Kareem Abdul-Jabbar On His Bruce Lee-Inspired Adidas Collab, Taking On More Acting Gigs and His New Graphic Novel
The NBA legend and activist has re-teamed with the sportswear brand on a capsule collection that pays homage to 'Game of Death.'
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Danielle Directo-Meston
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (center) with his business manager, Deborah Morales (left) and Bruce Lee Enterprises managing partner and Bruce Lee Foundation board member Dennis Chang at Shoe Palace's Adidas Jabbar Lo x Bruce Lee pop-up and panel discussion in Los Angeles' Chinatown on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. BFA
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is stepping back into one of his most iconic off-court roles — and perhaps one of Hollywood’s most famed onscreen height differences — with his latest Adidas collab.
The six-time NBA MVP, New York Times bestselling author and scorer of 38,387 points has re-teamed with the sportswear company on the Jabbar Lo x Bruce Lee collection ($40 to $100), which pays tribute to the Hall of Famer and his friendship with his Game of Death co-star in the form of yellow suede sneakers — nodding to Lee’s infamous jumpsuit that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill costumes — and graphic tees with scenes of the classic martial arts film. (For the record, Abdul-Jabbar was 18 inches taller than his five-foot-eight pal.)
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The bright yellow kicks are finished with Abdul-Jabbar’s trademark skyhook silhouette and Lee’s “kick” motif (both in gold foil) along with the martial arts icon’s signature on the heel and a custom sockliner inspired by the duo. The Lakers legend first teamed with Adidas in 1978 when he was the first NBA player to ink an endorsement deal and release a signature shoe. The new collab is now available online and in stores at Shoe Palace and will roll out globally beginning on Sept. 13 at Adidas‘ website and stores and at other retailers.
Abdul-Jabbar studied martial arts under Lee and starred as Hakim the Mantis opposite the Chinese-American actor in Game of Death, which began filming in 1972 and was released in 1978 (five years after Lee passed away) with original and new footage. In addition to TV and music video cameos throughout the years, the NBA great was most recently seen onscreen in guest roles in Billions and Night Court.
On what it takes for him to say “yes” to new acting gigs, the 78-year-old multi-hyphenate told The Hollywood Reporter, “As long as it’s not very negative, I’d take it. You know, when you’re a kid, you think, ‘I can play Superman!’ Then you get a little [sense of] what actors have to go through in order to get us to believe them, so learning that has made me humbled. And it’s still giving me an incentive to maybe take another role.”
Adidas Originals Jabbar Lo x Bruce Lee basketball shoes, $100, at Shoe Palace. Adidas
Abdul-Jabbar sat down with THR on Saturday at Shoe Palace‘s pop-up for the Adidas collab in L.A.’s Chinatown, steps away from the seven-foot statue commemorating his late friend, who died in 1973 of a cerebral edema at the age of 32. The three-day pop-up also featured the prolific Substack columnist‘s two inspiring new books (co-written with longtime collaborator Raymond Obstfeld), We All Want to Change the World and the graphic novel Champion; and Shannon Lee’s bestselling book, Be Water My Friend.
Before joining a panel discussion with business manager Deborah Morales and Bruce Lee Foundation board member and Bruce Lee Enterprises managing partner Dennis Chang, the 19-time NBA All-Star (and occasional contributing editor) also discussed about his graphic novel illustrated by Ed Laroche, how he’s coaching the next generation of basketball players and more.
Released today, the 128-page Champion follows a high school basketball player who puts his NBA aspirations in jeopardy after getting caught graffitiing at a rival team’s school — but the story isn’t quite an autobiographical one. “No, I just use [him as a way to] help me explain a few things,” he told THR. (No. 33 superfans might recall that his father was a NYC transit police officer, after all.)
‘Champion: A Graphic Novel’ by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld
$18.59 $19.99 7% off
In addition to his new Adidas kicks, Abdul-Jabbar also showed up on Saturday in his latest Kareem vs. Bruce collection ($45 to $95) of limited-edition T-shirts and hoodies.
“I think [Bruce] would be happy with it because it’s about values. That’s the main thing: self-defense is about values, it’s all mixed in together. Like I did with my children, teach them the right and wrong, learn how to fight, but don’t be a bully. If you do know how to fight, and people are acting crazy, sometimes you have to do something. That attitude, that approach to life, is really important,” he said.
The retired Laker is still coaching the NBA’s brightest — but through their wallets. He’s the namesake of the league’s Social Justice Champion Award, now in its fifth year. Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was named the 2024-25 recipient of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy for his work through the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund, which is “about giving young people an idea about what their future can be, which is really important,” said Abdul-Jabbar.
“The big thing I try to focus on is I’m trying to wake up the guys in the NBA. They have all this money [and] their tax-exempt donations could do a lot of good in different places, so I want to encourage them,” he continued. “We have a contest to see who does the best, and we give them $100,000 for them to use in whatever it is that’s important to them. These things snowball. That’s the whole thing.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the Bruce Lee statue in historic Central Plaza in Chinatown, Los Angeles, on Aug. 30, 2025. BFA
At Saturday’s panel, Abdul-Jabbar revealed how his late friend’s philosophy guided him throughout life and reflected on Lee’s most famed quote (“Absorb what is useful, and discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.”)
“That philosophy is one that tells you to basically be pragmatic. Use the things that are useful, and the things that aren’t useful, what are you going to do with them? Put them in the trash. But the things that will help you, like the fundamentals of basketball, were some things I had to work on. By doing that, it made me successful. Trying to do the things that aren’t going to help you, you basically can’t do anyway — don’t waste your time. Go ahead and do things that you know will make you successful, and I think the opportunity to have an advantage no matter what it is that you do,” he explained.
“While I was playing at UCLA, I got poked in the eye and I couldn’t play for a couple of games. I was really depressed about that. Just by having worked with Bruce and understanding his ideas about being ready, all I knew I had to do was, ‘Let’s get ready again, you’re gonna have to be ready when you step on the court again,’ and I was. … When you can’t do what you think you’re here to do, it’s depressing. [Lee’s teachings] enabled me to deal with all the ups and downs of my career,” recalled Abdul-Jabbar.
The NBA legend also shared memories of visiting the Lee household, including the martial arts master’s then-young daughter and son, Shannon and Brandon. (Brandon Lee died at 28 after being fatally wounded by a prop gun while filming The Crow.)
“I had to be Shannon’s pony. She would ride me around the house until there was something else to do. I really enjoyed knowing her and Brandon,” he remembered. “Brandon wanted to beat me up. He’d say since his dad could beat me up, he should be able to beat me up. I had to disavow him of that thought.”
About that 18-inch height difference. When asked if he was ever competitive against Lee, Abdul-Jabbar quipped, “No. I wasn’t gonna try and fight him! He had no chance of dunking on me. He had his sphere and I had mine. He showed me how to use my advantages [and] how not to be taken advantage of in ways that my height might work against me. I was always aware of that,” he said.
Hear the NBA icon talk about the first time he met Lee in the video from THR below, and shop the Jabbar Lo x Bruce Lee collection online now at shoepalace.com and at Adidas and beyond starting Sept. 13.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks about his friendship with Bruce Lee at an Adidas panel for the launch of the new Jabbar x Lee sneaker collab pic.twitter.com/tBDvTlRTgU
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 31, 2025
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