The day after seeing his all-time NBA scoring record fall to LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflected on the two's contentious relationship. 'LeBron said we don't have a relationship,' Abdul-Jabbar wrote. 'He's right — and for that I blame myself.'
on Tuesday night in front of the LA Lakers home crowd. The NBA paused the game so Abdul-Jabbar, himself a Lakers legend, could appear on court alongside James.
Abdul-Jabbar ceremoniously handed James the basketball, and the two embraced before James addressed the crowd. "Seeing my family and friends, the people that's been around me since I started this journey to the NBA, definitely very emotional right there," James said.In the letter, Abdul-Jabbar reflected on comments from other athletes, including Magic Johnson and James, in the months leading up to the new record. Abdul-Jabbar said people were wrong to assume that he wouldn't be happy for James.
"It's as if I won a billion dollars in a lottery and 39 years later someone won two billion dollars," Abdul-Jabbar wrote."How would I feel? Grateful that I won and happy that the next person also won. His winning in no way affects my winning."While Abdul-Jabbar admitted he may feel differently had someone broken his record even a decade after he did, he said he no longer feels that way now.
"If I had a choice of having my scoring record remain intact for another hundred years or spend one afternoon with my grandchildren, I'd be on the floor in seconds stacking Legos and eating Uncrustables," he wrote.Abdul-Jabbar corroborated comments James made earlier that the two athletes don't have a relationship. The retired athlete blamed his introverted personality and the stark age difference between the two — James is 38, Abdul-Jabbar is 75.
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