Guys who have that smooth athleticism and low key demeanor always criticized for not trying hard enough. Kareem was so graceful, fluid, and composed - all that over 7ft tall. Six time
MVP, 2 time NBA finals MVP, 10 time first team All-NBA, 6 time champion...if anything, he gets underrated in the NBA GOAT discussions.
If this were a general, all-levels basketball GOAT thread, Kareem wins hands down. His teams went 79-2 in high school, with 2 national championships and one runner up. In three years of college he went 88-2 with 3 titles & 3 tournament MVPs. It’s an absolutely unmatched pre-professional career.
And
@kfoss99, you’re off base here. Kareem was the foundation that Showtime was built on. In the defensive end, his shot blocking allowed the wings to cheat for steals and his rebounding was so consistent that the Lakers would always send 3 and often 4 flying up court when an opponent launched a jumper. How many times did we see him snag a rebound and in one fluid motion outlet to Magic at halfcourt who would then push the ball to Rambis or another PF? Those guys were only on the break because Kareem could control the paint by himself.
And on the offensive end, he was the linchpin of the Lakers’ half court sets. If they couldn’t score on the break, then they had all sorts of sets around Kareem on either block. Leave him one v one, out comes the skyhook. Double him from the wing to prevent the hook, and Kareem passes out to one of their shooters or, preferably, James Worthy, who was always just two steps from a finger roll.