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Comment by listenallyall | Hacker News Reader

Kareem is a smart, thoughtful, introverted guy and a tremendous basketball player who, unfortunately, has sort of been ignored or forgotten. He's rarely listed in the NBA's "Mount Rushmore" or "top 5" of all time, never got a coaching gig, which he desperately sought, never did TV.

He is being quite gracious here with Lebron, but inside surely he's thinking, I had to go to college for 4 years! And nobody out here today is playing any defense! Give me 4 extra years against this competition and I'd have 10,000 more points! And I've got 6 titles to your 4, plus 3 more NCAA championships!

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I don’t think we should really ascribe internal mental state to another person as respectable as Kareem that’s contrary to what he’s just told us.

I watched a fair amount of basicball in the 80s. Centers didn't get as much credit as some of the more visible positions. He was one of the best at that position, but positions seemed more formalized back then (I rarely remember centers dribbling up the court). Also Kareem was on a team with another superstar who overshadowed him.

The great basketball teams even with their stars required really solid support players in the other roles. They all were pretty good.

Many less 3 pointers (I think Kareem made 1 his entire career). The scoring record seems a lot like a career longevity thing, I don't think I've heard it talked about alot.

As he states in the article, Kareem was very competitive and fairly serious. Basket ball had some real characters (Rodman, Barkley) As a celtics fan, his skyhook shot he developed was really hard to defend against. Against the celtics McHale had a sort of half hook, but it wasn't like that. I remember with friends trying to do that skyhook on the court.

He seems to have that wisdom now that comes with age.

Why is there a common perception today that the NBA competition is weak? Given the time it has proliferated, now we have players who have been playing since they were 5. And they're absolute physical beasts - in size and athleticism.

Well, because even from commentators who justly praise LeBron, you find acknowledgments that, for instance,

"And then there's D'Angelo Russell, who, in short, is a valuable defensive player only when he isn't really tasked with guarding anybody. Last season, the Timberwolves were surprisingly effective defensively because they used Russell on the worst opposing perimeter player and allowed him to serve as a back-line communicator. That's a valuable role. The Lakers know this because that's how they use LeBron. Unless James is willing to take on a higher-effort defensive role with Russell easing his ball-handling burden, Russell is going to have to start playing some point-of-attack defense."

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/russell-westbrook-trade-g...

That’s regular season Lebron at 38, in games that matter he’s an excellent defender.

It is just the standard "kids these days" effect. Players today would absolutely steam roll the players of the past. Even if the rules and enforcement were done in the old school ways, the new players would adapt fine.

Basketball is popular world wide now, the talent pool is immensely larger than it was.

If anything this just makes Kareem all the more impressive that Lebron is only breaking this record now.

Combine this with his blocks, rebounds and 6 rings and it has never been for certain that Kareem was not better than both Jordan and Lebron.

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