NBA Great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Reveals Best Player He Faced On Playground

Shandel Richardson | Sep 5, 2024

March 21, 1973; New York, NY, USA; FILE PHOTO; Atlanta Hawks guard Pete Maravich (44) defends New York Knicks guard Earl Monroe (15) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images / Manny Rubio-Imagn Images

At a young age, NBA Kareem Adbul-Jabbar learned why Hall of Famer Earl Monroe was known as "Black Jesus."

The summer before he got to UCLA, Abdul-Jabbar participated in a pickup game against Monroe. Abdul-Jabbar played the Rucker Park team out of New York while Monroe was on the Baker League team from Philadelphia.

At the time, Monroe was playing at Winston-Salem State University.

"I didn't know who he was," Abdul-Jabbar said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. "He had his own cheering section. He came out there and people around talking about, `Jesus!!! Jesus!!!"'

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says Earl Monroe is the best player he’s ever played against on a playground🏀🎥

Posted by Pete Maravich on Sunday, August 18, 2024

Abdul-Jabbar remembered Monroe wearing "one white low-cut and one black high-top" shoe. Abdul-Jabbar quickly found out why Monroe was often called a magician on the court. He also went by the nickname "Earl The Pearl" during his playing days with the Baltimore Bullets and New York Knicks.

"The game starts and he's doing all this weird stuff with the ball," Abdul-Jabbar said. "He hasn't even crossed halfcourt. Then he jumps up and throws a pass with top spin. It goes three-quarters of the court, hits the ground and catches somebody in stride that catches it and lays it up. I was like, `Oh, we're going to have a game today."'

The game made Abdul-Jabbar call Monroe the best player he's faced on the playground. That says a lot considering the many great he went up against.

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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