Kareem Rooted For Celtics As A High School Student

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA PLAYOFFS

Welcome to another amazing episode of “Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction!” During the 1980’s in the NBA the premier rivalry was between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were personified by Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, while the two players who were most identifiable as Lakers were Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Well it turns out that long before he ever wore the Lakers colors Kareem was a fan of the Celtics! The Associated Press reported on Sunday that the NBA Hall of Fame center cheered for the Celtics when he was in high school. According to the report Abdul-Jabbar told the reporter “I saw my first Celtics-Lakers rivalry game in 1969. I never had a hatred for them. When I was in high school, I was a Celtics fan. I got to meet Bill Russell, Havlicek, Cousy, those guys, when I was in ninth grade.” Kareem is rooting for the Lakers to win this year’s Finals.

Updates, Fresh From the Oven, Straight to Your Inbox