Third highest scorer in Finals history (1,317 points) behind LeBron James (1,562) and Jerry West (1,679), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in ten NBA Finals and the 1985 Finals remain his last great performance at this level .
The Lakers then face the Celtics for a rematch of the 1984 Finals, won by Boston. Los Angeles is scattered like a puzzle in Game 1, which became the famous “Memorial Day Massacre”.
The whole team is dominated, but it is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who is singled out. With only 12 points and 3 rebounds, the pivot clearly missed his start in the Finals. The next day, for the video debriefing of the match, he sat in front of the screen, even though he was used to the back row.
“Kareem was bad. He knows it “, confirms Pat Riley. “I told him, very honestly. He said the same thing to me and the other players. His body language meant he was going to own up to his mistakes, he wanted to see them. He made a contract with us: it won't happen again. This meeting was, paradoxically, a blessing. After this match, Kareem had a completely different look. »
MVP of the Finals fourteen years later
From Game 2, the pivot reacted with 30 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 interceptions. In Los Angeles' four victories, he averaged 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2 blocks. All at the age of 38!
On June 9, 1985, in Game 6 in Boston, he scored 29 points to allow the Lakers to win their ninth NBA title and especially their first title against the Celtics. Before 1985 and after eight Finals, the Californians had never managed to beat the Celtic franchise.
Never, too, had a Finals MVP (25.7 points, 9 rebounds, 5.2 assists on average) been so old since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 38 years and 54 days old on June 9, 1985. Wilt Chamberlain, former record holder, was 35 years and 260 days in 1972, Michael Jordan, later, 35 years and 117 days in 1998, or LeBron James, 35 years and 286 days in 2020.
For Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, this is the second Finals MVP trophy on his record, 14 years after his first, won in 1971 with the Bucks.
“He silenced the critics”, Pat Riley will say about himduring the Finals. “He defied all logic. He is incredible. He is one of the most special athletes of our time. »
