| | Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will not return as an
assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers next season.
Fellow Clippers assistant Dennis Johnson told the Los Angeles
Times that Abdul-Jabbar informed him Tuesday of the team's
decision.
Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion and star at UCLA, joined
the Clippers in early February under interim coach Jim Todd.
The Hall of Fame center had interviewed with several other teams
before breaking into the coaching ranks with the Clippers. He was
expected to help Michael Olowokandi, the team's 7-foot center,
improve his game.
"Kareem called me and said, 'They told me that my services were
no longer needed,' " Johnson told the Times. "Kareem didn't say
much else, but he wished me luck in the future."
Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson were both hired as assistants under
Todd, a midseason replacement for fired coach Chris Ford. The
Clippers previously announced that Todd will not return as head
coach next season.
Johnson said he remains in the running for the Clippers' head
coaching position. The Clippers finished the season with a record
of 15-67 -- worst in the NBA.
Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's career scoring leader with 38,387
points in the regular season and 44,149 total, including the
playoffs.
He played in 19 All-Star games and won six MVP awards.
Abdul-Jabbar has three championship rings from UCLA and six from
the NBA, one with the Milwaukee Bucks and five with the Los Angeles
Lakers.
He retired in 1989 and spent several years out of basketball
before beginning his quest for a coaching career.
Abdul-Jabbar worked with the basketball team at White Mountain
Apache Reservation in Whiteriver, Ariz., last year. When he was
hired by the Clippers, Abdul-Jabbar made it known that he would
like to someday become a head coach in the NBA.
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