It took a while – and some voracious campaign by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar himself – but yesterday, finally, the Lakers immortalized the six-time (five with L.A.) champion with the unveiling of his statue at the front of the Staples Center. Abdul-Jabbar had felt slighted that he had not been given a statue out the front of the arena but yesterday he reflected on the honor when the 16-foot, 1,500-pound bronze statue was unveiled.
“Lou Gehrig spoke about being the luckiest man in the world, and as a young person at that time I didn’t know what that meant,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “But having lived my life and having had the wonderful experiences that I’ve had in basketball, I can understand now what a man like Lou Gehrig meant. I get it. When you’re fortunate enough to be honored in this way, it’s a very humbling experience.”
He now joins other Lakers greats, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and announcer Chick Hearn to be immortalized in bronze. Johnson told Abdul-Jabbar he shoud have been the first to get a statue.
“You really should have had the first statue because you built the Staples Center,” Johnson said. “It was on your back that we’re now here at the Staples Center because if the Lakers don’t win, there’s no Staples Center. It’s here because of the tradition.”
