Early Retirement Would Be Kareem’s Classy Way Out

The cover of the Laker media guide is a photo of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s locker, in which his No. 33 jersey is neatly hanging. It is a tribute to the Big Fella’s 20th and final NBA season. But the season isn’t going too well for No. 33, or for the Lakers right now, and who knows? Kareem might decide to hang up that jersey for good even before the end of the season.

This speculation is not based on inside information. It’s not even a rumor.

It just seems like the All-Star break might be a good time for Kareem to make a classy farewell to the game he has helped elevate from bush-league level to equality with major league baseball and football.

Retirement with dignity is something Kareem deserves. But how dignified will it be for him to finish the season riding the pine, starting games but essentially playing a backup role, playing fewer and fewer minutes, sitting out the crucial last 5 minutes of each game, facing the inevitable critiques of his diminished skills?

An alternative would be for Kareem to move his retirement up 3 months, to Feb. 12, the date of the All-Star game.

If he’s kicking this idea around, Abdul-Jabbar would base his decision on one simple question: Can he still help the Lakers?

The way he has played so far, the answer is no.

That’s not to say that the Laker slump is Kareem’s fault. He is not the only player failing to perform at a career-best level right now. But just as his majestic skyhook and incredible grace have caused him to stand out from the NBA crowd, so now his shortcomings are more noticeable than those of teammates such as James Worthy and Michael Cooper.

When Kareem is out there not rebounding, not shooting, not running the floor, it’s impossible not to notice.

Stats don’t tell the entire story, but consider these: This season, Kareem is averaging 1 rebound every 6.2 minutes. His best rebounding season, ‘70-71, he had a rebound every 2.5 minutes. During the Lakers’ championship season of ‘79-80, he averaged a rebound every 3.5 minutes. And he was playing a lot more minutes then, necessitating some pacing.

Another key stat: Free throws. He shoots a freebie every 11.1 minutes now, compared to 1 every 6.6 minutes in ‘79-80 and every 4.8 minutes in his rookie season, ‘69-70.

Slippage is inevitable with age, but these are significant numbers. If Kareem isn’t shooting free throws, it means he’s not shooting skyhooks, which are a key to the Lakers’ inside game, the breakdown of which was singled out by Coach Pat Riley as the team’s biggest problem right now.

And you know this tune: No rebounds, no rings.

Two weeks into the season I asked a Laker executive whether he’d rather have Kareem or Benoit Benjamin. “Kareem,” the exec said, with no hesitation.

The exec’s Reason No. 1 was that Kareem, being the veteran superstar, would get the calls from the officials, especially in crunch time. Just like in Game 6 of last year’s NBA championship, when Piston center Bill Laimbeer was whistled for a borderline foul on Kareem at 0:14, and Kareem sank both free throws to win the game by a point.

But you can’t get the calls if you don’t take the shots or mix it up.

Riley recently said he had instructed his playmakers to stop waving Kareem out of the ball side of the post. Riley said he wanted Kareem in there, doing his skyhook damage.

That was either a challenge to Kareem, or a plea: Help us out, Big Fella. Do your old stuff.

So far he hasn’t be able to do it. It could be that when the Lakers’ offense starts clicking again, and it will, Kareem’s game will pick up and he’ll once again be a force that opponents will have to respect.

Right now, that’s not the case.

The next 3 weeks will be important. If Kareem and the Lakers start responding to Riley’s demands to ram the ball down opponents’ throats, rather than tossing up jump shots from the perimeter, the picture will change.

But Kareem is old enough to be a grandfather. He is the oldest player of all time. It’s doubtful he can roll back 5 years, or even 2, simply by willing it so.

As always, Kareem has been a model citizen through the Lakers’--and his own--struggles. Riley cuts down his minutes, Kareem doesn’t whimper. Riley sits him down in the closing minutes, Kareem publicly supports his coach. Teammates wave him out of the offensive action, he doesn’t pout. He has been injured, but Kareem doesn’t use that as an excuse.

When was the last time you heard a discouraging word from the lips of the Lakers’ captain?

That has been his style. He has complained for years about the liberties allowed his opponents, about the general thugism in the paint, but you won’t hear Kareem criticizing his coach or his teammates.

Would a midseason Kareem retirement help the Lakers, as Elgin Baylor’s early retirement did in 1971? If nothing else, it would force General Manager Jerry West to put together one of his magic midseason deals that have picked up the club so many times.

And it would be nice for Kareem.

It’s highly unlikely he will be on the West All-Star team, as he was last year when he came in to break the career All-Star game scoring record.

So, why not invite Abdul-Jabbar back as the league’s non-playing guest-of-honor? Why not turn the big weekend into a blow-out going-away party for a guy who has set new standards for the sport in artistry, durability, longevity, style and pure performance?