The basketball empire is built on the back of some of the game’s greatest. One of them was Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The five-time champion is arguably one of the pioneers of the game. Shockingly, in his recent writing, the Los Angeles Lakers legend revealed his first love wasn’t the hoop.

Abdul-Jabbar was one of the few talents who had success marked in his career from the very beginning. After marching to three NCAA championships, the great center moved on to the league. Not only was he a symbol of greatness, but he used his platform as an activist to bring forward societal change. On the court, his patented skyhook won him five championships and countless other accolades. Before LeBron James, his all-time scoring record held true in the league for over three decades.

Looking back at his career, the Los Angeles Lakers legend played the game like it was his only love. However, that wasn’t the case. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fantasized about another sport in his early years.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn’t fall in love with basketball first!

The six-time MVP released a new blog on his Substack recently. This time the topic of discussion was sports movies. The 19-time All-Star reviewed some of the best sports movies, ones that capture the true essence of the spirit of sport. He categorized movies according to sports and revealed the GOAT in the end. Beginning with basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would reveal a shocking detail.

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While glorifying the iconic 1973 movie ‘Bang The Drum Slowly’, the six-time NBA MVP admitted his heart first fell deep on the podium. The 75-year-old wrote on his Substack, “When I was a kid, I wanted to be a baseball player, not a basketball player, and I dreamed of glory in the dusty diamond. I met most of the great players of the last fifty years and I still attend games and cheer on the Dodgers. My love of the game has never waned.”

As a man from LA, it isn’t a surprise that he is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ironically, his good friend Magic Johnson is the owner of the baseball giants. In 2017, Abdul-Jabbar even led the Dodger Stadium cheers during a critical Game 6 of the World Series.

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Today, it’s tough to imagine Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pitching a fastball or hitting a home run. After his basketball exploits, any other picture looks little in front of his achievements. But that’s the story of many athletes. There are several NBA stars who were multi-sport athletes prior to making it to the NBA. LeBron James, who broke Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record was a football sensation before his growth spurt in high school.

Basketball may be responsible for crafting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into a legend, but as it seems, it was baseball that introduced the legendary center to the beauty of sports.

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