Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on recent controversies dubbed by Kyrie Irving: "Kyrie Irving may be the sweetest guy”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shared his take on past issues which featured Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film. The former LA Lakers center even called Irving "the sweetest guy" and shared a logical explanation for judging the youngster.
Irving's controversies regarding an antisemitic film caused a whirlwind of problems for the Nets and the NBA. It took a while for it to die down as everyone waited to see if the star guard would be able to return to the basketball court. Luckily for him, the Nets organization stayed true to their word and allowed him to play basketball again after an eight-game suspension.
Kyrie Irving makes his return tonight. 👀 https://t.co/QFBgCUIx6P
Weeks after the controversy, the Hall of Fame center was interviewed about his take on the events that transpired concerning Irving.
"Kyrie Irving may be the sweetest guy in the world at home and among his friends. But once he decides to broadcast his opinions to the world, he needs to be judged only on the content of what he says," Abdul-Jabbar said.
Kareem with a powerful quote:
"Kyrie Irving may be the sweetest guy in the world at home and among his friends, but once he decides to broadcast his opinions to the world, he needs to be judged only on the content of what he says."
(via @bariweiss, thefp.com/p/kareem-abdul…) https://t.co/Z6NEvpNYq3
Irving has been heavily criticized for some of his opinions. Prior to his issues with antisemitism, he was forced to sit out games because of his COVID-19 vaccination status. Last season, he only played 29 games because of it and caused the Nets to struggle greatly.
Also read: NBA analyst on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being most disrespected all-time great in NBA history: “Oh man, the GOAT debate is Jordan & LeBron”
Should the NBA have a scoring troohy dedicated to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?
A few days ago, the NBA announced and revealed the redesigned trophies that will be given at the end of the season. The league also added a new award dedicated to Jerry West, the Clutch Player of the Year.
The MVP Award is now named after Michael Jordan, the Defensive Player of the Year after Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rookie of the Year after Wilt Chamberlain, the Sixth Man of the Year after John Havlicek and the Most Improved Player dedicated to George Mikan.
New NBA trophies: https://t.co/3VrMmfRRTf
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been the all-time leading scorer in the NBA since April 1984. His record was deemed impossible to break in the modern NBA, but LeBron James is on his way to breaking the unattainable record this season.
Out of all the legends, Kareem is one of the most well-decorated in the league. It's only right that he gets an award named after him. However, the NBA has already assigned major awards to some great players. Which leads us to the possibility of having a scoring trophy for the Lakers great.
This isn't a priority for the NBA, though. But if the league has started honoring past all-time greats, it's only right that they dedicate one to Abdul-Jabbar. After all, his scoring record has stood by itself since 1984.
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