From the moment Kareem Abdul-Jabbar entered the NBA and became the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Bucks, he was unsurprisingly viewed as the next big thing.
Abdul-Jabbar stood as the figurehead for the next wave of supremely skilled, athletic big men that graced the NBA throughout the 1970s. The legendary centers in the 1960s, players like Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain, were either on the verge of retiring or firmly in the twilight of their careers and Abdul-Jabbar was set to ascend over contemparies such as Willis Reed and Nate Thurmond.