Has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Religion Affected His Legacy?

Arguably the greatest Laker to have ever donned the purple and gold, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remains an enigma for many of today's casual championship-loving Lakers fans.    Ask the children at your daughter's birthday party at the Riviera Country Club who's the greatest Laker that ever lived and they'll scream in unison, "KOBE BRYANT!"    Talk to a few regulars at Katsuya across from Staples while waiting for your toro, uni and amaebi and they might offer "Magic Johnson" in between bites of Kobe Beef Sliders and Lobster Dynamite.   Speak to the guys that are waxing your car at the Malibu Auto Detail and inevitably one will say "Ron Artest".   Only when you are doing your Christian duty and volunteering at the soup kitchen or the old folk's home around the holidays does it seem anyone will mention "Kareem".   Why is that?   When you look at Abdul-Jabbar's career accomplishments, it's easy to conclude that not only was he the greatest Laker ever, but he was one of the greatest NBA players ever, period.   Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his career, the highest ever in the league.  In comparison, Bryant, who is still active, has scored 25,790 points, roughly 67% of Abdul-Jabbar's total.    That means Bryant still needs almost seven seasons in scoring his career average of 1,842 points a season to make up the 12,597 points needed to reach Abdul-Jabbar.    Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA MVP awards, more than any other player in league history including Michael Jordan and Bill Russell.     Abdul-Jabbar was a NBA All-Star a record 19 times which means Bryant would need to appear in every NBA All-Star Game until 2017 to match him.   In addition to winning two scoring titles in his career, Abdul-Jabbar won five championships with the Lakers including two Finals MVP awards, ...