Kareem Abdul Jabber had a $5 million motive to help the Los Angeles Lakers win against the Boston Celtics.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are undoubtedly the most iconic rivalry in NBA history.
Almost every era of the league has witnessed incredible competition between the two franchises. The rivalry undoubtedly peaked in the 1980s.
At the time, the Lakers were led by Kareem Abdul Jabber and Magic Johnson, while the Celtics included Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.
Looking back at the 1987 NBA Finals, Kareem Abduljabbar is already 40 years old. Obviously he was no longer the player he was.
By then, Kareem had helped the Lakers win three NBA championships, but it was clear that Magic Johnson was the team’s main superstar in 1987.
However, Lakers general manager Jerry West knew the team needed Kareem’s heroic to beat the Celtics in 1987.
“Jerry West called me over the phone and said, “Look, I think the series is tied up 1-1 so I can win this series, but Kareem has to step up and he has to play monster basketball,” he said, “If that’s the case, I’ll give him the biggest contract in NBA history.
“I spoke to owner Jerry Bass. He said, “If Kareem steps up the rest of the series, we’ll give him the biggest deal that anyone has been awarded in NBA history,” Armato said.
Considering that Abdul-Jabbar was already in the Twilight years of his career during the 1987 NBA Finals, it meant winning a big deal for Lakers legend.
“Do you guess what he did? He looked up and smiled at me, and it was the first time I looked at me. He said, ‘Huh?’ And I said, ‘Yeah!’ Suddenly I knew he was there,” Armato revealed.
Well, Abdul Jabbar appeared to have stepped up his game, including a 32-point game-6 performance to help the Lakers register for a 4-2 victory for the Celtics.
West and the Lakers’ ownership stuck to their words as Abdul Jabbar earned $5 million in the final two seasons of his career in the league.