YouTube Gold: Kareem vs. Walton

There were giants in those days

In the movie Airport, a kid goes into the cockpit of a plane and finds that the co-pilot is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who insists that he’s not the legendary Lakers center. Kareem eventually gets irritated and when the kid says his dad told him Kareem only plays hard during the playoffs, he says “the hell I don’t! Listen, kid! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!“

The Kareem-Walton rivalry was pretty brief, due to Walton’s terrible injury history, but it peaked in 1977 when the Trailblazers beat L.A. to get to the NBA Finals, where they would beat Philadelphia in a legendary series.

Everything went well for the big redhead in that magical season and he was able to play Kareem on relatively even terms.

In this video, you see brilliance from both UCLA products. You see the skyhook from Kareem and lots of intelligent offense.

Keep in mind that in 1977, Kareem was near his peak. For Walton, or anyone really, to bother him, was profoundly difficult to do. Yet clearly, he did just that.

From Walton, you see brilliant passing, rebounding and defense that clearly bothers his bigger opponent. Look how agile and intuitive he is here.

They would meet again in the 1986 Finals but Kareem was 39 and Walton had basically missed years due to his chronic foot injuries. Even so, they woke up the ghosts and made UCLA fans, along with those of Boston and L.A., very proud.