One of the greatest professional basketball players in the history of the sport is scheduled to visit an Indianapolis-area high school later this month to promote his new documentary film. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be at Center Grove High School on Feb. 24 for the screening of his new sports documentary “On the Shoulders of Giants – The Story of the Greatest Basketball Team You Never Heard Of.”
Abdul-Jabbar won National Basketball Association championships with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played with NBA legends Oscar Robertson and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and outstanding teammates such as James Worthy and Michael Cooper. During his days with the Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson led a team that came to earn the nickname of “Showtime.”
“On the Shoulders of Giants” honors a group of sports pioneers who have been mostly forgotten. The documentary presents archived footage, interviews of celebrities and sports legends, and other historic figures in celebrating the legacy of a popular American sport. The film reminds today’s top basketball players about those who have made their lives as sports celebrities possible.
A panel of local professionals will discuss the film after the screening, which will be attended by Center Grove High School students. Slated to be on the panel are Quinn Buckner, vice president/communications, Pacers Sports and Entertainment, and a cable TV color analysts for the Indiana Pacers; David N. Baker, distinguished professor at the Indiana University School of Music; Darnell Hillman, associate director of camps, clinics and alumni relations for the Indiana Pacers; and James Patterson, editor of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper.
