It Wasn’t a Tour de Force, <i> or</i> a Tour de Farce

Despite denials, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s farewell tour has fallen somewhere between a major distraction and a minor inconvenience for the Lakers this season.

The Lakers, who were 22-19 on the road, are 12-12 in farewell games. Although the ceremonies were well-structured, seldom ran long and were followed by four-minute warmup periods, the change in routine amounted to disruption.

In a way, however, Laker players said they will miss the farewell tour, now that it is over. Magic Johnson, for one, said he reveled in celebrating Abdul-Jabbar’s remarkable career.

“I don’t want it to end,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to see him go. When (the idea) first happened this summer, I was like, ‘OK. Let’s do it. He’s going to retire.’ But now, it’s reality time. He’s leaving. It’s getting sad.

“I’m trying to hold myself up (emotionally) and also enjoy the festivities in terms of seeing the people appreciate his game. All those ovations, the gifts, seeing him smile, it makes me feel good.”

On the 24 tour stops, Johnson often has been more emotional than Abdul-Jabbar. He always is the first Laker player to greet Abdul-Jabbar on the bench after he finishes his speech.

“I’m just really enjoying this whole thing,” Johnson said. “I think (the motorcycle, in Milwaukee) was my favorite. Because they knew him there. I think Golden State was nice, too, because Nate (Thurmond, the host) is a good friend of his. And Sacramento, too, that scholarship (to the Cal State University system in Abdul-Jabbar’s name). That’s something he’ll always have, and it’s important to him.”

Johnson said that, watching Abdul-Jabbar, he cannot help but think about his retirement and whether he will be so honored. “You’re always thinking, ‘What’s it going to be like for me,’ ” Johnson said. “But I don’t want to think about retiring, either.”

Living through a farewell tour is not a new experience for one Laker, reserve center Mark McNamara. He was with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1986-87 when Julius Erving had his farewell tour.

“There are similarities, but I think the Lakers took a step in the right direction and learned a lot from Julius’ tour,” McNamara said. “This one has been more organized, more controlled on when it’s going to be and how long.

“In Philadelphia, I think it really upset our team’s flow. (The Lakers) play better after them than the Sixers did. The Sixers always came out lethargic. They got caught up in it. Now, after it’s done, we’ve got a four-minute warmup. We didn’t do that in Philadelphia. And those things would go on for a long time, then, boom, the game starts.”

McNamara said that Abdul-Jabbar’s tour has been less commercial and more organized than Erving’s.

“They did a lot more in Julius’, like bringing up people he knew,” McNamara said. “Everyone would come out and say a few words. Julius’ had a lot more interaction. Because of that, they usually were longer.

“The gifts Kareem gets, they are more personal. People are trying to give him cultural gifts. Julius got some great gifts.

“But I think Kareem has got all the neat things. They’ve tried to give him gifts he wanted, that typify Kareem. Not just gifts to please the crowd, like a big-screen TV. That was part of Julius’ thing. Teams tried out-bidding the last team, the whole one-upmanship thing.”

Whereas Erving was very comfortable as a public speaker and had long enjoyed a good relationship with fans and the media, Abdul-Jabbar only recently has opened up. McNamara said he has seen Abdul-Jabbar grow more comfortable speaking to the fans.

“Kareem gets the point he wants to make across very well,” McNamara said. “He’s gotten better as it’s gone on. That joke he made in Phoenix (the “get-out-of-jail-free-card” comment), I don’t think he would’ve pulled that off in the beginning of the season.”