NBA Legend, and Hall-Of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is celebrating his 70th Birthday this weekend, so let's take a look back at his monumental career with 70 of his trademark sky hooks!
because back then people actually knew their range. Big men shot closer to the goal because that's their range and more likely to score. Now everyone tries to shoot 3s although they know they cannot make it from there.
You could perfect it if you have the same build as Kareem...lean, slim & tall as 7'2..,.eye level in the ring when he pivot, jumped & released the perfect skyhook & timing...Goat of his era.....Kai Sotto would be the next Kareem.
Damn, From Wilt Chamberlain and Wilis Reed to Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwan. They all fell victim to the Great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his mighty Sky Hook. Respect.
Right on x’s a bazillion! In fact, I’m here rewatching Kareem’s skyhook right now because I just saw an interview clip of Victor Wembanyama saying, “I’ve been working on my skyhook, Kareem skyhook. It’s a great weapon I would like to add to my game.” So exciting(!), and he’s remarkably wise and poised for an NBA rookie.
Legends of a sport change the sport forever. What makes Karem's skyhook so incredible is that it DIDNT change the game. Nobody to this day has been able to replicate it.
I never understood how people DON'T want to emulate the sky hook. I always thought it looked amazing. It always looked so effortless and graceful and besides that its effective as shit. Even if you aren't 7 feet tall you are shooting it away from your defender so its much harder to block and contest. Lets see someone bring this back in today's game.
It takes time to master and requires tons of patience. Kareem practiced it day in and day out since fifth grade. It wasn't uncommon to see players from the 50s, 60s, and 70s do hooks. Now it's all but dead. I'm not 7 feet tall but have practiced it quite a bit and still struggle to maintain consistent accuracy. How Kareem managed to pull it off from almost any angle and distance (with rarely any use of the backboard) and still average over 50% from the field in 30 years of playing is incredible. Much respect to anyone who can bring this back.
Yao was excellent in this back in his prime. Then you saw how they guarded him by double teaming in front to stop him getting the ball... Jabbar would receive similar treatment in today's basketball and won't be as great as he was in 70s
Imagine how many hours that took practicing that shot around the paint to the point you dont even look at the basket. Just incredible how good this move really was🔥🔥
He dose look at the basket. He turns his head to look at the basket. And his body's always aligned with the hoop. Which both gives him a guide on where the balls going to go and spaces the ball and him between the defender.
Kareem practically used this shot a lot since he first played basketball When he was a kid, He always fought against taller and older players, So using the skyhook was the only way to score against them. It was also further reinforced when apparently his town banned dunking for some time. And now it's the most unguardable move ever in history, Coupled with his precision, Height and wingspan lmao
@@GreenCactus76381 It was more common back in day. George Mikan and Bob Pettit were MVP's shooting a lot of hook shots. It's kinda like the underhanded free throw shot it just fell out of style
You could very easily make a case that he was the greater player to Jordan. Added 30 wins to the team he was drafted to. Has the record for most Mvps won with 6. Has 6 rings in total. Most points scored EVER. Was the greatest collegiate basketball player to ever play. As soon as he entered the league, Wilt (whom was one of the proudest men to ever play the game) admitted that Kareem was the best big man in the league. From the time Kareem touched the hard wood to when he left it he was amazing, Jordan had a slow start and a poor ending. Kareem had a career of excellence.
@@ChaoticMacho Why? Jordan entered the nba a bit older than most players. Plus he quit basketball when his father died. What if he entered the nba earlier and didn't quit. He'd easily have the most points scored in nba history. And probably have 8 rings and more MVPs
Bestlifestyle 101 so having one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time is a slow start? And he was still averaging 20+ point per game in his time with the Wizards. Watch what ur saying next time buddy
Kareem wasn’t even the best player on his own team for half his career. Only got 2 FMVPs out of 6 rings, and the latter wasn’t deserved as Magic had an all-time Finals record 14.0 APG. Kareem also missed the playoffs twice in his prime without Oscar / Magic and played in the weakest NBA as the ABA took away many of his best competitors in the 1970s.
The skyhook shot is the most unstoppable shot hands down. No one ever mentions Kareem in the goat conversation and he is the greatest center of all time hands down in my personal opinion. The skyhook shot is very underrated in today’s NBA.
Whats deadly about it is the accuracy. Some may develop it, but this one was special. If you notice his head, he barely turns before that ball is out and he knew exactly where he was on the court.
Bruh he may only be the only one that can do it that effective like that shot alone is unmatched literally unblockable and you just hope it misses because of Kareem's features with that wing span and height made that shot a cheat code.
Was such a joy to watch most of his career. I was to young to remember him in Milwaukee but in the 80's with the Lakers many a great memory.. thanks Kareem!!
@@esnips123123 Giannas, Joel, Jarret Allen, Even Mobley, Shaq, KG, LeBron….should i continue? He wasn’t playing against athletes of today. A lot of you like romanizing the older players for what they did (which is cool) but Kareem admitted himself if he played in today’s NBA he wouldn’t be as effective as he was in the 70s. Kareem only had length and average fundamentals in today’s league you need body mass, speed and a bigger bag.
At center, #33 Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The Big Man, always will be. One of my favorite players. The sky hook is legendary. Thank you for posting and all the best.
That sky hook is an immortal move never duplicated since and never known much before. It's almost impossible to defend. I suppose it's harder than it looks otherwise players would have tried repeating it but nobody has. What a legend.
Not only is it very hard to do, but it also requires you to be very tall to effectively performer it. The only guys who are skilled enough to make the shot aren’t tall enough to use it effectively and the only guys tall enough to be effective with it don’t have the skill to make the shot. It takes a very specific type of player to be able to use the skyhook
Its not "almost impossible to defend" It's *literally* impossible to defend. Even with someone close to his size, he is shooting it from the outside of the defender. The only way to defend against that shot is to straight up foul. The fact it's never been successfully replicated speaks volumes.
@@za6604yea how many times? It’s only been blocked twice. Idc if wilt defended and made him miss 3-4 times. NOBODY is lacing up shoes against Kareem and thinking “I’m gonna stop that sky hook” or “he won’t have any points against me”
The real GOAT of basketball. Dominated wherever he played. The most unstoppable force the NBA has ever seen. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. Thank you Kareem.
Everyone praised how 34yo Lebron was still in his prime This monster got an MVP final award back in 1985 at the age of 38, consistently played in the finals for the next 4 years, and got his last 2 rings when he was 40&41, who's still playing for starting lineup.
Such a pretty shot. I started practicing it as a 6’ 3” guard. It’s a lot more difficult than it looks especially with the off hand because it’s a blind shot. In a normal shot, even a fadeaway, you can see what you did right or wrong based on the follow through elbow above your eyebrow etc. because the flow of the shot is directly in front of your face. The sky hook is hard because if you miss, your eyes are looking at the basket and your head is turned the opposite way of your shooting hand/arm, so you can’t evaluate the shot and make adjustments easily. It has to be entirely on feel and trying to remember how the shot “felt” and then duplicate that over and over with the same arc and trajectory without a single visual reference to guide you
i will never forget watching Kareem Abdul Jabbar when i was a kid..even wrote a “biography” about him, for a middle school project. What made the Sky Hook so amazing was how hard it was to defend against. Not to mention, SO MANY TIMES, it was nothing but net!! The most consistent man EVER, with the ‘Sky Hook’.
Better than Michael Jordan, Kareem dominated college basketball, he joined the NBA and was an all star (19x AS) every year of his career except 1 (injury), all time scoring leader, top 5 in rebounding, 6 MVPs and 6 rings. One of the most clutchest players in the NBA. He had to beat Moses Malone, Larry Birds Celtics, Julius Erving, Bad Boy pistons, Hakeem, Karl Malone. Kareem is the 🐐. Only reason why people don't think so is because he's a big but if he were 6'6 y'all would be in his nuts
I remember as a kid in the late 80’s replicating the sky hook shot in my backyard basketball hoop after watching Lakers games! I always thought it was such a unique way to shoot a ball. I also remember signing out his basketball books in public school. 👍🏻 good times!
Kareem's record in high school is 79-2 with a 71 game winning streak. In 3 seasons at UCLA his records were 30-0, 29-1, 29-1 for an overall record of 88-2, with 3 consecutive National Championships, 3 straight Tournament Most Outstanding Player Awards and 3 consecutive National Player of the Year Awards. His NBA achievements include a record 6 time Most Valuable Player, the all-time leader in scoring, all-time leader in field goals made and 6 NBA championships.
Honoring you today on my 30th birthday, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! Thank you for teaching me the Sky Hook and continuing to be an inspiration to all of us! You are truly a legend my man. Stay blessed!
Imagine if Centers mastered this move today, how do you stop it? It's virtually a wide open shot everytime. It just comes down to the shooter putting enough touch on it (practice) 💯
Someone tall in highschool always do this and I always jump behind and get the ball from his behind 🤣 But with Kareem wingspan it's really hard to block that
