Entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker David Meltzer appeared on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
Along with football Hall of Famer Warren Moon, Meltzer is the co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing. Additionally, Melter’s extensive resume includes serving as the CEO of the renowned Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire. He is also on the board of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, an organization whose primary purpose is to financially ensure the appropriate honoring of a historic past, while building a premier future through making the venue and surrounding activity spaces even more distinguished and iconic.
David Meltizer Shares Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Story
While chatting with Scoop B Radio, Meltzer, a lifelong Los Angeles Clippers fan who was a San Diego Clippers ball boy during his youth, shared that he didn’t have an enjoyable experience working in the locker room with Hall of Fame center, Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
In fact, Meltzer called Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest NBA centers a “dick” during the interview.
Here’s the excerpt:
“That was a poignant moment in my life, though, being a Clippers fan for several reasons. It taught me the difference between superstars as I have a video in a lot of articles out there about my opinion of Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Dr. J, when I was a ball boy for the Clippers. One of those two treated me poorly….
“One of them changed my life because he was so kind, supportive and encouraging, which is Dr. J. And the reason I tell you that story, Scoop B, is that people in my career, they forget a valuable lesson. Tony Gwynn knew it, Michael Cage knows it. It’s called Be Kind to Your Future Self.
“And you know, Dr. J. had no idea when I was 14 years old as a ball boy that someday the most common question I would get from the biggest news stations in the world, the most content in the world, millions of people watched this video when they asked me who’s the coolest player that I’ve ever met who had an impact on my life. He had no idea that I’d be that guy when I was 14, but he still treated me like an equal or even better. And he was so gracious and kind. And I told literally tens of millions of people how kind Dr. J is and how cool he is. And unfortunately for Kareem, what a dick he was.”
YIKES!
In spite of Meltzer’s feelings about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, no one can deny his accolades on the court. Named to the NBA’s Top 75 list, Abdul-Jabbar was named the league’s Most Valuable player six-times during his career. A 19-time NBA All Star, the UCLA legend played 20 seasons in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During that time, he helped both of his teams win six championships: one with the Milwaukee Bucks and five with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Praised By Other NBA Peers
In today’s basketball news cycles, Michael Jordan and LeBron James greatest of all time discussions are daily discussions.
But what about the king of the skyhook? You’d think that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deserves to be there, right?
“He’s one of the best players to ever play the game,” NBA Hall of Famer Earl “The Pearl” Monroe tells me.
“Kareem, no matter what, the players know who’s who. Sportswriters, they write certain things, and when you think of Kareem, you think about his legacy. Early on, people didn’t like Kareem. Sportswriters felt that he was arrogant, and so forth and so on.”
“In my sense, Kareem doesn’t get the respect,” NBA legend and former Laker, Sam Perkins tells me.
“One is probably because he’s a big guy and he wasn’t the flashyish guy. He was also not in anyone’s era and nobody knew what he did; they just saw the ending.”
Others echo similar sentiments like former Lakers trainer Gary Vitti.
“I believe that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was not only the greatest basketball player that ever played the game, I can make an argument that he was the greatest athlete to ever walk the planet,” Vitti told me on Scoop B Radio.
In February 2023, LeBron James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading career scorer.
He has since added to his total, and with the way he continues to play despite being 39 years of age, it looks like he may end his career with a total that isn’t far off from 45,000 points.
For many years, Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 38,387 points was thought to be completely out of reach for anyone else to surpass. Now the question has become whether James’ eventual career points total will ever be surpassed.
Time will tell!
David Meltzer Weighs In On Intuit Dome
In addition to Kareem and Dr. J, Meltzer the Clippers lifer discussed his impressions of the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new home arena in Inglewood, California.
It has everything for the fans: Swift concession stands, valet parking, USB chargers in each arena seat, Intuit is a premiere destination.
“People are needy and need to be fed the combination of in-person with the immersive technology that exists today,” asserts Meltzer.
“In the old days, it didn’t matter if you had internet in the stadium. It couldn’t handle all the phones. And now most people don’t realize how much processing speed has meant to sports because people can communicate and get data and additional immersive information while they’re watching a game.
“If it’s instantaneous, we’re allowed now to pull real time, which creates all types of gambling and gaming, as well as entertaining value to a game that has never been seen before. Because now you’re really value adding in person what we only can do in our living with a few people. We now can do anywhere and everywhere when we’re at a $5.5 billion stadium or on our couch.”
For those keeping score at home: Intuit Dome is also an amazing venue for players. The arena also boasts a hydrotherapy pool, spacious locker room, coaches room and weight room for opposing teams.
The arena will also serve as a basketball venue during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
David Meltzer Discusses His Free Book: Connected to Goodness
Aside from stories on former players and Intuit Dome, Meltzer also delved into other topics while on Scoop B Radio including his book, Connected to Goodness.
“I give my book away for free,” Meltzer shared.
“It’s a roadmap to empower people to live in abundance. It’s a guidepost of making a lot of money to help a lot of people and have a lot of fun. In other words, those are the criteria for joy, happiness, ease, harmony in your life.
“I’m on a mission to empower over a billion people in my journey. I’ve reached this stage in my life where I only want to empower others and give back. So I give my book away for free. I pay for shipping. I sign the book.”
Make sure to visit dmeltzer.com/book/ to order your free copy.
