Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest NBA players and Los Angeles Lakers of all time. LeBron James is one of the greatest NBA players of all time who is trying to cement himself amongst the all-time great Lakers as well.
If he wants to garner the respect of his elder, however, James might want to change his mindset on a few things. While the two often see eye-to-eye when it comes to social issues, Jabbar has taken issue with the way James acted during a recent game against the Indiana Pacers.
Jabbar has taken to giving LeBron the business for a provocative dance he did against the Pacers a couple of weeks back. It came after a three-point shot that seemingly sealed the deal for Los Angeles. The NBA fined James $15,000 for the taunting display, in which LeBron referred to his “big balls” for the shot.
The NBA has fined LeBron James $15,000 for making an "obscene gesture" during the Lakers' win over Indiana pic.twitter.com/7Wqts1RklV
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 27, 2021
In a video posted online, Jabbar called the dance “stupid” and “childish.”
“For me, winning is enough,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Why do you need to do a stupid, childish dance and disrespect the other team on the court? It doesn’t make sense. GOATs don’t dance.”
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) December 2, 2021
Something tells us that “GOATs don’t dance” is something that’s going to catch on.
It does feel like Jabbar was offering his very blunt opinion but wasn’t trying to attack James. Simply, he wanted to let someone who wears the same colors that he helped make famous understand that there’s a difference between telling people you’re great and knowing people think you’re great.
It’s certainly not the first time Kareem has taken a member of the Lakers to task about their ethics on the court.