Legendary basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the honour of delivering the tribute speech and he had nothing but fond memories of the first time he met the boxing ring icon in Los Angeles where he was performing magic tricks for strangers walking by.
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‘I think that encounter epitomized everything that made Ali, at that point in time, the most famous man in the world,’ he said to a packed crowd which had family of Ali in its midst. ‘His showmanship. His ubiquitousness. It just seemed like he was everywhere. And most of all, his magic.’
‘That ability to make the impossible seem real. Every athlete handles fame in their own way. Some people revel in it. Some people aren’t so comfortable with it. Muhammad Ali used it to speak his mind.’
‘We’re never going to see his likes again walking down the street,’ he further said. ‘But I hope his death spurs his successors to remember what truly made him the greatest.’
Muhammad Ali died June 4, 2016 aged 74. No Fields Found.
