With 38,387 points across his illustrious 20-year career, Los Angeles Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can lay claim to being one of the greatest players in NBA history. Armed with a move that was both iconic and unstoppable — the Skyhook — Cap was a one-man wrecking crew inside the shaded lane for whom opposing coaches loathed to game plan.
Long retired and now enjoying life as a well-respected ambassador of the game, Kareem candidly admitted that there were players who actually gave him a lot of trouble on the block. At 7’2″ and weighing over 200 pounds, Cap was no slouch. However, these two players were not only strong men, but also crafty — a combination that gave the Lakers’ big man all kinds of fits.
Advertisement
He made me earn my points
Already towering over most players and with a wingspan that seemed to stretch for miles, Kareem was a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court. However, he mentioned that two players challenged him to bring his A-game every time they matched up: Nate Thurmond and Bob Lanier.
Nicknamed “Nate the Great,” Thurmond stood 6’11” and was always willing to give his body up to prevent the opposing team’s big man from getting buckets. A seven-time All-Star and a five-time member of the All-Defensive Team, Nate’s reputation as one of the greatest defensive players of all time is set in stone.
Advertisement
“Great defensive center — tall, agile, understood how to play defense,” Kareem said about Nate. “A lot of guys beat on me and said they played good defense. He actually did it. He made me earn my points.”
The respect was mutual between Kareem and Nate, as the latter openly admitted to Michael Jordan that the former, in his mind, was the greatest center of all time.
“I think when you put all the centers together, and you put together his longevity, I think he’s the best of all,” Thurmond said. “I think he has a great hook shot, and even today, as you say that he’s 40 years old, you can’t still stop his hook shot. He’s amazing.”
Advertisement
Kareem always stood in Bob’s way
As for Lanier, Abdul-Jabbar claimed that the animosity between them during their playing years was real due to the fact that he always stood in the former’s way. Cap also contended that another source of bitterness for Bob was how his teammates always referred to him as “Number Two” whenever they matched up against one another.
Advertisement
“Bob still resents a few things because, you know, his teams — when he was with Detroit or Milwaukee — they were never able to beat the teams that I played on,” Kareem stated. “And I always seemed to thwart him. The guys on his team would tell him — they always called him Number Two — and they said, ‘All right, Number Two, you’re getting ready to go against Number One.’ And he hated that.”
Additionally, Kareem revealed he always got the upper hand on Bob since he knew how he always smoked cigarettes during halftime. This allowed Kareem to outlast him and perform better in the later stages of the game.
“So in the second half, I made Bob run. And you know, he was in pain. I could see it. And it really affected his game. And he never knew that I knew that,” Kareem disclosed. “I’ve talked to him about that since we’ve been retired. And he said — he was like, ‘What? Geez, well, I should have known better.'”
Advertisement
Kareem was arguably the most dominant center of his era. He was fully aware of his own greatness, yet he also recognized the players capable of challenging him. This self-awareness drove him to prepare meticulously for every showdown and gain the upper hand when all was said and done.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.