NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has had a terrific career in the league inspiring many in the process. Given his stellar record and the tag of all-time scoring leader attached to his name, the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar has built quite a legacy. However, it is only a matter of a few days before the crown gets passed over to NBA superstar LeBron James. Amid all that, a former rival and an old pal of the NBA veteran came forth to talk about the greatness that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is.

LeBron James is less than 100 points away from becoming the new all-time leading scorer and by the looks of it, James will most probably hit the milestone within the next two-three games. Ironically, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had dethroned the previous record-holder, Wilt Chamberlain, in the same year that LeBron was born.

Former Lakers coach praise Hall of Famer

Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Miami Heat president Pat Riley’s relationship go way back to their high school years. In an interview with Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Pat Riley took a trip down memory lane as he recalled the first time he and Kareem faced each other on the court. Riley, who attended Linton, had defeated Kareem and Power Memorial by 74-68 at the former’s home game in 1961. Years later, the duo went on to win four championship titles together with Riley as the Lakers’ head coach.

Reflecting on the 6x NBA champion’s career in the league, Riley said, “Kareem was a guy that never had any potential. He just had greatness. You could see that. When you can bypass potential and you move right to greatness as a high school player, and then college and then the pros…there are very few like him. There?s a handful. Two handfuls, at the most.”

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Riley served as the Lakers’ head coach for nine seasons. He later went on to become the president of the Heat and acquired the team’s Big Three that included LeBron James following the latter’s controversial ‘Decision’.

Kareem’s thoughts on LeBron James

In October 2022, Kareem Abdul Jabbar talked about the impending moment when he would no longer be the league’s all-time scoring leader. On his Substack page, the 2x NBA Finals MVP shared how his predecessor Wilt Chamberlain had disliked Kareem when his game improved. However, Kareem assured that he would never have any kind of animosity towards LeBron James when he surpasses him.

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“When I broke Wilt Chamberlain?s scoring record in 1984 — the year LeBron was born — it bothered Wilt, who?d had a bit of a one-sided rivalry with me since I?d started doing so well in the NBA. I don?t feel that way toward LeBron. Not only will I celebrate his accomplishment, I will sing his praises unequivocally,” Kareem wrote.