In the NBA, a lot of weight is put on individual players’ performances and accomplishments, especially by the fans and media. Compared to most other team sports, one superstar can have an outsized effect on the outcome of a game, series, or season, placing more pressure on players than in other games.
This is why the GOAT debate in basketball is such a timeless topic for fans to passionately argue about. Humans are tribal beings who usually pick one side of the argument and stick to it as if their life depended on it, and the NBA’s greatest of all-time debate is a perfect example of it.
Michael Jordan, the incumbent, vs. LeBron James, the still-active challenger, is the ultimate basketball argument. Who’s resume, accolades, and dominance was more impressive to earn the label of the best to ever do it?
Well, it turns out that there’s actually a third legitimate candidate for basketball’s highest honor, and he’s somehow never discussed. LeBron vs. Jordan often boils down to whether you care about longevity or dominance in a short span, but this player fits into both categories, and arguably has an even greater resume than either of them.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Has the Greatest Basketball Life Ever
When NBA fans think of other possible challengers for the GOAT mantle, they usually think of more popular players like Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, or Stephen Curry. They also may mention someone like Wilt Chamberlain, whose statistics are so eye-popping that he owns real estate in the NBA record books.
However, none of them have a legitimate case if we’re truly being honest about it. No other player has the combination of career accolades, longevity, dominance, and consistent clutch performances to match what Jordan or LeBron have done, except for one guy: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Jabbar, who was formerly known as Lew Alcindor before changing his name, has inarguably had the greatest basketball life from start to finish of any player who’s ever lived. Ironically, the challenger for second might not even be one of the GOAT candidates, but rather Jerry West, who added to his playing career with excellent work as an executive, and is also the NBA logo.
Kareem won three consecutive high school championships in New York before winning three NCAA titles at UCLA in the 1960s. He did all of this before embarking on a 20-year NBA career in which he matched the longevity (almost) of LeBron James and the accomplishments and dominance of Michael Jordan.
In 20 NBA seasons, Kareem notched 19 All-Star appearances (second to James’ 21), 15 All-NBA honors (t-second), and 11 All-Defensive Teams (fourth). He won six NBA titles (tied for second in the modern era to Robert Horry’s seven), six league MVPs (first all-time), and added two Finals MVPs to go with it.
Jabbar won championships with two separate teams, capturing the Larry O’Brien first in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks before helping create the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, who won five titles in nine years from 1980-88. He, alongside with Magic Johnson, were part of saving the league from folding after a disastrous 1970s decade of drug and social issues.
“Cap” also led the league in blocks four times, scoring twice, and rebounding once. His 2.6 blocks per game ranked seventh all-time, his 11.8 rebounds per game ranks 29th, and he averaged 24.6 points per game over two decades of consistency.
Jabbar had the most unstoppable shot in league history with the sky-hook, using it to set the all-time points record in 1984, a mark that stood for 39 years until LeBron James broke it in 2023.
To summarize, Kareem is strong in basically every category you could argue about in the GOAT debate. He played well longer than anyone besides LeBron, he won five titles in nine years for one of the greatest dynasties ever, and he has every accolade that one could ask for. He even had the most unguardable shot we’ve seen and is quietly one of the most influential players ever.
If MJ fans want to argue that Mike is greater than LeBron because he won six titles in eight years, well, Kareem also won six rings (five in nine years). MJ’s five MVPs pale in comparison to Jabbar’s six. He compiled more All-Stars, All-NBAs, All-Defense Teams, etc. than Jordan did, and won just as much.
If LeBron truthers use the longevity angle to crush Jordan, well, wrong again. Yes, James has surpassed even what the ever-durable Kareem was able to do, but Jabbar is comfortably second in that category, and the longevity difference isn’t yet big enough to disqualify him. Jabbar won Finals MVP at 37 years old and was a valuable playoff performer late into his 30s.
Any way you slice it, there’s no excuse not to put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar right up there with LeBron James and Michael Jordan for basketball’s greatest honor.
Arguments Against Kareem
The real reason that few people, especially younger fans, don’t consider Kareem in the GOAT debate is simply because he played too long ago. Jabbar began his NBA career in 1969, which was 56 years ago at this point, though he was an elite player throughout the entirety of the 80s. His pre-NBA accomplishments happened too long ago for most fans to even think about.
It also doesn’t help that Kareem isn’t the most electrifying person, as a player or in his post-playing days. On the floor, he had a simple and elegant game that relied on fundamentals, although he was certainly a supreme athlete at seven feet. Off the floor, he’s a very quiet, reserved person who never draws attention to himself, which allows casual fans to forget his greatness.
With that said, there are some real, albeit faint, reasons to knock Kareem’s GOAT credentials.
While Jordan and LeBron were the undisputed best players and Finals MVP on all ten of their combined championship teams, Kareem won just two Finals MVPs and wasn’t the clear top dog on several of his title squads.
In 1971, he clearly was better than the aging Oscar Robertson, and he won Finals MVP. In 1980, ’82, ’85, ’87, and ’88, one could argue that Magic Johnson was the superior player and the definitive driver of the Showtime Lakers playstyle. Kareem was rarely the obvious engine of his teams, whereas James and Jordan have never not been that in their entire careers.
Jabbar’s critics would claim that while legendary, he simply didn’t do as much to contribute to championships as the other two candidates. It’s a fair point, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to disqualify him from sitting at the GOAT discussion table. It’s very hard to make a coherent argument that Kareem isn’t on the same level as our accepted legends.