Former Lakers center and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been in the news recently with his interest in the Bucks and UCLA head coaching jobs.
However, Abdul-Jabbar was never seriously considered for the UCLA job and currently hasn’t been identified as a serious candidate for the Bucks head coaching vacancy.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Abdul-Jabbar reflected on life lessons and things he wished he knew when he was 30 years-old:
“It’s human nature to instantly judge others.But in their haste to size others up, people are often wrong.”
Before admitting his interest in these two coaching vacancies, Abdul-Jabbar has been a special assistant to the Lakers, especially helping former team center Andrew Bynum.
With Abdul-Jabbar’s wisdom, it’s a lesson that all Laker fans can take in sizing up their feelings about new center Dwight Howard’s first season in Los Angeles.
Howard is a free agent and will have a decision to make come July, but the Lakers have the inside track to re-sign him due to the amount of money and term they can offer him.
Throughout the article, Abdul-Jabbar imparts other wisdom like doing more community service and dating advice.
While it’s a long shot that he will one day become an NBA or college head coach, Abdul-Jabbar has a lot of wisdom and experience to give to young players like Howard.
Abdul-Jabbar’s wisdom isn’t to not criticize and evaluate different players, but don’t be so quick to make assumptions or impressions that can’t be reversed with fact.
While Howard struggled through most of the season as he recovered from back surgery, he showed that he was getting healthier as the season progressed. Even though the Lakers were swept by the Spurs, Howard was effective on both the offensive and defensive ends.
While the summer will be interesting in Los Angeles, Abdul-Jabbar admits he should’ve been more outgoing as he’s been more accessible since he’s retired.
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In case you missed it, be sure to check out what Mitch Kupchak had to say about Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant!
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