Lakers News: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Latest Lakers Venture
2021 and 2022 have been flooded with solid Showtime Lakers nostalgia, in the form of a variety of fresh TV series and podcasts. And now, perhaps the best Laker ever (though there are a lot of candidates for that distinction) is joining the fun with his own production!
As the six-time MVP initially announced last month via his Substack, "Cap" is launching the Skyhook Podcast (though there's already a Chicago Sky-themed pod with such a moniker).
Kareem wrote in August that he was inspired to create a series of conversations about his Showtime run with Los Angeles by team owner Jeanie Buss's recent Hulu documentary series "Legacy: The True Story Of The L.A. Lakers." Abdul-Jabbar has also released two memoirs documenting his Lakers playing days, "Giant Steps" (1983) and "Kareem" (1990), plus another chronicle for young readers, "Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court" (2017). The 7'2" center also was an active participant in the excellent 2015 HBO doc "Kareem: Minority of One."
In addition to the Hulu series, several other series have popped up within the last year: Magic Johnson also released his own four-part Apple TV+ documentary series "They Call Me Magic", HBO dropped the first season of its excellent fictionalized rendition of the 1979-80 Showtime Lakers "Winning Time", and former Showtime Lakers shooting guard Byron Scott kicked off his own podcast, Off The Dribble.
The first episode of Kareem's pod featured 6'2" combo guard Norm Nixon. Nixon was selected by Los Angeles with the 22nd pick out of Duquesne University in 1977, and stuck around with the team for three Finals runs, including two titles. Lakers president (and former Hall of Fame shooting guard) Jerry West eventually dealt Nixon to the then-San Diego Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to the aforementioned Byron Scott, out of Arizona State.
Abdul-Jabbar previewed some future podcast guests last month:
"This is the first in a new series of videochats with my former teammates and coaches, including Jerry West, Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, Jamaal Wilkes, James Worthy, Kurt Rambis, Bob McAdoo, and AC Green. You will not want to miss what they have to say about their struggles and triumphs as players and afterward."
Yesterday, the second episode of the show dropped, unveiling an intriguing chat between Abdul-Jabbar, former 1987 Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper, and their head coach Pat Riley.
We here at All Lakers are totally here for all the throwback Showtime content we can get. It will be especially instructive for younger generations who are maybe unfamiliar with just how dominant that championship run was.
