Lakers to honor Abdul-Jabbar with statue

Karem Abdul-Jabbar will soon be seen every night at Laker games again, when the Lakers organization unveils a statue honoring the long-time Laker center. Over his 20-year career he helped earn six championships and won six MVPs.

His relationship has been strained over the last few years, to the point of making his feelings known that he thought he had been slighted by the Lakers for putting up a statue of Jerry West before he received one.

“I don’t understand (it). It’s either an oversight or they’re taking me for granted,” Abdul-Jabbar told The Sporting News at the time. “I’m not going to try to read people’s minds, but it doesn’t make me happy. It’s definitely a slight. I feel slighted.”

Currently, five statues sit in front of the Staple Center: Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Chick Hearn, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya.