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NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was full of praise for the great LeBron James on the night James surpassed him as the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer. The two superstars haven’t always had a close relationship, but even when one has criticized the other there has been an underlying and discernible respect between them.
If Abdul-Jabbar has occasionally expressed a belief that James could do more in one aspect or another of pushing for social justice, that belief was always predicated on the fact that James’s potential impact was immeasurable — as big as it gets.
But while Abdul-Jabbar praised James broadly after he set the new scoring record, expounding on younger man’s myriad skills and NBA accomplishments — including “dominating” — Abdul-Jabbar did commit what some might call a Freudian Slip.
(A Freudian Slip, named after the famous psychoanalyst who identified it, is defined as an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings.)
Abdul-Jabbar, who won six NBA championships, said of James: “He led his team to three world championships.”
James has actually won four NBA titles. He won two in Miami, one in Cleveland and one with the Lakers. By either count, James hasn’t won as many titles as Abdul-Jabbar (yet!). But the three that Abdul-Jabbar thinks James has won would be just half of Abdul-Jabbar’s total — it’s a number that’s jarring to knowledgeable James fans, among whom Abdul-Jabbar may not quite fit.
Abdul-Jabbar also said James entered the game and “immediately began to have his effect” and that James has “that indefinable essence that they call leadership.”
