Reputation about CV
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most accomplished players in the NBA history, but he has never become an NBA head coach. The six -time MVP believes that his reputation as a difficult personality played an important role in that result.
“When I tried to do some coaching for the first time, I approached 50,” Abdul-Jabbar told Harvard Business Review In 2012. “So in years I was advanced to be a rookie. And then the whole lack of social, my reputation as a difficult person, people might be able to scare off.”
Despite his unparalleled knowledge of the game, NBA teams have consistently passed on to offering a head coaching role.
Limited NBA experience
Abdul-Jabbar had a short coaching tint in the competition. In 1999 the Los Angeles clippers hired him as an assistant, but the position only took one season. Later his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, asked him to guide the young center Andrew Bynum.
Kareem was proud of the progress that Bynum has made under his guidance.
“He was 17 years old when I started working with him and not played a lot of basketball. He made big steps because he had a big attitude, and I think I could make him a very valuable member of our team,” said Abdul-Jabbar.
Yet NBA teams have never improved with head coaching offers.
Good luck outside the competition
Abdul-Jabbar proved his coaching capacity elsewhere. In 2002 he took over the Oklahoma Storm from the Basketball League of the United States. In his first and only season he led them to a championship. Many considered it one of his best performance after his retirement as a player.
Even that success was not enough to change the perceptions in NBA front offices. “I had a heavy transition because people didn’t think I could deal with people back and forth and give and take it,” he admitted.
Close the door
Now 78, Abdul-Jabbar remains healthy and active, but has long accepted that an NBA coaching option is unlikely. His journey shows that even one of the biggest players in history is not guaranteed a path to coaching. In his case, the reputation outweigh CV.
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