With all this talk of the greatest basketball players of all-time, younger generations have forgotten about the real G.O.A.T., UCLA Basketball’s Lew Alcindor, aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The term G.O.A.T. (which is an acronym for “greatest of all time”) has been thrown around quite a bit recently. Most people focus solely on the first letter and forget about the last three, “of all time”. This is a common mistake, especially when labeling modern players as such. Now if we were to analyze who the greatest of all time really is, there is only one person that comes to mind… former UCLA basketball player Lew Alcindor, a.k.a., Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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When talking about some of the greatest from past generations, younger fans have not experienced all that came before the modern legends, which unfairly excludes past legends. Those who have seen some of the greatest from decades ago, know exactly why they will remain in the conversation as “greatest of all time”.
When using this acronym, many people only refer to notable modern players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. But if you consider every player across their careers, meaning high school, college and the pros, you need not look further than “The Captain” as the greatest.
For those of us that were around to see Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, we know exactly why he is the definitive G.O.A.T. Even though several players have carved themselves into NBA lore, they didn’t do what Kareem did.
High School – Power Memorial Academy
Kareem (back then known as Lew Alcindor) started his dominance in high school, playing for Power Memorial Academy in New York. He led his team to three straight New York City catholic championships, which was backed by a 79-2 record. During his junior year, Alcindor led his team to a national title, which was the beginning of a very dominant career.
College – UCLA
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Alcindor started to make national headlines while at UCLA, playing for legendary coach John Wooden. Yet all of his achievements were accomplished in only three years as freshmen were not allowed to play in during first year of college. But even during that first season with the Bruins, he showed how dominant he could be as he led the frosh team to a 75-60 win over the 2-time National Champion Bruins in an intrasqaud game.
The future looked very good for Alcindor, as he was just getting started.
In the next three years (1966-69), Alcindor led UCLA to three more championships and an overall record of 88-2. In that time he was a 3-time NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, a 3-time National College Player of the Year and a 3-time 1st team All-American.
Alcindor is second on UCLA’s all-time scoring list with 2,325 points, just behind Don MacLean who leads all Bruins (and the Pac-12 Conference) with 2,608. But MacLean had the luxury of playing all four years in college. If Alcindor played is freshman year, it seems logical to assume that he would be UCLA’s all-time leading scorer, as well as added a fourth national title to his resume.
He was a legend in high school and a legend in college, but he took it a step further in the pros.
NBA – Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers
When talking about G.O.A.T.s, folks usually limit it to production in the NBA. Alcindor, who was now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (he changed his name in 1968 for religious purposes), ranks among the best in professional basketball. Let us quickly take a look at some of his accomplishments.
Abdul-Jabbar won six total titles with two teams: Milwaukee Bucks (1971), Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). He was a 2-time NBA Finals MVP, 6-time NBA MVP, 19-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA First Team member, and a 5-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member.
These are astonishing achievements, but how do his stats compare to some of the all time greats? Let us just say that he holds his own compared to the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain.
Career Stats of 5 NBA Legends
| Stats | Kareem | LeBron* | Jordan | Big O | Wilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | 20 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 |
| Total Pts | 38,387 | 31,038 | 32,292 | 26,716 | 31,419 |
| FG% | .559 | .504 | .497 | .485 | .540 |
| Pts/Gm | 24.6 | 27.2 | 30.1 | 25.7 | 30.1 |
| Rebs/Gm | 11.7 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 22.9 |
| Blks/Gm | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | — | — |
| Asts/Gm | 3.6 | 7.2 | 5.3 | 9.5 | 4.4 |
*still active
It is truly impressive, especially for a career that lasted 20 years (TWENTY YEARS!). On top of that, he is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with a staggering 38,387 points. That will never be matched.
So right about now, some of you might be saying, “well of course he had the most points, he played 20 years.” Let me stop you right there. Playing pro basketball is extremely difficult, so to make a living off of it for two decades is something only the best can achieve. His stats started to fade towards the end of his career, but he continued to compete. Every. Single. Game.
Kareem was great in the pros. He was great in college and in high school. So by definition, he is the Greatest OF ALL TIME. Not just in high school. Not just in college. Not just in the pros… OF ALL TIME! No one else can claim that.
Next: The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team
So the next time some tries to convince you that King James, Air Jordan and any other basketball player is the G.O.A.T., just smile and educate them on the Captain.