TV Killed Sky Hook, According To Kareem -- He Says Its Time Is Past

NEW YORK - There's precious little room in the slammin,' jammin,' woofin' NBA of the '90s for the sky hook. Even the man who originated that graceful and effective shot, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, sees its time is past.

"Dr. J and Michael Jordan really ruined it for all of us big guys," Abdul-Jabbar said. "Nobody wants to see somebody playing with their backs to the basket.

"People would rather look like Michael Jordan on the highlight film than be seen shooting the sky hook. It's just an element of style."

The former Lakers star, who returned to his hometown to be honored as a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, sees little similarity between the game he played for a record 20 seasons and the role of today's centers like Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal.

Television has changed the face of the game, Abdul-Jabbar said.

"Certainly style over substance is important now," he said. "They didn't have `play of the day' when I was playing."

What hasn't changed: a dominating center is still considered a ticket to the NBA Finals.

Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's leading scorer with 38,387 regular-season points, led Milwaukee to one title and the Lakers to five more. That came after a college career in which he figured in three NCAA championships under UCLA Coach John Wooden.

"I was able to beat one-on-one coverage every time and shoot high percentage shots that created a lot of stress on the defense," he said. "That gave everybody who played on the perimeter for the Lakers an extra step, and we were able to win consistently using that theory of play.

"Nowadays, I don't see anybody that's in there able to score as consistently as I did as far as shooting percentage and getting good shots."

Not even O'Neal, although Abdul-Jabbar acknowledges that the muscular Magic center has developed his own dominating high-percentage game based on getting dunks off offensive rebounds.

"I saw his rap video where he said he don't need no hook, so I'm not going to offer him any advice," Abdul-Jabbar said. "It's too bad he doesn't have a shot he can shoot against the double-team. And free throws, I won't talk about free throws."

Philadelphia's 7-foot-6 Shawn Bradley, whom Abdul-Jabbar tutored last summer, still needs strength to make him a force, Abdul-Jabbar said.

So who does Abdul-Jabbar like among today's dominating centers? Denver's Dikembe Mutombo, a center known more for his shot-blocking defense than his scoring.

"He's a great athlete and a team player," Abdul-Jabbar said. "People talk about Olajuwon and Robinson and Shaquille, and they deserve all the ink they get, but there are different reasons to appreciate things, and Dikembe really impressed me."

The stress of Abdul-Jabbar's drive for the scoring title in 1987-88 and his diminishing role the next, his final season, left him burned out and tired of competing.

Now his life is consumed mainly by his 15-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son, and he has a television and movie production company. But he's more interested than ever in getting back to basketball.

"I'm not against becoming involved in the game," he said. "It doesn't matter what level. It would depend on the offer."