foot, 1,500-pound statue, symbolizing the legendary skyhook shot, was unveiled in front of Staples Center;
"Lou Gehrig spoke about being the luckiest man in the world, and as a young person at that time I didn't know what that meant," Abdul-Jabbar said while speaking at the occasion marked before the Lakers played the Phoenix Suns.
"But having lived my life and having had the wonderful experiences that I've had in basketball, I can understand now what a man like Lou Gehrig meant. I get it. When you're fortunate enough to be honoured in this way, it's a very humbling experience."
The ceremony was attended by most of Jabbar’s former team mates, including Magic Johnson, who believed, like many others, that the statue should have been unveiled much earlier;
"You really should have had the first statue because you built the Staples Center," Johnson said. "It was on your back that we're now here at the Staples Center because if the Lakers don't win, there's no Staples Center. It's here
because of the tradition."
Jabbar and the Lakers have not got along well for the last few years, even if the issue of the stature is taken aside. In 2005, he was hired as an assistant by the Lakers to mentor young centre Andrew Bynum, and was thought of
someone who transformed the big man into the star he is today. However being a perfectionist, Jabbar pushed Bynum to put in more every time and in 2009, Bynum requested the then coach Phil Jackson that he no longer needed Jabbar. When his contract expired
in 2011, the Lakers did not renew it. In the days that followed, Jabbar lashed out at the Lakers publically, and revealed that the franchise wanted him to take a pay cut.
However, those days are history now it seems. Jabbar highlighted that in his speech and also enjoys a more cordial relationship with the new All-Star centre Dwight Howard.
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