Finally, the Captain gets his statue.
Shame on the Lakers for being so long overdue with this, but shoutout to the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for finally getting his likeness immortalized in front of Staples Center. Magic, Jerry West, Chick Hearn, Oscar De La Hoya and Wayne Gretzky got theirs. You'd think, at some point, Professor Sky Hook would get his.
After the Lakers erected the Logo's statue, Kareem, miffed, told Sporting News: "I don't understand (it). It's either an oversight or they're taking me for granted. I'm not going to try to read people's minds, but it doesn't make me happy. It's definitely a slight. I feel slighted."
Kareem has actually always felt a little slighted by the Lakers and the city of Los Angeles, specifically with the way Magic swooped into town in 1979 and immediately became the franchise's centerpiece. Magic and Kareem's tenure with the Lakers was a little shaky in 1982 when Magic renegotiated his contract with owner Jerry Buss for record millions (but pennies by today's standards) and team and league MVP (just a season before) Jabbar looked on, smarting. That tension never shuttered the dynasty, but it threatened to.
The Lakers and Buss family have finally made things right.
