Ex-Clippers Ball Boy Details Unpleasant Experiences With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Shandel Richardson | Dec 12, 2024

February 19, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left) and NBA great Julius Erving (right) during the Skills Challenge during the 2022 NBA All-Star Saturday Night at Rocket Mortgage Field House. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

As a child, David Meltzer had the amazing experience of being a ball boy for the San Diego Clippers.

He met several NBA superstars from 1980s, including Julius "Dr. J" Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers. Unfortunately, all the experiences weren't as pleasant. In an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, Meltzer detailed some of his encounters.

“That was a poignant moment in my life, though, being a Clippers fan for several reasons," Meltzer told Robinson. It taught me the difference between superstars as I have a video in a lot of articles out  there about my opinion of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Dr. J, when I was a ball boy for the Clippers. One of those two treated me poorly…."

The only player Meltzer singled out for treating him bad was Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“One of them changed my life because he was so kind, supportive and encouraging, which is Dr. J," Meltzer said. "And the reason I tell you that story, Scoop B, is that people in my career, they forget a valuable lesson. Tony Gwynn knew it, Michael Cage knows it. It’s called Be Kind to Your Future Self."  

Meltzer, who went on to become CEO of sports agent company, recently wrote a book called "Connected To Goodness" that centers on business life.

Well, goodness wasn't a word he used to describe his experiences with Abdul-Jabbar.

“Meltzer continued, "And you know, Dr. J. had no idea when I was 14 years old as a ball boy that someday the most common question I would get from the biggest news stations in the world, the most content in the world, millions of people watched this video when they asked me who’s the coolest player that I’ve ever met who had an impact on my life.  He had no idea that I’d be that guy when I was 14, but he still treated me like an equal or even better. And he was so gracious and kind. And I told literally tens of millions of people how kind Dr. J is and how cool he is. And unfortunately for Kareem, what a dick he was.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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