The New NBA Awards Missed an Opportunity to Honor Kareem Abdul Jabbar

We need to talk about the new NBA Individual Award trophies, and the decision to omit Kareem Abdul Jabbar from being included amongst the honors.


If you haven’t seen it yet, the NBA decided to re-name its awards to honor the contributions of past greats. Most championship trophies have names, for example the Larry O’Brien trophy that goes to the NBA’s champion. But honoring former NBA greats on the individual awards is new. 


Let’s go through them-


The league’s Most Valuable Player will now be awarded with The Michael Jordan Trophy. You’d have to be insane to think there was an honor that could be given out that didn’t deserve to have Michael Jordan’s name on it, but Kareem won this award six times. More than any other player in NBA history. And even if you say to yourself, but surely “Michael Jordan deserved the MVP award more than the five times he won it,” don’t forget that in 1973 Kareem Abdul Jabbar averaged 30 points and 16 rebounds per game, and finished second to Dave Cowens, who averaged 20 and 16. MJ ain’t the only one with a legitimate complaint here.


The NBA is introducing a new award at the end of the 2022-23 season, the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year. This trophy is named after Jerry West. Love Jerry, but he’s already the logo, and do I have to remind you that at 1-8, Jerry West has the worst NBA Finals record of all time. His nickname might have been “Mr. Clutch” back in the 1970’s, but if Jerry West existed with this record in today’s hot take economy, you’d go to sports entertainment jail for calling him the most clutch player of all time. Kareem not only has six NBA championships, he owns the longest win streak in college basketball history, and was on the other end of snapping the longest win streak in NBA history by dominating Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers. If anyone is clutch, Kareem is clutch.


And speaking of Wilt Chamberlain, the Rookie of the Year trophy has been named in honor of Wilt. I’ll admit that the man had the craziest debut in NBA history, coming out of the gate with almost 40 points a game. But if we’re keeping it a buck, Wilt wasn’t technically a rookie when he was a rookie. Through no fault of his own, Wilt was forced to wait to enter the draft after leaving Kansas, and spent time with the Globetrotters. Kareem, who went by Lew Alcindor when he came out of UCLA, turned down the Globetrotters money, and also won rookie of the year, improving the Bucks record by 29 games and setting a record for 20 point playoff games  by a rookie that stood until 2018. 


The Most Improved Player award is being named after George Mikan, whose scoring average dropped every year from 1950-1956, and who never won MVP again after his first season with the Minneapolis Lakers. I mean, what are we even doing here.


Until LeBron breaks Kareem’s all time scoring record, we’re talking about the all-time leader in scoring, wins, MVP’s and all-star selections, and is tied for most all-NBA selections. And while I get naming the NBA Defensive Player of the Year trophy after Hakeem Olajuwon, guess who “The Dream” had to pass in order to be the NBA’s all-time blocks leader? That’s right, Kareem. I don’t care what the NBA has to do to make this right- whether it’s a citizenship award, or an award that goes to the total points per game leader, Kareem Abdul Jabbar deserves something. Especially if we’re inventing new awards to hand out to Jerry West because he hit four buzzer beaters in a 14-year career. You know who more than doubled that amount? Michael Jordan. We should be naming the clutch award after him, and the MVP trophy after the guy who won the award more times than anyone. 


Let that sink in.

LeBron’s Shut-up and Dribble Docu-Series Shows Athlete’s Impact on History

shut-up and dribble

King James has done it again!  He has once more shown the world why he is “More Than an Athlete.”  For the first three Saturdays of November, he blasted the airways of millions of Americans with his new documentary – “Shut-up and Dribble.”  The documentary aired on Showtime.  The must-see documentary is a three-part docu-series detailing a reality about sports that many fans refuse to acknowledge. The “Shut-up and Dribble” documentary forces sports fans to acknowledge that sports, politics, and social justice have always been intertwined.

The relationship between sports, politics, and social justice is a point of contention for many.  This point of contention reemerged in 2016 when former Sanfransico 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.  Kaepernick’s protest sparked a national debate about whether athletes should use their platforms to advocate for social justice issues. Some fans believe that sports are no place for politics and should be devoid of social justice issues.  However, others see sports as the perfect stage to address the ills of society.

The former viewpoint has led to the seemingly popular view that athletes should stick to sports. In fact, the documentary gets its title from Fox News pundit Laura Ingraham who earlier this year told James to “shut-up and dribble” after James made unflattering comments about President Trump.  Unfortunately, many sports fans agree with her and believe that athletes, particularly black athletes, should simply stick to sports. However, athletes have never simply stuck to sports, which is exactly what “Shut-up and Dribble” proves.

Athletes Have Never Simply Stuck to Sports

Fans who believe athletes should stick to sports contend that athletes are not qualified to make political statements or advocate for social justice issues. However, the opposite is true.  Athletes are uniquely situated to advocate for social justice issues, and throughout history, athletes have done just that.  Since Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball, sports have been used to break racial barriers and improve race relations.

The documentary starts with the story of Bill Russell, who completely revolutionized basketball and broke racial barriers in the sport. Russell, who dominated the NBA during the Civil Rights Movement, wasted no time pushing civil rights issues in the NBA. He questioned the NBA’s racial quota that limited the number of black players on a team.  Russell and his teammates made an unprecedented move to boycott a game in Kentucky after a local restaurant refused to seat him and his black teammates. Russell became the first African American head coach as a player-coach of the Boston Celtics.  Bill Russell’s story proves that sports have never truly been devoid of social justice issues.  His story further shows that issues of race have always been embedded in sports, rather overt or subtle.

While it May be Unpopular, Athletes Have to Stand-up for Themselves

Athletes must stand up for themselves because no one else will.  The documentary proved this to be true when it highlighted the story of Oscar Robertson.  Oscar Robertson is the first NBA Player to average a triple-double for an entire season. However, Robertson’s greatest accomplishment is leading the path to the creation of the NBA’s free agency system. While serving as the President of the Player’s Union, Roberston sued the NBA. Robertson argued that “the draft, option clause and other rules restricting player movement were violations of antitrust laws.”[i]

In the documentary, Robertson is seen before Congress arguing that it is wrong to limit what a man can make. Robertson knew his worth and the potential worth of other players and fought for it.  In 1976, the suit was settled, and the NBA introduced the concept of free agency where players can negotiate with other teams while giving their current team the right of first refusal.

Robertson’s Spirit is Visible in Current Athletes

NFL running back Le’Veon Bell is an example of an athlete who is unafraid to stand up for what he believes he is worth.  Bell is sitting out this NFL season because he and the Pittsburg Steelers could not come to an agreement for a long-term contract.  Bell refused the Steelers offer of a franchise player contract that would pay him the average salary of the top five running backs. However, Bell feels he deserves a contract valued at roughly $17 million per year with much of it guaranteed upfront.   He may be right because he is arguably the best running back in the league who sometimes performs as a wide receiver. It remains to be seen if Bell’s holdout will benefit him in the long run. However, it is likely to benefit future NFL players like Robertson’s actions benefited future NBA players.

“Shut-Up and Dribble” is a Must See for Every Sports Fan

“Shut-up and Dribble”  is a must see for all sports fans.  In addition to the aforementioned stories, the documentary highlights the stories of other athlete activists.  From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Muhammad Ali to Craig Hodges and Colin Kaepernick the documentary reveals that sports have never truly been devoid of athlete activist.  After watching the documentary, fans will hopefully have a greater appreciation for athletes activist.  Fans will realize the sports that they love would not be what they are today if not for athletes activist.

[i]Ron Flatter, Oscar Defined the Triple-Double, ESPN https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016428.html.