"He made me a better man" - LA Lakers legend and 5-time NBA champion on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's impact on him on and off court, recalls a story about Pat Riley and Kareem's father

Magic Johnson’s megawatt smile was on full display as the LA Lakers hosted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 75th birthday party. He likely had more fun interacting with familiar faces than watching the LA Lakers win a non-bearing final game against the OKC Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.

Several members of the dynastic Showtime Lakers such as Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Michael Cooper were at hand to join the celebration. The glittering array of Laker legends in the building was a ringing reminder of how much work is needed to get back to their lofty standards.

The Lakers’ iconic “Magic Man” reminisced and appreciated everything Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has done for him, particularly during their playing days:

“I can’t believe that he’s 75 years old! I think about all the great times that we shared together on that basketball court and off the court as well. He made me a better man. He taught me how to prepare for games in the NBA both physically and mentally. He’s the smartest athlete I’ve ever met in my life and then he was the most dominant on that basketball court.”

The starting point guard of the Showtime Lakers also elaborated on why Captain Skyhook was such a special player:

“Kareem could do something that most players couldn’t do, especially at his size. He could dominate the game on both ends of the court. When he wanted to just say, ‘Hey, imma take this whole game over,’ he did it, scoring-wise, and defensive-wise, and rebounding-wise. And when the game was on the line, he could make free throws.”

Johnson also added that an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still giving the LA Lakers’ opponents fits on both ends of the floor. He was reminded of what the NBA’s all-time leading scorer did in the 1985 Finals against Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.

“Murdock’s” vintage performance in the series gave the Lakers their first win in a finals series against their arch-nemesis, the Boston Celtics. Abdul-Jabbar was 38 years old when he won his second and last finals MVP, making him the oldest player in NBA history to do so.

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Magic Johnson acknowledges that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is still underrated

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson made the LA Lakers the team to beat in the 80s. [Sporting News]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s most accomplished player. He’s the only six-time MVP, the league's all-time scoring champion, a 19x All-Star and a 15x All-NBA team member. Despite his dazzling credentials, he remains criminally underrated. Abdul-Jabbar is rarely included in the greatest of all-time conversations despite his staggering numbers.

Magic Johnson briefly touched on this in his special message to his teammate of 10 years with the LA Lakers:

“To see him evolve, to see him just dominate yet at the same time never still getting the credit that he deserves. It’s just amazing…He deserves this day. He made life easier for myself…all the guys who are out there because we didn’t have to work that hard, knowing we had that big man. All I had to do was throw it to him and get out of the way.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired more than 30 years ago, but he saved the LA Lakers yet again. At least for one night and in his former team’s final game at Crypto.com Arena, Abdul-Jabbar gave them a reason to celebrate.