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Magic Johnson Shares Story From Rookie Year When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Issued Him Warning After Celebrating Too Much

Originally posted on Fadeaway World
By Aikansh Chaudhary | Last updated 1/10/23

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in the history of the NBA. During their time in the league, they have managed to become NBA champions a record 17 times.

Obviously, it only became possible due to the presence of some phenomenal superstars over the years. Looking at the all-time GOAT pyramid of the Los Angeles Lakers, there are many great players who donned the iconic Purple and Gold jersey. But even among them, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are arguably two of the most important players in the history of the organization.

During the 1980s, the dynamic duo helped the Lakers win five NBA Championships. On the court, the two players may have fit well with each other, but their personalities were polar opposites.

Right after coming to the league, Magic Johnson quickly adjusted to the lavish life of the city of LA. Apart from that, even on the court, Magic had a super expressive nature, and he celebrated each and every moment in his life.

Keeping that in mind, it's no surprise that when the Lakers won the first game of the season during Magic's rookie year, he celebrated a lot. And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the player who won the game for the Lakers with his iconic skyhook shot. After seeing Magic celebrating like he won the NBA title, Abdul-Jabbar decided to give him a reality check.

"It took him all season, that first year. So, in that first game, he hits a skyhook from the free throw line. Not from down low. From the free throw line to win the game in San Diego. So I go running, I jump and I'm jump-choking him and I didn't let go for about 2-3 minutes. Because I had never seen a shot like that. So he got me to the locker room, 'Rookie, come here! Don't ever do that. We have 81 more games to go. We can't be this high after game one.'"

Magic replied, "'You hit a shot like that 81 more times, I'm going to jump in your arms 81 more times.' And that showed him that I wasn't going to change. You can't intimidate me and I wasn't going to change."

This isn't the first time that this story has resurfaced. Previously, Kareem shared his side of the incident. Either way, the two players may have had their differences, but it didn't stop them from winning the NBA Championship in the very first season they became teammates.

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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