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During the latest episode of Max’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1980s house fire was depicted. The moment took some by surprise, with many wondering if it was indeed historically accurate.
It turns out that Abdul-Jabbar did in fact experience a house fire on Jan. 30, 1983, and it was as bad as depicted in the show.
Following a loss to the Boston Celtics, the LA Lakers superstar found out that an electrical fire had destroyed 90% of his Bel Air mansion. The 7,000-square-foot home was valued at $1.5 million at the time, making it a substantial loss for the Lakers legend.
Fortunately for Abdul-Jabbar, his girlfriend at the time, Cheryl Pistono, and their son, Amir, escaped the fire through a window. The four other people in the household were also able to make their way out of the house before it was engulfed in flames.
Author Jeff Pearlman outlined the details of the incident in his book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.” According to Pearlman, Abdul-Jabbar was devastated after losing many of his most prized possessions, including his jazz album collection.
“The center could deal with the loss of the structure itself. What crushed him, however, was the incineration of his three prized collections — oriental rugs, irreplaceable Middle Ages Qur'ans and more than three thousand jazz albums,” Pearlman wrote.
“‘My record collection,’ he said, ‘was probably the single most important thing that was destroyed. The beautiful pieces of glass and art that I had bought and gathered over the years were gone, as were my basketball trophies, my childhood pictures, all of my clothes.’”
Abdul-Jabbar also spoke about how the fire affected him in a 1983 New York Times interview. He said that it took him a while to process the disaster, but that he was eventually able to do so.
“Because at first, I didn't let it affect me; I had a lot of long, delayed reactions to the fire,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
“Things I used to have, I didn't have anymore, and I wouldn't notice it until much later.”
Abdul-Jabbar also later told The Washington Post that he was just glad that no one got hurt.
“I saw that I lost some things, but things don't make your life wonderful,” he said.
“Nobody had gotten hurt.”
Also read: What is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's current net worth in 2023?
LA Lakers fans tried to comfort Kareem Abdul-Jabbar following his house fire
Following the news of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's house fire, LA Lakers fans did their best to cheer up their team’s star player. This included fans sending Abdul-Jabbar jazz records in an effort to replace some of the thousands of albums that he lost in his house fire.
According to former Lakers media relations director Josh Rosenfeld, the NBA legend was touched by the heartwarming gestures from fans.
“I remember somewhere in the Midwest ... it might have been Dallas. And there was a rural Southern couple — white, with a kid,” Rosenfeld said.
“And as Kareem was walking out to the bus, the kid hands him three old, old jazz albums. And Kareem stops and looks at each one and I could tell ... he didn't just blow by them. He thanked them. You could see those things touched him.”
Watch: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once responded with sucker punch after Kent Benson’s cheap shot in 1977
