Are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq Friends? The Two NBA Stars Were Rumored To Be Beefing

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently spoke about his relationship with Shaq and explains why he didn’t support him at first.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the best players in the entire history of the NBA. Throughout his career, he was able to reach a plethora of heights. Overall, he finished his career as the league’s all-time leading scorer.

More recently, this record was broken by LeBron James, however, this does not take away from Kareem’s legend. He is still a top-three player ever, and if you know anything about basketball, then you respect Abdul-Jabbar for all that he accomplished. He was a trailblazer who remains highly respected by all.

Interestingly enough, much has been made of his relationship with another Lakers legend, Shaquille O’Neal. The night that LeBron broke the record, Kareem was on the NBA On TNT broadcast. During the interview with the Inside The NBA crew, Abdul-Jabbar cleared the air with Shaq over rumors that they didn’t like each other. Overall, it was a touching moment as Kareem praised Shaq for all that he did. Subsequently, Shaq did the same noting that he always looked up to the Lakers legend.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks Shaq

During an interview with Clutch Points over All-Star weekend, Abdul-Jabbar explained the origins of the Shaq beef rumors. Simply, Kareem didn’t initially support Shaq because he wanted the big man to become the best version of himself first. “I made up for a lot of time with Shaquille yesterday,” Kareem revealed. “He interviewed me, you know, we just got a lot of things straight. He used to think I hated him and that was never the case. I was waiting for him to reach his potential before I could support him. I didn’t want to support when he was just a [young guy]. He and Kobe got together and changed everybody’s idea of what he was possible of doing.”

Now that the two have touched base, fans can finally put all of the rumors and theories to bed. These two men are legends of not just the Lakers, but the NBA as a whole. It would have been a true shame if they did, indeed, not like each other.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lebron James
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar handing over a basketball to LeBron James.
Source: espn

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks on LeBron breaking his record.

“Well, I was glad that I could be there and demonstrate,” Kareem explained. “It wasn’t a problem. I was happy to hand the record over to him. I guess that was symbolic in the handing in the ball.” Kareem had held the record for 40 years, and it was largely thought that it could not be broken. However, LeBron has showcased some of the most impressive longevity in NBA history. He is still averaging close to 30 points per game, in his 20th season. That said, he will likely become the first player to eclipse the 40,000-point mark.

Regardless of how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may feel about LeBron, he cannot deny that James is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Even today, we are witnessing greatness from the Lakers star. It has been truly special to see, and we hope that James plays well into his 40s. Once Bronny gets into the league, it will truly be a full-circle moment.

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