Abdul-Jabbar Not Included as Reserve on All-Star Team

There has been a somewhat unexpected change in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s itinerary on his farewell tour during his 20th and final National Basketball Assn. season. He will not, as many had presumed would be automatic, be playing in the All-Star game in the Houston Astrodome Feb. 12.

The seven Western Conference All-Star reserves, chosen by the coaches, were announced Wednesday and, for only the second time in Abdul-Jabbar’s career, he was not included.

However, Abdul-Jabbar said he has accepted an invitation by the league to be honored at the All-Star banquet at Houston Feb. 11. Abdul-Jabbar said that he does not plan to take his sneakers to Houston and added that he might not stay for the game.

Coaches are required to select two centers, two forwards, two guards and a so-called wild-card player. Voted in ahead of Abdul-Jabbar were Utah’s Mark Eaton and Portland’s Kevin Duckworth.

Abdul-Jabbar, who said 2 weeks ago that he was not playing well enough to warrant a spot on the team, said the coaches’ voting was justified.

“I think it was appropriate,” he said Wednesday. “The decision was judicious. I don’t have any problems with it. The facts speak for themselves. If I had played at All-Star caliber, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

At the time of the voting, Abdul-Jabbar was averaging 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. Eaton was averaging 6.2 points but ranked ninth in the league in rebounding with a 10.3 average and first in blocked shots at 4.2 a game. Duckworth, in his third season, was averaging 18.8 points and 8.1 rebounds.

The Lakers will be represented by Magic Johnson, voted by the fans as a starting guard, forward James Worthy, selected by the coaches, and Coach Pat Riley.

Abdul-Jabbar coyly avoided questions about whether he would be willing to play if the league decided to make a 13th roster spot available, or if a Western Conference player would be unable to play.

“We’ll wait and see,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I don’t know. My (representatives) talked to the league (earlier in the season) and I don’t know what came of it. I only recently received the invitation to the dinner. I think that’s nice.”

But, given Abdul-Jabbar’s accomplishments, does he think that past achievements should count when selecting the All-Star team?

“There’s some validity in that,” he said. “But the All-Star game is supposed to be for all-stars . My performance has been less than stellar.”