Per a report via the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue featuring NBA all-time scoring leader and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at some point during the 2012-2013 season.
Abdul-Jabbar won five of his six NBA championships and three of his six league MVP awards with the Lakers. The team has previously honored franchise legends — broadcaster Chick Hearn and players Magic Johnson and Jerry West — by featuring their likenesses surrounding Staples Center.
The decision to erect a statue honoring Abdul-Jabbar, widely considered the greatest NBA center of all time, is significant because he had previously expressed disappointment in the Lakers for failing to honor him alongside Johnson, West and Hearn. The team has stated it has no criteria for determining the order of the figures it chooses to honor.
No firm date has been set for the unveiling of the statue.
Abdul-Jabbar's history with the Lakers goes beyond his days as a player. Most recently, he served as a special assistant with the team from 2005-2009, where he worked specifically with Andrew Bynum.
Bynum had a career year in 2011-2012 and was selected to his first All-Star game as a member of the Lakers before being traded this summer to the Philadelphia 76ers.
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