Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Best Teammates Throughout His NBA Career

One of the greatest players to ever step onto a basketball court, the only man who could ever rival the greatness of Kareem Abdul Jabbar was his 9-year-long teammate, Erving “Magic” Johnson. Johnson is widely regarded as the best point guard of all time, and he and Kareem created one of the greatest one-two punches on offense of all time. Magic controlled the tempo of the team, while Kareem went down low and got a bucket whenever his team needed him to. The two were, and still are, lifelong friends, and together, they won an astonishing 5 NBA championships and created one of the most beloved teams of all time in the Showtime Lakers.

The Big O, Oscar Robertson spent the twilight of his career playing alongside a very young, but incredibly talented Kareem Abdul-Jabar on the Milwaukee Bucks. Robertson was entering the 11th year of his career, and while he had monstrous stats, including averaging a 30-point triple-double and a league MVP, the one thing that eluded The Big O was a championship. That was, of course, until he paired with Kareem and the two took the league by storm! Robertson and Kareem won a championship in just their first year playing together, and many feel that the reason Kareem left the Bucks was specifically that Robertson retired.

The starting small forward for the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers, “Big Game” James Worthy helped elevate and solidify the Lakers as a complete and powerful dynasty. A man who would become one of the most clutch and important members of any playoffs team, Worthy and Kareem had a wonderful tandem together, both being masterful two-way players who were able to count on each other in the most important times. Worthy averaged 17.6 points per game during his career during the regular season, but when the lights shined brightest during the playoffs, he increased his points per game by nearly 4 to 21.1. Worthy is remembered as one of the clutchest players in league history, and for good reason.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar actually spent the most time in his career playing with defensive dinamo Michael Cooper. Playing an astounding 917 games together throughout their career, Cooper and Kareem would go on to win 5 championships together with Cooper being the starting 2-guard for the Showtime Lakers. Cooper was never a strong scorer, the highest PPG of his career being just 10.5 per game, however, what he lacked on offense, he thrived on defense. Winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1987 and being named to 8 All-Defensive Teams in his career, Cooper was the glorified stopper for the Lakers, and Kareem and the team knew they could always count on Coop.

Early in his career, Bob McAdoo was arguably the greatest player in all of the NBA. Winning an MVP award in 1975, McAdoo was a scoring phenom who changed life for fans of the Buffalo Braves. As time went on, McAdoo's production slowly diminished, and he still didn't have a chip to his name. When he was traded to the Showtime Lakers at the end of his career, however, all of that changed. McAdoo provided a powerful spark off the bench for the team, and some much-needed wisdom to the young Lakers squad. McAdoo would eventually go on to win 2 championships with the Lakers playing as their very own 6th man. 

Adrian Dantley may have only played two of his earliest seasons with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but the lengthy 6"5' shooting guard made a resounding mark throughout his time with The Captain. Averaging 18.4 points per game while on the Lakers, Dantley showcased brilliant skills, however, injury was eventually his downfall. While Dantley showcased phenomenal talent, the Lakers already had another strong scoring wing in Jamaal Wilkes who did everything Dantley did, so he was shipped out to Utah for power-forward Spencer Haywood.