Former Chicago Bulls Champion and Hall of Famer, Scottie Pippen, stepped on more than a few toes recently when he compared Miami Heat baller LeBron James to Michael Jordan, claiming LeBron might be the greatest of all-time.
Now the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has put Scottie in check and name checked a few other great ballers who he thinks come before LeBron and Michael. Sports heads are gonna love this one. Shots fired? Read the letter inside....
In an open letter to Scottie Pippen published in the LA Times, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said,
Dear Scottie,
I have nothing but respect for you my friend as an athlete and knowledgeable basketball mind. But you are way off in your assessment of who is the greatest player of all time and the greatest scorer of all time. Your comments are off because of your limited perspective. You obviously never saw Wilt Chamberlain play who undoubtedly was the greatest scorer this game has ever known. When did MJ ever average 50.4 points per game plus 25.7 rebounds? (Wilt in the 1962 season when blocked shot statistics were not kept). We will never accurately know how many shots Wilt blocked. Oh, by the way in 1967 and 68, Wilt was a league leader in assists. Did MJ ever score 100 points in a game? How many times did MJ score more than 60 points in a game? MJ led the league in scoring in consecutive seasons for 10 years but he did this in an NBA that eventually expanded into 30 teams vs. when Wilt played and there were only 8 teams….
In terms of winning, Michael excelled as both an emotional and scoring leader but Bill Russell’s Celtics won eight consecutive NBA Championships. Bill’s rebounding average per game is over 22.5 lifetime, MJs best rebounding years was eight per game (1989).… Bill played on a total of 11 championship teams and as you very well know, Scottie, the ring is the thing, and everything else is just statistics. So I would advise you to do a little homework before crowning Michael or LeBron with the title of best ever. As dominant as he is, LeBron has yet to win a championship. I must say that it looks like Miami has finally put the team together that will change that circumstance. Its my hope that today’s players get a better perspective on exactly what has been done in this league in the days of yore.
Affectionately,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer
Looks like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took Scottie Pippen back to school with that one. Check his siggy. But maybe LeBron will finally get a ring. He and the Miami Heat take on The Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight. Who ya with??
P.S. LeBron did respond to Scottie Pippen's statement saying,
“Michael’s an unbelievable player. I’ve got a long way—long way—to be mentioned as far as one of the all-time greats. Not even just Jordan. There’s a lot of great players who have played in this league. Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all these guys who are floating around with multiple rings, Bill Russell, all these guys who have pioneered this game.
“I’m gracious. Humbled by Scottie’s comments, especially with him being a teammate of his and seeing Michael on a day-to-day basis. But as far as me, I’m not going to sit here and say I’m better than Jordan. I’m not better than Jordan.”
Who do you think is the greatest?
Brooke Burns Busy Philipps Cameron Diaz Cameron Richardson Camilla Belle Carla Campbell
No comments:
Post a Comment