Kareem is the GOAT

[eliteballer]

But but Kareem isn't sponsored by Nike and McDonalds.

[LAZERUSS]

Going into the '71-72 season, Kareem (he had changed his name in the off-season), and his young Bucks were universally predicted to not only repeat, but were being tagged as the next great dynasty.

Meanwhile, the Lakers were coming off of an injury-racked 48-34 season, and were starting four players who were between 29-37. They had also brought in a new coach, Bill Sharman. Virtually no one gave the ancient Lakers a second glance.

Not only that, but Sharman's first order of business, was to have the Lakers RUN. Which was considered a joke at the time. A bunch of injury-prone geezers playing at a fast pace? Well, his philosophy was to defensively funnel everything into Wilt, and have Chamberlain not only rebound, but to start the break with outlet passes.

Problem was...Baylor. He was washed up, and in fact, had been washed up for a couple of years. Sharman "convinced" Baylor to retire, and then he inserted second year Jim McMillian into the starting lineup. And the rest was history. Right after Baylor "retired", the Lakers reeled off 33 straight wins, and 23 of them were double-digit wins.

One of those wins came early in the season, when the 16-3 Lakers played the 17-2 Bucks in Los Angeles. Despite a massive game from KAJ, the Lakers eked out a win.

Again, no one gave it much thought...except the Bucks. They realized that they didn't have a match-up for the Lakers PF, Happy Hairston, so they shipped off the lightening quick Greg Smith, and brought in the rugged Curtis Perry.

The two teams would continue to ransack the league until a H2H in early January in Milwaukee. The Lakers were riding that 33 game winning streak, and came in at 39-3, while the Bucks were at 35-8.

Arguably the greatest regular season game in NBA history (although this year's Warriors-Spurs H2H's were right there.) The game was close until the 4th quarter, when the Bucks finally pulled away for a 120-104 win. And again, Kareem easily outplayed Wilt.

All was right with the world. The Bucks were now back on track to steamroll the rest of the league, and the mild Laker threat had been squashed.

Continued...

[AirBonner]

Going into the '71-72 season, Kareem (he had changed his name in the off-season), and his young Bucks were universally predicted to not only repeat, but were being tagged as the next great dynasty.

Meanwhile, the Lakers were coming off of an injury-racked 48-34 season, and were starting four players who were between 29-37. They had also brought in a new coach, Bill Sharman. Virtually no one gave the ancient Lakers a second glance.

Not only that, but Sharman's first order of business, was to have the Lakers RUN. Which was considered a joke at the time. A bunch of injury-prone geezers playing at a fast pace? Well, his philosophy was to defensively funnel everything into Wilt, and have Chamberlain not only rebound, but to start the break with outlet passes.

Problem was...Baylor. He was washed up, and in fact, had been washed up for a couple of years. Sharman "convinced" Baylor to retire, and then he inserted second year Jim McMillian into the starting lineup. And the rest was history. Right after Baylor "retired", the Lakers reeled off 33 straight wins, and 23 of them were double-digit wins.

One of those wins came early in the season, when the 16-3 Lakers played the 17-2 Bucks in Los Angeles. Despite a massive game from KAJ, the Lakers eked out a win.

Again, no one gave it much thought...except the Bucks. They realized that they didn't have a match-up for the Lakers PF, Happy Hairston, so they shipped off the lightening quick Greg Smith, and brought in the rugged Curtis Perry.

The two teams would continue to ransack the league until a H2H in early January in Milwaukee. The Lakers were riding that 33 game winning streak, and came in at 39-3, while the Bucks were at 35-8.

Arguably the greatest regular season game in NBA history (although this year's Warriors-Spurs H2H's were right there.) The game was close until the 4th quarter, when the Bucks finally pulled away for a 120-104 win. And again, Kareem easily outplayed Wilt.

All was right with the world. The Bucks were now back on track to steamroll the rest of the league, and the mild Laker threat had been squashed.

Continued...

Thank you for posting that. That was truly some great basketball being played between two greats.

[LAZERUSS]

Continuing...

The pesky Lakers would just not go away. They regrouped after that Buck loss, and started a roll again. They would face the Bucks three more times, and whipped them in all three, including a blowout win in a game in which KAJ poured in 50 points against Wilt.

Despite the 4-1 record over Milwaukee, most everyone was picking the Bucks to dominate in the post-season. The Lakers did set a then single season record of 69-13 (Milwaukee went 63-19.)

Kareem had just overwhelmed the league. He again ran away with the scoring title, at 34.8 ppg, and he was a runaway MVP for the second straight season in his three year career. He was on top of the world.

The Lakers would sweep the 57-25 Bulls in the first round. Meanwhile, for the first time in KAJ's career, there was a crack. Granted, Thurmond had gave him some lessons early on in KAJ's career, but by the '71 playoffs, Kareem had easily outplayed him.

BUT, something strange happened in the '72 first round series against the Warriors. Thurmond rose up and not only held KAJ down, he outplayed him. In fact, he oustcored him, per game, 25.0 ppg to 22.8 ppg, and outshot Kareem by a .437 to .405 margin. Yes, the great Kareem had been held to a .405 playoff series. Still, the Bucks had a decided edge in talent, and they romped over the Warriors 4-1. Which would set up one of the most anticipated match-ups in NBA history.

Despite the Lakers having HCA, the odds-makers opened up with the Bucks as a slight favorite. That would take a dramatic turn after game one. In the third quarter of game one, a Laker team that had averaged 121 ppg in the regular season...scored eight points. Kareem dominated Wilt, and the Bucks blew out LA, 93-72.

The Bucks were now strong favorites to win the series. Game two came down to a possible Laker turnover, that hit a referee, and in which it prevented a back court violation. The Lakers held on for a 135-134 win.

Still, the Bucks were now heading back to Milwaukee for two games, and Kareem was having his way with Wilt. That would change. Chamberlain suddenly became "Rocky" to Kareem's "Clubber Lang", and the series took a turn...

Continued...

[Smoke117]

You are right...he is.

[LAZERUSS]

Continuing...

In game three, Chamberlain suddenly used his massive weight and strength against Kareem. And he would not only beat Kareem to his favorite spots, he was pushing him away from them.

Not only that, but he blocked a couple of Kareem's skyhooks, and a stunned Kareem was reeling. The easy baskets that Kareem had scored against Wilt throughout the regular season, and then the first two games of this series, were nowhere to be found. Chamberlain challenged everything Kareem was throwing up. And while Kareem still outscored Wilt, 33-7 (and outrebounded him, 21-14), he was missing shots badly. Chamberlain not only held Kareem to 15-37 from the field, he blocked 10 shots, and six of them were KAJ's. And the Lakers stunned the Bucks, 108-105.

Milwaukee responded with a vengeance in game four, and blew out LA, 114-88. However, Kareem was now struggling significantly. He again outscored Wilt, 31-5, but his shooting was still way off...going 14-33.

The series shifted back to Los Angeles, and the Lakers dominated game five from start to finish. And Kareem looked shell-shocked in a 115-90 loss. He had scored 28 points, but on a brick-laying 13-33 shooting, and four of Wilt's nine blocks came at Abdul-Jabbar's expense.

Game six went back to Milwaukee. And for the first time in Kareem's career, including college, he and his team looked human. Still, they led 85-75 going into the 4th quarter...

Page 244 from Rosen's book on the '72 Lakers...

Then Chamberlain single-handedly revived his team. He blocked a layup attempt by Lucius Allen, then dove to the floor as he batted the ball to Jerry West.

"Wilt hit the floor with a thunderous crash," said KC Jones. "It felt like the whole world was collapsing."

On the next possession, West missed still another jumper, but Chamberlain was there to capture the rebound and violently slam the ball through the ring.

Wilt's extra hustle is what got us charged up," said Jimmy Cleamons, "After that, Wilt and Jerry took over the game."

In the last nine minutes, Chamberlain contributed two more dunks, a tip-in, three free throws, and six rebounds. West suddenly folund his stroke and scored 12 points in the final six minutes of play.

While Wilt and the Lakers were surging, Abdul-Jabbar was wilting. He tallied on five points in the concluding ten minutes of the game.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain

[QUOTE]Chamberlain would help lead the Lakers past Jabbar and the Bucks in six games.[92] Particularly, Chamberlain was lauded for his performance in Game 6, which the Lakers won 104

[COnDEMnED]

Although an unpopular opinion among the young and casuals (Bron fans), I can see the reasoning behind this opinion. I considered this point of view valid, especially when taking into account the combination of his college dominance with his NBA resume and longevity. He also has 2 rings as an assistant coach.

Lew or Jordan at number 1, both are acceptable.

[Edgar Friendly]

Kareem is the indisputable GOAT basketball player

Jordan is the GOAT NBA player

[LAZERUSS]

Continuing...

Chamberlain would go on to lead the Lakers to their first ever title in Los Angeles, winning the FMVP in the process.

Meanwhile, a Kareem that had been considered invulnerable, had been beaten down in two straight playoff series. Furthermore, the Bucks had their "dynasty" ended after only one year.

And it would get worse.

Kareem would continue to struggle against Thurmond and Wilt in his regular season H2H's in the 72-73 season. In fact, in his six H2H's with Wilt, he only shot 50%+ in two of them, and was downright awful in the other four. Chamberlain even outscored him in one H2H, 24-21, while outshooting him, 10-14 to 10-27. Overall, Kareem shot .450 against Wilt in those six games...and if you go back to the last four games of the '72 WCF's, when he shot .414...his combined FG% in those ten straight games was .434.

Still, both the Bucks and Lakers went 60-22 during the regular season, but Milwaukee had the higher seed based on a late season win over Wilt's Lakers (in a game in which Wilt did not take a shot...while Kareem went 12-31.)

That "win" was actually a loss. The Bucks drew Thurmond's 47-35 Warriors in the first round. And for the second consecutive post-season, Thurmond held Kareem to 22.8 ppg...this time on a .428 FG%. And the Warriors stunned the Bucks, 4-2.

The Lakers survived their first round series against the Bulls, and then Chamberlain outplayed Thurmond in the WCF's, as LA blew out the Warriors, 4-1.

Chamberlain's Lakers would ultimately fall to the 57-25 Knicks and their six HOFers in the Finals...albeit, all four losses were decided in the final minute. And unknown to anyone at the time...that was Wilt's last game (23-21 BTW.)

Continued...

[LAZERUSS]

Makes you wonder why Kareem wasn't the next Russell in the 70s. Maybe because the league expanded and there was more competition?

Kareem had come into the NBA, and immediately dominated it. By his second season he won a scoring title, and the MVP, as well as leading his team to a 66-16 record, and then a 12-2 record in the post-season, including a sweep and a FMVP in the Finals.

And during the 71-72 regular season, he continued to just overwhelm the league. Virtually all "expert" opinion had he and the Bucks with a dynasty in the 70's.

Then the '72 post-season happened, and IMHO, he never recovered. And again, his struggles continued into the '73 season.


Still, by the '73-74 season, Chamberlain had jumped ship to the ABA (and would ultimately retire.) On top of that, Thurmond was falling apart, and would never be the same again.

So, the assumption was, that Kareem and Bucks would get back on the horse, and resume command. And it certainly appeared that way going into the '74 Finals. The Bucks had gone 59-23, and had HCA going up against the 56-26 Celtics. Not only that, but up to that point in their career H2H's, Kareem had just massacred Cowens. In his '72 season alone, he averaged 45 ppg against him, including a career high 55 point game.

And Kareem played well going into game seven. He had a great game six, and hit the game-winner to knot the series. And with game seven in Milwaukee, all looked bright. BUT, Cowens rose up, and despite five fouls going into the 4th quarter, he badly outplayed Kareem down the stretch, in a blowout win.

Oscar retired shortly after that, and Kareem and the Bucks would fall to 38-44 the very next year, and miss the playoffs.

He basically asked to be traded, and was sent to the Lakers, who had gone 30-52 the year before. The once overwhelming Kareem did not come over though. He went thru the motions, and the Lakers finished 40-42 and missed the playoffs.

The Lakers gave him more help going into the '76-77 season, and they finished with best record in the west at 53-29. Still, they were injury-riddled, and despite a mammoth series against Walton's 49-33 Blazers, they were swept.

After that season, Kareem became more of a sulking loner. The Lakers did their best. They acquired Keith (Jamall) Wilkes, and then the 27 ppg scorer Adrian Dantley. But the chemistry was awful, and KAJ continued to play unmotivated basketball. LA would go a disappointing 45-37 and get routed in the first round by a Sonics team with one borderline HOF player.

More of the same the very next year. LA probably had the most talented roster in the league, but only went 47-35, and were again routed by the Sonics, this time in the second round.

Kareem was contemplating retirement, and at that time, despite winning a boat-load of MVPs, his career was considered a disappointment.

Then...MAGIC arrived...and the rest was history.

[Asukal]

With only 2 FMVP's? No.

[warriorfan]

Jordan has less mvp seasons then Kareem in arguably the most watered down era. Meanwhile there were less teams in Kareem's day but the talent was a lot more concentrated making for tougher competition. Kareem in his rookie year took the bucks from 27 wins to 56.

expansion 90's > cocaine 70's

[Marchesk]

Good read Laz. I wonder why Kareem lost his motivation during the 70s.

[LAZERUSS]

Good read Laz. I wonder why Kareem lost his motivation during the 70s.

There were a lot of things going on in Kareem's life in the 70's. He changed his religion, which not only caused a split with his parents, but soon afterwards, there was a mob-style murder of several people associated with his Islamic teacher at a townhouse that he had given them. Shortly after that he and his first wife split up.

In his last season in Milwaukee he broke his hand after getting his eye scratched, and missed 16 games.

And a few years after he was traded to the Lakers he again broke his hand, this time hitting Kent Benson, and missed 20 games.

It would be hard to pin-point the exact time that he began losing the motivation, but my guess is probably in his last season in Milwaukee (74-75.) Oscar had retired, which was a huge loss, but that doesn't explain the fact that he played one year before Oscar arrived, and had carried a last-place roster to 56 wins, and then put up his highest ppg playoff average of his career...all in his rookie season. In the 74-75 season, and again missing 16 games with a broken hand, the Bucks record with him was still only 35-31.

Of course, it was at around that time that he asked to be traded, preferably to Los Angeles. And Milwaukee reluctantly did so. And if you were looking for when his domination began to wane, that was it.

I have pointed this out before, but in KAJ's peak regular season, 1971-72 (BTW, you could make a case that he was even greater in 70-71 but played less mpg)...he played 44.2 mpg, averaged 34.8 ppg, 16.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, and shot .574 from the field (again...in '70-71 it was 40.3 mpg, 31.7 ppg, 16.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, and shot .577 from the floor.) In that 71-72 season, the Bucks went 63-19, and had a +11.1 ppg differential. Wilt gets ripped by some for playing every minute of his 61-62 season, but at least with Chamberlain, he pretty much played 46-48 mpg his entire prime.

Let me reiterate... 44.2 mpg, on a team that went 63-19, and had a +11.1 ppg. Obviously, he was putting up numbers in blowouts.

In the '75-76 trade to the Lakers, Kareem joined a team that had gone 30-52 the year before (and of course, had lost players to get him.) And this is where it becomes interesting. For those that claimed that Kareem could have challenged Wilt's scoring records, this was an opportunity to prove it. He was now being asked to carry a mediocre roster.

What happened? He only played 41.2 mpg, could only average 27.7 ppg, and only shot .529 from the field. He did lead the league in rpg for the only time in his career, but even that needs some context. The truly great rebounders had retired. Guys like Wilt and Thurmond were gone, or basically done. The 6-9 Dave Cowens came in second at 16.0 rpg, followed by the 6-6 Unseld at 13.3, the 6-7 Paul Silas at 12.7, and an ordinary center, the 6-10 Sam Lacey was at 12.6. Those guys were putting up similar numbers in the Wilt-Nate era, so it is not like something dramatically changed.

Same with scoring, as well. While the overall ppg's declined slightly in the mid-70's, Maravich put up a 31.1 ppg season, and McAdoo had three straight seasons of 30.6 ppg, 34.5 ppg, and 31.1 ppg. And McAdoo's 31.1 ppg season was the season in which Kareem averaged 27.7 ppg (and the next year Maravich was at 31.1.)

So the head-scratcher was this. Why couldn't a seemingly more prime Kareem, not have put up anything close to what a peak Kareem actually did? Not only that, but he couldn't come close in mpg, either. Again, I have read those that ripped Wilt for being a "selfish stats-padder", but clearly, the same could have applied to Kareem in 71-72. He was putting up 35 ppg in 44 mpg, on a team that was blowing out their opposition. BUT, when his team NEEDED him to produce those numbers, as the '75-76 Lakers clearly needed him to do so, he either couldn't, or didn't want to.

Continued...

[AirFederer]

Top 5

Continued...