Word: kareem
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Kareem's scowl became the definitive one. "My inability to enjoy my successes, or at least to show my enjoyment," he says, "made it hard for people to enjoy me." But he went on. He transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975 and kept going on. And on. "Just thinking of it now is strange," he says...
Here's one way to think of it: 20 years ago, Kareem and 208 other men were playing in the NBA. By the end of the '70s, 18 of them remained. In 1983, two. When Elvin Hayes -- Kareem's particular college rival -- retired from the Houston Rockets in 1984, one. Since then, just Kareem. He has amassed the most games (1,525) and points (38,028) in history, but the telling indicator is that only three scorers in the league today have been even half as prolific. Recalling players past, he says, "They've come and gone by generations...
Riding the great Laker wave of back-to-back NBA titles in 1987 and 1988, his fifth and sixth all told, Kareem returned this season for one last $3 million campaign at 41. But from November to January, he looked so soft and spent, the Los Angeles papers pleaded with him to stop. It seemed he was going around again just for the money (a stream of failed investments has him at public loggerheads with his agent) or maybe for the curtain calls at all the final stops (testimonials have included a motorcycle in Milwaukee and a chunk of Boston...
...Lakers are not as overpowering as they were, but the Western division is probably still theirs, and the East continues to fear them. Trying to stay in the game, Kareem can't yet block out every thought of passage. His favorite year was 1985, "when we finally beat the Celtics." The special coach was UCLA's John Wooden, who "never let his goals separate him from his ideals." The ultimate teammates were Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. "Playing with Oscar in Milwaukee was a privilege. No nonsense, no frills. And being with Magic has been wonderful. His flair...
...been and started to look at the fans differently. They started to see me too." Because other centers were elected, this week's All-Star game almost went on without him. But when Johnson was injured, Commissioner David Stern ruled that a center could replace a guard, and Kareem was called. This time, the rules were changed to include...