“He’s honorable and straightforward” – Bucks President hailed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for remaining professional despite seeking a trade out of Milwaukee in 1975 originally appeared on Basketball Network.
As early as October 1974, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar informed the Milwaukee Bucks of his desire to be traded. His preferred landing spots were the New York Knicks, the Washington Bullets, and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, being the NBA’s most dominant player then, the Bucks had no immediate plans to jump into a deal.
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Hence, the only logical way for KAJ at the time was to wait until his contract expired. Being the professional that he was, Kareem promised to honor that and continue to play for the team. Bucks president then Williams Alverson revealed how Kareem remained professional throughout that entire process.
“Kareem has told us he will honor the contract and his option season and we have no reason to think differently,” Bucks president William Alverson said via the New York Times. “There is nothing devious about him. It’s not in him. It’s not his lifestyle. He does not play cat and mouse. He puts it on the table. He’s honorable and straight forward.”
True enough, KAJ hardly showed signs of shifting his game to low gear. He averaged 30.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in 65 regular season games that year. That performance placed Kareem in the running for another MVP award. Having won it three times with the Bucks, Abdul-Jabbar finished fifth in the race. Aside from that, he also got his 6th All-Star nod and was part of the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
KAJ wasn’t a spoiled brat
With his professionalism on full display, it was clear that Abdul-Jabbar cared only about playing the game he loved. Unfortunately, there were developments that season that he and the Bucks had no control over.
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The first was the hand injury he got after punching the backboard stanchion. It was a result of his rage after catching a fingernail in his left eye from Don Nelson, leaving him with a corneal abrasion. That forced Kareem to miss 16 games, resulting in the Bucks starting the season with a woeful 3-13 start. While he did eventually return, other injuries befell the team, sending them to the bottom of their division.
But given his production that season, it was clear Kareem stayed true to his word despite not being happy in Milwaukee. He wanted to be in a city where he felt he could feel at home and fit in.
“Culturally, what I’m about and what Milwaukee is about are two different things. The reason I haven’t commented on this before is I don’t want to take a knock at Milwaukee or the people here and have them think they’re unworthy of me. That’s not what it’s all about,” Abdul-Jabbar explained via the Los Angeles Times.
Money was never an issue
That mindset set the tone for Kareem’s career. He would eventually move to the Los Angeles Lakers, the team where he would end his career. As on of the most dominant players of that era, KAJ continued to earn millions. The Lakers would not let him go, with Dr. Jerry Buss exhausting all means to keep the 7-foot-2 player in Los Angeles.
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The Purple and Gold hardly had issues with Kareem when it came to money. Proof of this is that 25-year contract that would pay Magic Johnson $1 million annually. Rather than show more interest in the pay of the 6-foot-9 guard, KAJ was more concerned about whether LA could control Johnson.
“Some of Abdul-Jabbar’s concerns over the contract were whether head coach Paul Westhead could suspend Magic, fine Magic, or discipline him,” Lakers spokesperson Bruce Jolesch explained.
Buss cleared all that up, and it was all Kareem needed to hear. KAJ and Magic meshed and found a way to work well together. With both superstars on the same page, the Lakers won five championships in the 80s, better known to most as the “Showtime” era in Los Angeles.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.