Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made his debut on the new ABC show "Splash. " Abdul-Jabbar joins Louis Anderson, Drake Bell, Kendra Wilkinson, Rory Bushfield, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Ndamukong Suh, Katherine Webb, Brandi Chastain and Nicole Eggert in an eight-week competitive-diving competition . With his first dive, Abdul-Jabbar survived the first week of the competition with a score of 7.25. A brief snippet of Abdul-Jabbar's flop-flip in the "Splash" premiere can be found on YouTube . The Milwaukee Bucks also released a clip of an Abdul-Jabbar practice dive.

1979-80 FINALS Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2 An old dog, a new trickster and birth of 'Showtime' "Showtime" began as 20-year-old rookie Magic Johnson inspired this talented team to first in the Pacific Division. After four close games in the Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 33, turned in a 40-point performance in Game 5 despite spraining his ankle. With Abdul-Jabbar out, Johnson stepped up in Game 6 with 42 points and 15 rebounds. The Team: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Jim Chones, Spencer Haywood, Michael Cooper, Mark Landsberger, Ron Boone, Kenny Carr, Don Ford, Brad Holland, Marty Byrnes, Ollie Mack, Butch Lee. The Coach: Jack McKinney/Paul Westhead Season record: 60-22 Playoff record: 12-4 :: 1981-82 FINALS Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2 A nascent dynasty finds renewed life with Riley The Lakers came into the season smarting from a surprising loss to Houston in the first round of the 1981 playoffs.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has dabbled as a pop-culture critic, recently giving his thoughts on the HBO series " Girls . " Now Abdul-Jabbar is giving his take on the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained. " "For me, 'Django Unchained' is like this season's Lakers: filled with talent and potential, but never coming together in a cohesive manner," Abdul-Jabbar wrote in a blog post on Esquire.com . Abdul-Jabbar argues that the Tarantino film did not deserve its Academy Award nominations for best picture or for best original screenplay, saying the picture is fundamentally a good "B film," lacking the depth of  an "A film.

Jerry Buss was one of the greatest owners in the history of professional sports, the creator of the most entertaining championship teams ever, a fearless pioneer who bonded a giant and disparate city under a brilliant blanket of purple and gold. Yet he felt that watching the Lakers was like watching his children. "It's a tearful experience sometimes," he once said. Jerry Buss was the showman behind Showtime, the man who won 10 NBA championships by signing some of the greatest and most glitzy players ever, from Magic Johnson to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, from Shaquille O'Neal to Kobe Bryant.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Katherine Webb were hanging out poolside the other day, you know, just waiting for their turns on the high dive. Naturally, the Lakers legend was wearing a Darth Vader mask and ... Huh? You mean there's something unusual about the NBA's all-time leading scorer dressed like a "Star Wars" character spending time at the pool with a beauty queen/Sports Illustrated swimsuit model/"Inside Edition" Super Bowl correspondent/girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron?

Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has become active again at the Huffington Post , restarting his blog after a three-year layoff. Abdul-Jabbar's 2013 debut was a critique of the HBO series "Girls. " The show's creator, Lena Dunham, told E! Online that she only skimmed Abdul-Jabbar's post, hesitant to read a "mixed review. " "I blurted out to my dad, 'Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reviewed "Girls," ' " said Dunham, noting that her father's response was, 'I don't even know how to process that.

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and extreme skier Rory Bushfield are the latest two celebrities to join the cast of ABC's upcoming "Splash," the reality competition series that will feature famous people attempting to look graceful while diving into water. This will be especially interesting when it comes to Abdul-Jabbar, 65, who stands 7 feet, 2 inches tall. Here's hoping the swimming pool is deep enough. The previously announced cast of "Splash" (which was previously called "Celebrity Diving")

Christmas presence 'Tis the season for giving . . . injured superstars back to their forlorn fan bases. Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Eric Gordon were among the A-list players who appeared to be closing in on a return before the end of the year. The Lakers announced Saturday afternoon that Nash would play in that night's game at Golden State after being sidelined for 24 games, since the season's second game, by a small fracture in his lower left leg. The Lakers tumbled in the Western Conference standings without their point guard; they were 12-14 and 11th in the West before Saturday.

The wait continues for Mike D'Antoni's Lakers debut. The newly hired coach was sidelined a second game because of knee-replacement surgery. D'Antoni hoped to coach Sunday against Houston but cited concerns about his energy level. The team was also concerned about his lack of mobility in case players crashed into him during the game. D'Antoni planned to watch the game from the Lakers' locker room. "I'm a little disappointed," he said. "I'm anxious to get out there and get ready to go. The biggest problem I have is just the energy waning toward the end. " Bernie Bickerstaff will be the Lakers' coach for a fifth consecutive game.