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To this day, Los Angeles Lakers fans are still upset about the trade that sent center Ivica Zubac from the Lakers to the Los Angeles Clippers for Mike Muscala. It wasn’t just that Muscala did next-to-nothing for the Lakers — the team gave up a big man who has only gotten better since.
Back then, he was a 21-year-old prospect in his third season out of Eastern Europe who was developing very slowly. Some were probably frustrated that he was taking a while to become a serviceable player, but with the Clippers, he eventually became his best self.
This season, Zubac averaged 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds a game, both of which were by far career highs. Given the Lakers’ glaring lack of a respectable player at the 5, their decision to ship out Zubac seems even worse in hindsight.
But he did benefit from his time with the Purple and Gold. In a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, he said that one day, he was lucky enough to get to learn from arguably the greatest center in NBA history (h/t Lakers Daily).
“It was fun, man! I couldn’t believe that it was happening to me. That was the first thing,” Zubac recalled, lighting up. “I worked out with the Lakers with Bill Bertka, and he’s been with the Lakers for 50-60 years! He’s 90-something, so he’s worked out with Wilt [Chamberlain], Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal)…you know? All those bigs. One day he invited Kareem to a workout to show me a couple things, and that was fun. It was really something. I couldn’t believe it — it was my rookie year and I couldn’t believe that was happening.”
The big man said he got to learn how to shoot Abdul-Jabbar’s famed skyhook, the most unstoppable shot in the history of basketball.
“We worked on the skyhook a lot. It was all about that hook shot!” Zubac said. “I learned a lot from him. I use that hook shot every game. I work on it every day. I’m trying to perfect it and have one of the best hooks in the league. And that one left-handed hook shot? I’m still working on that, but it’s all about that hook shot. I learned a lot, and in the workout, he shot a couple. It was so smooth, and it was crazy!”
The skyhook was a chief reason Abdul-Jabbar became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in 1984 by surpassing Chamberlain. It also helped him win six world championships, with five of them coming as a member of the Lakers.
Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record stood for nearly 40 years until LeBron James broke it in February 2023 during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, he still holds the all-time record for the most made baskets. He converted 15.837 field goals (during the regular season) in his 20-year career, while James is currently at 15,488. James is the all-time leader in made field goals during the regular season and the playoffs combined at 18,459, compared to 18,193 for Abdul-Jabbar.
Zubac, unlike Abdul-Jabbar, is a wide-bodied center who is very physical in the post and holds his position extremely well. Needless to say, many Lakers fans look at him wistfully and wish he were still on the team’s roster.
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