My good friend and popular sportswriter Quinito Henson made an interesting piece today in his widely read “Sporting Chance” column in The Philippine Star. It’s about the apparent disrespect of the Los Angeles Lakers organization to one of the all-time greats of the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It is truly a dishonor not to have statue in honor of Jabbar, who is currently the all-time leading NBA scorer, a six-time MVP and one who led the Lakers to five titles, outside the Staples Center. Five statues had already been installed in the said area such as Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Wayne Gretzky, Oscar de la Hoya and Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn. Henson says Jabbar deserves more recognition for his contribution to the Lakers organization and to the sport of basketball as a whole.
“I don’t know if it’s an oversight or a sign of disrespect that to this day, Abdul-Jabbar is widely ignored as a Los Angeles sports hero.
“For the years that Abdul-Jabbar served with the Lakers, surely, he deserves more recognition from Los Angeles than what he has received so far. He has every reason to be offended.”
It's either an overlook or maybe Jabbar had some kind of a rift with the organization.
ReplyDeleteHi Rodolfo. Thanks for dropping by. Well, it could be neither of what you have stated. Jabbar's major role in the Lakers' five championship haul in the '80s simply can't be overlooked. And at the same time, there might not be a rift between himself and the Lakers organization as he continuous to work as the big man's coach of the team (handling almost exclusively the progress of Andrew Bynum).
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