YouTube Gold: Kareem’s High School Highlights

What a magnificent young player he was

When Wilt Chamberlain was in high school, people knew about him, but largely through the media. Although there were scouts and scammers, there was no advanced scouting system.

By the time Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came along a few years later, things were much more organized. He was the first truly national recruit. Everyone knew someone extraordinary played at Power Memorial.

This video shows what he was like in high school. He was rangy and lean and bouncy, not at all like the Kareem we saw in his later years. He was still highly effective because of his devastating Sky Hook, but he no longer really ran the court or jumped all that much.

In high school though, Kareem was just astonishing, particularly by the standards of the day. He was as agile as any 7-footer had been and would still cause a sensation today.

He would go on to win three championships at UCLA and six in the NBA. He remains a standard of greatness.