re: Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the GOAT

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My only knock against Kareem is how mediocre his teams were without an elite PG leading the way. He had Oscar Robertson for his first five seasons in the NBA. After Robertson retired, the Bucks went 38-44 and missed the playoffs altogether. Kareem was traded to the Lakers the following season. In his first season with the Lakers, they went 40-42 and missed the playoffs. In Kareem's second season, the Lakers went 53-29 but got swept in the WCF. In Kareem's third season with the Lakers, they went 45-37 and lost in the first round. And in Kareem's fourth season in Los Angeles, the Lakers go 47-35 in a league with no dominant teams and lose in the second round of the playoffs. After that season, the Lakers draft Magic with the #1 overall pick and the rest as they say is history. But here's my question. Can anybody see LeBron or Jordan missing the playoffs twice and only making one conference final appearance in five seasons which are the absolute prime years (Ages 27-31) of their career? It would be unfathomable. So why does Kareem get a pass for those years?

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Well put.

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Well put, indeed, but those early LA teams were poorly constructed. 6'5" forwards, Sweet Lou Hudson was reduced to a standstill shooter, not much of a bench, but Norm Nixon was a good player.