The GOAT debate has echoed across basketball for decades, with Michael Jordan and LeBron James dominating nearly every conversation. But in 2013, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and six-time champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dropped a bombshell of his own: he believed neither Jordan nor LeBron was the true king. Instead, Kareem crowned his former teammate Oscar “The Big O” Robertson as the ultimate force, boldly declaring that Robertson would’ve “kicked them both in the behind.”
Back in 2013, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stated that Oscar Robertson would’ve “kicked LeBron James and Michael Jordan in the behind”.
The NBA has been blessed with several talented superstars throughout the course of its 75 years of existence. Many, in their own way, have revolutionized the game, however, when talking about the famous GOAT debate, only two players majorly dominate this endless conversation – LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
However, according to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, neither of these two players is as good as Oscar Robertson. In fact, back in 2013, Abdul-Jabbar went on to state that the Big O would’ve kicked both LeBron and Michael “in the behind”.
LeBron is awesome, MJ was awesome — but I think Oscar Robertson would have kicked them both in the behind,” said Abdul-Jabbar when asked about James and Jordan.
“Oscar Robertson had the brain, and all the skills”: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In an interview with ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd, Kareem showered his first-ever star teammate with a lot of praises.
“Oscar was awesome – He had brains, he had all the skills. He could rebound and box out guys four and six inches taller than him. He was ruggedly built, he had fluid, quickness, and just understood the game. No flair, he just got the job done every night. Who’s going to average double figures in points, assists and rebounds?”
Despite being considered as one of the best point guards in NBA history, not many times do you hear Oscar’s name arise in the GOAT debate. The man was a walking triple-double machine, 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, an MVP, an NBA champ, a HOFer, and had a staggering career average of 25.7/7.5/9.5.
Kareem has been around the NBA circuit for more than 50 years now and has seen a majority of great players. For sure, the former Lakers legend’s opinion carries a lot of weight on Robertson’s legacy.
