Kareem of the Crop

Basketball to the big screen, and back again.

Viewers of the NCAA men’s basketball final, a 65-63 victory for the Florida Gators over the Houston Cougars, saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in several commercials. Hoop fans may not know that the Los Angeles Lakers center took part in the game that made college basketball a spectator sport coast to coast.

On January 20, 1968 in the Astrodome the Houston Cougars faced a UCLA squad featuring 7’2” center Lew Alcindor, as Kareem was then known. Under famed coach John Wooden, UCLA was riding a 47-game win streak and heavily favored to prevail. With some 52,000 in attendance, and a landmark national television audience, Houston prevailed 71-69. The Cougars’ 6’9” Elvin Hayes scored 39 points while holding the UCLA center to 15. Both players would become NBA champions, and in 1980 Kareem would get a brief role on the big screen.

In the 1980 Airplane!, Abdul-Jabbar plays airline pilot Roger Murdoch, outed by youthful passenger Joey (Rossie Harris). Roger quickly sets Joey straight on the rigors of dragging Bill Walton and Bob Lanier down the court, but Kareem is not the film’s only surprise.

A black passenger is getting sick and the flight attendant can’t understand him. Enter June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley, no relation) who says “I speak jive” and proceeds to interpret in fine style. Like the famous dance scene, that had audiences on the floor. Featuring Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Nielsen, Airplane! is based on the 1957 Zero Hour, starring Dana Andrews and Sterling Hayden, with some of the dialogue faithfully transposed. In the spirit of Top Secret!, by the same crew, and of course Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, they just don’t make movies like that anymore.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar never replicated his pilot role but in 2020 the NBA hall of famer felt compelled to speak out on anti-Semitism in sports and Hollywood. Kareem turns 78 this month, so good to see him having fun on television. Fans might recall his prowess on the court.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won three NCAA titles, six NBA titles, and became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer despite making only one three-point shot in his entire career. Most of his points came on the famous “sky hook,” which nobody could block. If the 7’3” Victor Wembanyama, the 7’2” Kristaps Porzingis, and the 7’1” Chet Holmgren mastered that shot, fans might think, their teams would win more games and championships.