Jim Jackson and B.J. Armstrong agree on why Kareem is the GOAT: 'Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is standing at the top of that list'

The GOAT debate always goes back and forth between Michael Jordan and LeBron James, while some argue that Kobe Bryant should be the third wheel in that discussion. But if you really look at the greatest of all-time conversation, an often forgotten man is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

During a recent episode of the "Jim Jackson Show," Jackson and his guest B.J. Armstrong agreed that Abdul-Jabbar is the rightful legend to sit on top of the basketball mountain.

"If you look at numbers, Kareem's numbers from high school, 72-game win streak, 96-6 to his college, three-times National Player of the Year, I mean they took the dunk away because of Kareem, just how dominant he was. And then his domination in the NBA, the most unstoppable shot. If you look at the totality of just basketball, Kareem to me is the best ever," argued Jackson.

Kareem just kept on winning

Kareem went 212-8 in high school and college combined. Then known as Lew Alcindor, he led Power Memorial High School to three New York City Catholic Championships while winning the National Player of the Year award twice. In college, he was a three-time National Champion and three-time College Player of the Year. When he came over to the pros, he just kept winning.

He won six championships in the NBA—one with the Milwaukee Bucks and five with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers. Kareem also won six NBA MVP awards and two Finals MVPs. After 20 years in the Association, he retired as the league's all-time leading scorer and held the record until LeBron James broke it in 2023.

"I'm happy you said that, Jim, because when you look at the most accomplished player ever, you wave to say Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," quipped Armstrong. "There hasn't been a player more accomplished than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So when you say that, end of discussion. You can argue however you want to argue. Here are the numbers. If you just want to say accomplishments -individually, collectively, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is standing at the top of that list."

Several other stars named KAJ the GOAT

Abdul-Jabbar's Showtime Lakers teammate James Worthy also recently argued for his captain as the greatest ever. According to Big Game James, people who pick Michael Jordan are those who have never seen Kareem. Because of that, he suggested that before people are allowed to pick their GOAT, they should watch KAJ's entire basketball career.

"How you gonna say whose the greatest without seeing Kareem's full body of work? How you gonna say, 'It's Michael.' Because you were born in 1995? Or '80, still you haven't seen people's full bodywork. People who hadn't seen Kareem, they need to stay out of the question here unless you have seen all that," Worthy said. "To me, Kareem (is the GOAT). Not too many people won three national championships in college and held the (scoring) record for 39 years without shooting a three. People say, 'He wasn't athletic. Blah Blah.' Kareem and Wilt (Chamberlain) were extremely athletic."

Worthy, Jackson, and Armstrong aren't wrong. But as Dwyane Wade once said, the GOAT convo is a case of the "out of sight, out of mind" idiom. People today recognize Jordan as the GOAT because they never saw Abdul-Jabbar. But folks 20 years from now might forget MJ like we forgot about KAJ today.