May 10, 2018 8:15 pm

Neil deGrasse Tyson and NBA Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Explore Basketball Physics on StarTalk

On this week’s episode of StarTalk Radio, we invite another legend to talk about their field of expertise. A few weeks ago, we had Dr. Jane Goodall help us understand chimps and, this week, NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sits down with Neil deGrasse Tyson to help us discover more about the game of basketball. Recorded at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Neil is joined in studio by comic co-host Chuck Nice, astrophysicist Charles Liu, and NBA analyst Jim Spanarkel.

Some may say, “Two astrophysicists for a show about basketball?” Well, as you’ll hear, among other things, Charles is also a basketball geek. And as we’ve said on StarTalk before, science is in everything.

To start things off, you’ll hear Kareem break down his signature shot – the skyhook. Learn why the shot was unstoppable and how there are similarities to an archer shooting a bow and arrow. You’ll also hear why players in today’s game don’t shoot the skyhook anymore. Our panel investigates the evolution of the three-pointer and Jim explains how the players have athletically evolved over time. We break down the physics of shooting bank shots and grabbing rebounds. However, as our panel points out, it’s also easier to grab a rebound if you have a 101-inch (almost 9 ft) wingspan like Kareem.

Besides being one of the greatest basketball players to ever play, Kareem is also a scholar. You’ll find out where his love of reading comes from and he also tells about “Camp Skyhook” – a camp he created that helps kids study STEM fields to prepare for the future.

Finally, Kareem asks Neil a Cosmic Query about planetary and galaxy rotation, he tells us the true value of sports, and you’ll find out what cameo role Kareem would love to portray. Hint, it’s in a galaxy far, far away…

Please join us tomorrow night for Basketball Physics, with NBA Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen