Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attempted to clarify controversial comments he made last year, when he called Dirk Nowitzki a “one-trick pony” who fell short of a “dominant career.”
Kareem walked back his criticism late last week, and gave Dirk his props.
From #TheJump: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with some thoughtful words for @swish41 + a playful congrats to @KingJames for breaking his playoff mark pic.twitter.com/6cB0nJlYeC
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 10, 2017
The Hall of Fame center says his statements were “misconstrued.”
Per USA Today:
“Some of the statements I made about (Nowitzki) were misconstrued to make it seem like I was trying to knock him and knock his career,” Abdul-Jabbar said on The Jump on ESPN. “Nothing could be further from the truth.
“He helped the game evolve by stretching the court with his accurate three-point shooting. Anybody that can lead the league multiple times as the leading scorer is awesome. And anything that I said that made anybody think differently, they got it wrong. And I wanted him to hear that from me.”
Nowitzki won the 2007 MVP and carried Dallas to the 2011 NBA title. He’s a 13-time All-Star, an Olympian, and his transformative three-point prowess as a 7-footer paved the way for an influx of versatile big men coming to the NBA from Europe.
