Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a Laker legend after 14 incredibly successful years with the team. Kareem joined the Lakers via trade in 1975 and immediately went on to win MVP in his first year with the team. Another MVP award would follow in 1977 but the ultimate prize of a championship eluded Kareem despite his individual success.
That all changed in 1979 when the Lakers drafted Magic Johnson and the two would go on to win 5 championships in the 1980s. Standing in there way more often than not during those Finals were the Boston Celtics led by Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.
The two teams clashed in 3 NBA Finals in the 1980s and their rivalry is regarded as the greatest of all time. The Celtics came out on top in 1984 but the Lakers bounced back in 1985, with Kareem winning Finals MVP. They would also win when the teams met in 1987 and it is regarded by many as the golden age of the NBA. The rivalry between those teams lives long in the memory and Kareem took a hilarious shot at the Celtics when he was asked about the best hot dog topping during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
(starts at 1:26 mark)
“The tears of the 1985 Celtics when they lost to the Lakers in the finals.”
Fallon couldn’t stop laughing at Kareem’s epic response and that is as epic as it gets to be honest. That was savage from Kareem and he is going to earn a lot of love and adoration from Laker fans for that, not that he was lacking any of it prior to this comment.
That championship in 1985 meant a whole lot to the Lakers, not just because it was against their great rival, but it was also their first win in a Lakers-Celtics Finals, after losing 8 in a row before this. In turn, it brought great sadness for the Celtics, who saw their complete domination over the Lakers come to an end. They would lose 2 of the 3 Finals meetings between these sides after 1985, with the Lakers winning their last meeting in 2010 in 7 games.
Kareem was in quite the mood during this appearance on the show, as he also gave a hilarious response when Fallon asked him who was the GOAT. Here’s hoping for some more Kareem on television if he can be this entertaining.
