Naeem Akbar wrote a book that was published in 1974 entitled “The Chains and Images of Psychological Slavery.” In that masterpiece he said that there was a difference between being a student and a scholar. “A student goes to class and absorbs information only to regurgitate that same information. However, a scholar goes to class, absorbs information and then tests the validity of that information.
Unfortunately, there are very few scholars in the world and it’s even worse when you throw sports into the equation. Folks get so emotionally invested into a team or a player that they lose all ability to deal in logic and facts.
I’m constantly labeled as a Jordan hater because I refuse to believe the foolishness that the media sells to folks about him being the greatest basketball player to ever live. He was great but the greatest?
In the famous words of Jay-Z, “Men lie, women lie, NUMBERS DON’T!!” Before we even get to the Mike vs LeBron debate we’ve got to stop at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar first. Not only do the numbers suggest that he was the greatest professional basketball player but he was by far the greatest college basketball player. The numbers don’t lie!!!
However, he’s never even in the conversation when folks talk GOAT.
Now let’s step back for a minute. Mike is the GOAT from a cultural stand point in the game of basketball because of the influence the Jordan Brand has had on the the world and the NBA. However, it’s clearly up for debate as to whether he’s the greatest all-around player we’ve ever seen.
Kareem has been excluded from all conversations of the GOAT (in terms of ability and accomplishments) because he’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and not still Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.
In 1968 he converted to Sunni Islam and boycotted the Olympics staying home in protest of the unequal treatment of black in America. He didn’t publicly change his name until 1971. During that time the media controlled every aspect of a man’s image and was able to control the narrative more so than they do today.
Kareem was heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement with other black athletes of the time like Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali. They were all public enemy No.1. Sure, Ali became known as the GOAT later in life. However, it was only after he lost his ability to speak publicly did mainstream America embrace him. He was once one of the most hated men in America because he refused to fight in the Vietnam War.
His personality finally won the mainstream over because was no longer talking and telling folks what was really on his mind.
Jordan, on the other hand, has always been for lack of a better word a “safe African American” that has never taken a stance on issues that affect the black community. He was easy to market and promote because all he ever wanted to do was to sell his brand. There was never a threat of him saying anything that would upset folks.
Now that Kareem is an old man there is no reason to go back and name him the GOAT because they’ve got Jordan and he sells more ad space and shoes than an old cat that boycotted the Olympics and stood up for civil rights in America.
Remember this, mainstream American didn’t love Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. until long after he’d been assassinated. At the time of his death he was the most hated man in America.
Kareem across the board has better numbers than Jordan or anybody else for that matter but he’s never in the discussion as the GOAT and it has absolutely nothing to do with basketball. People that buck the system are always pushed out.
If you don’t believe me look for Colin Kaepernick, Craig Hodges and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf formally known as Chris Jackson.
There are several players that you could argue were/are the GOAT and you could make a legitimate case for. If you argued Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Oscar Robertson and LeBron you could put together a helluva paper on each of them.
Everybody and their baby’s momma brings up Jordan going 6-0 in the Finals when Kareem, Pippen and Bob Cousey all have the same six titles. There are 8 other players with more titles than those 6 but nobody every brings that fact to the debate.
Bill Russell went 8-0 in the Finals from 1959-66 and won titles in ’57, ’68 and ’69. That’s 11 total championships yet he’s not in any discussion but Jordan winning 6 makes him the GOAT? That makes no sense!!!
If titles make a player the GOAT then Jordan loses that argument big time!! Russell’s got 11, Sam Jones has 10, John Havilcek has 8, Tom Heinsohn has 8, K.C. Jones has 8, Tom “Satch” Sanders is sitting on 8, Robert Horry has 7 James Loscutoff has 7, Frank Ramsey has 7 and I’ve already mentioned the other 3 that has the same 6 Jordan has. Stop with this foolishness!!!
However, Kareem is never in the conversation because the mainstream media over the years have excluded him from the conversation because he’s not in their eyes loyal to the foolishness that was going on in America when he was at the top of his game. He stood up for civil rights and wasn’t afraid to say what it was. That’s why he’s never in the GOAT conversation. AND at this point it’s not profitable to sell an old Muslim that stood up for civil rights to the American mainstream. Jordan is much easier to sell but the NUMBERS DON’T LIE! You can’t hate on the truth playa. Stop me when I start lyin’!
