Lakers to unveil Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 'sky hook' statue
theGRIO REPORT - The NBA's all-time leading scorer will have a 16-foot, 1,500-pound bronze statue unveiled outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles Friday and Abdul-Jabbar couldn't be happier...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Hall of Fame career and classic sky hook will finally be immortalized in Laker land.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer will have a 16-foot, 1,500-pound bronze statue unveiled outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles Friday and Abdul-Jabbar couldn’t be happier, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. (The Staples Center is home to both the Clippers and Lakers)
“It’s me in a classic sky-hook pose,” Abdul-Jabbar told the Los Angeles Daily News‘ Mark Medina in a phone interview. “It looks good.”
In a May, 2011 interview with the Sporting News’ Steve Greenberg, Abdul-Jabbar said he felt “slighted” because the Lakers hadn’t honored him in statue form. Following the Sporting News interview, he released an additional statement through his business manager:
“I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success. I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history.”
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Abdul-Jabbar admits to Medina he didn’t handle the statue controversy well.
“I didn’t need to do that,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
In August, the Lakers announced plans to honor Kareem in statue form, joining other Laker greats Magic Johnson and Jerry West. Â This season the Lakers will retire the jersey of another great Lakers center: Shaquille O’Neal. Other sports figures with statues outside Staples Center include boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, hockey great Wayne Gretzky and long-time Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn.
Follow theGrio’s Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj
