In a basketball scoreboards feature, we look at Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and ask, who takes the spotlight?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in 1947 in New York. He was born a Catholic but later converted to Islam and so changed his named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He had passion for basketball since he was a child. He achieved a lot in his early days and due to this game he was picked by Milwaukee Bucks. There he remained a dominant figure in the team and helped the team to win the division for four straight years. He then joined Los Angels Lakers. The basketball scoreboards showed that he scored a total of 38,387 points and is still the all time leading NBA scorer. He is famous for his skyhook shot which the defenders found almost impossible to block. His height, 7 ft 2 inches, is also an important contributing factor in making him one of the greatest players of all times.

On the other hand, Kobe Bryant is still quite young a player as compared to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He was born in 1978. He started playing basketball in his school days. At the age of 17 he decided to go into the NBA directly and was then the 6th player to do so. Bryant then joined Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 and still plays for the same team. He won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant differ a lot in terms of age. Kareem has retired while Kobe is still on the go. Kobe has still got a few years left and who knows if he will be a greater player than Kareem. Kareem almost had no injuries during his career, although he broke his arm a couple of times, and had a scandal free career. Kobe too, has had an injury free career, but sadly not a scandal free one. In 2003, he was accused of sexual assault by a hotel employee, where he stayed prior to where his knee surgery was to be done. This damaged Kobe’s image to such an extent that big companies terminated endorsement contracts with him.

Kobe Bryan played as a shooting guard whereas Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played at a centre position which makes the comparison difficult. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won six NBA championships and the Most Valuable player for six regular seasons while on the other hand Kobe Bryant has won the Most Valuable Player award only once in the 2007-08 season. In 2010, Kobe became the all time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history.
It’s hard to decide who takes the spotlight Kareem or Kobe, because one is retired and the other is still playing but according to experts Kareem is the best between the two. If you ask the fans, you’ll probably get a similar response. Perhaps in a few years, when Kobe’s career is reaching its natural end, this comparison will be easier to make.

For more information, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar