ThaRegul8r

My top two picks to build a team around if I have a pool of every player to have ever played the game to choose from are 1) Bill Russell, 2) Kareem. I know everyone's automatically, saying, "Jordan," because he's usually the "automatic" answer to any question in which his name is involved in. But look how much time it took for the Bulls to build a winning team around Jordan, while Kareem joined a team that finished 27-55 the previous season—the second-worst record in the league, and INSTANTLY improved them to a 56-26 record which was the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA History to that point, and they went to the Eastern Conference Finals. All they needed was one more piece (Oscar Robertson), and they won a title the very next year.

I'm taking Kareem. I'm of the opinion that you have to go big. My team will be built around the skyhook, the greatest go-to move in the history of the game. “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skyhook is the most deadly and unstoppable offensive weapon in any sport. For years and years, the Lakers picked up their paychecks regularly because Kareem dropped that shot in right hand or left hand, whenever the game was on the line. […] We had plenty of other offensive weapons, but that was the one that came out of the holster when we got into a make-or-break situation. […] In our half-court offense we went into Kareem in the low post so much it was an act of arrogance. We didn’t even try to disguise it. It was like saying, “Here’s what we’re going to do. It’s what we always do. We just don’t think you can stop it” (Showtime: Inside the Lakers’ Breakthrough Season [New York: Warner Books, 1988], pp. 49-50).

With the skyhook, Abdul-Jabbar shot over 50 percent from the field for an NBA record 19 consecutive seasons—his shooting percentage didn’t dip below 50 percent until his final season in the league, at 42 years old. His career field-goal percentage of 55.9 percent is eighth-highest in NBA history behind Artis Gilmore (.599), Mark West (.580), Shaquille O’Neal (.5797), Steve Johnson (.5722), Darryl Dawkins (.5720), James Donaldson (.571), and Jeff Ruland (.564), and his 28,307 field-goal attempts are the most in history. He has the two highest field-goal percentages for a 30-point scorer in NBA history (31.7 ppg on 57.7% in 1970-71 and 34.8 ppg on 57.4% in 1971-72), and three of the top seven (30.2 ppg on 55.4% in 1972-73)—so he will score, and he will do it efficiently. During his 20 year career which spanned 1,560 games from 1969-70 to 1988-89, Abdul-Jabbar played against Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy, Nate Thurmond, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Dave Cowens, Bob Lanier, Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton, Alvin Adams, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, Jack Sikma, Tree Rollins, Bill Laimbeer, Mark Eaton, Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing. The only greats at his position he didn’t play against were George Mikan, who played during the late ’40s to mid ’50s, Bill Russell, who retired in 1969 after winning his 11th NBA championship, David Robinson, who came in the league during the 1989-90 season, the year after Abdul-Jabbar’s retirement, and Shaquille O’Neal, who entered the league three years later. “The skyhook has definitely been a factor in my longevity […]. I’ve avoided the beating I would have taken if I’d gone inside all the time and worked directly under the boards” (Kareem [New York: Random House, 1990], p. 170). At 38 years of age, Abdul-Jabbar was MVP of the 1985 NBA Finals, averaging 25.7 ppg, 9 rpg and 5.2 apg, shooting 60.4 percent from the floor and 76.9 percent from the line. “The range on that sky hook of his was awesome,” said Larry Bird. “In ’85 he was shooting that thing from the corner like it was a lay-up. It didn’t matter how old he was, when you needed a basket, you’d want Kareem shooting that sky hook. There was nothing you could do except hope that he missed it” (244). The following year, at 39, Abdul-Jabbar was named to the All-NBA First Team, scoring 23.4 points per game (10th in the league) on 56.4 percent shooting (7th). In a 117-95 win over the Houston Rockets on Feb. 6, 1985, “The 38-year-old wonder turned back the hands of time to give the Twin Towers of Akeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson a lesson. When the instruction was complete, he had piled up a season-high 46 points—tying the record by a Rocket opponent at the Summit—on 21-for-30 shooting and also collected 11 rebounds to almost single-handedly turn back another challenge by the supposed heirs to the throne” (Houston Chronicle 7 Feb. 1986).

Wilt Chamberlain said that Abdul-Jabbar “was the greatest offensive force I ever faced on a basketball court—by far.” Walt Frazier said that if he could choose any player in NBA history in his prime to start a team, he’d pick Abdul-Jabbar—even over Jordan, who is also the player he’d want to take the last shot with the game on the line. “Start with Abdul-Jabbar and that sky-hook. That was unstoppable.” Additionally, Abdul-Jabbar was a career 72.1 percent shooter from the free-throw line. In Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons, at the age of 41, Abdul-Jabbar was fouled by Bill Laimbeer with 14 seconds left and the Lakers down by one, stepped to the line and hit both free throws to give the Lakers a 103-102 win, tying the series at three games apiece and sending it to Game 7. So when the game's on the line, I would be quite comfortable going to Abdul-Jabbar to take the most unstoppable shot in NBA history, and if he's fouled, he can make the free throws.

Also, “What makes Abdul-Jabbar so devastating on offense is the completeness of his game. In addition to being the closest thing to an automatic two points as exists in the game, he is also a skilled passer. To play him one-on-one is to invite a good shot, but to double or triple-team him is to invite a better shot for someone else." Tom Heinsohn said, “He’s the best big guy I ever saw at reading a defense and picking out the right open man for the best percentage shot” (Give ’em the Hook [New York: Prentice Hall, 1988], pp. 186-87).

Since blocked shots were recorded beginning in the 1973-74 season, Abdul-Jabbar led the league four times (3.26 bpg in ’74-75, 4.12 in ’75-76, 3.95 in ’78-79 and 3.41 in ’79-80), which is the most since they’ve been keeping track of the statistic. And something which may not be commonly known,

TEAM DEFENSE
FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE
(Opponents’ field-goal percentage has been compiled since 1970-71)

Lowest opponents’ field-goal percentage, season
.420 — Milwaukee, 1971-72 (3,370/8,025)
.422 — Milwaukee, 1972-73 (3,385/8,028)
.424 — Milwaukee, 1970-71 (3,489/8,224)

Jabbar's Bucks held opponents to the lowest field-goal percentage in NBA history since the statistic was recorded, and they held the record for 26 years, until the San Antonio Spurs broke it in the 1997-98 season after the arrival of Tim Duncan, when they held opponents to 41.1 percent shooting (2,737/6,656).

So, uh, let's see... Michael or Kareem to build a team around? I'm going to have to take Kareem. And unlike many people who simply answer "Jordan," as if the mere mention of the name should be enough and not need an explanation, I've given my reasons behind my pick so the Jordan fanboys can't say, "What? You're picking someone over Jordan? You're crazy!"

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THE REGULATOR
"I'm not the showstopper, I'm RUNNING the show!"