NBA – Evolution of the Game, with Julius Erving, Rasheed Wallace, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

About This Episode

We’re pulling out all the stops on this episode of Playing with Science as hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly investigate the evolution of the NBA with some of the greats. We caught up with NBA & ABA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving, and NBA Champion Rasheed Wallace at the “Art of a Champion” event hosted by Nike – and Neil deGrasse Tyson sat down with NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem-Abdul Jabbar to discuss his career and legacy. You’ll hear Dr. J analyze the state of the modern game, where he sees his influence on other players, and the impact of the three-point shot. Rasheed Wallace gives basketball advice that applies to everyday life. Neil and Kareem break down the physics of the skyhook and Kareem estimates how much of his 38,387 points came from skyhook shots. Gary also explains why a lot of soccer players and coaches are big basketball fans. All that, plus, Dr. J and Rasheed give us the secrets to winning in the NBA playoffs and Rasheed gives us his Dream Team – and it’s more familiar than you might think. Stay tuned for the second part of our mini-series next Wednesday where we dive into the evolution of shoe technology!

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: NBA – Evolution of the Game, with Julius Erving, Rasheed Wallace, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.