Kareem Abdul-Jabbar donates 900 pairs of safety goggles to UCLA Health

People might not unanimously agree that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest NBA player of all time, but he’s definitely the greatest NBA player to ever wear goggles. Standing at 7’2”, Abdul-Jabbar would get poked in the face a lot during his playing days, and it got so bad that, at the tail end of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he committed to wearing goggles full-time.

It’s fitting, then, that Abdul-Jabbar donated 900 safety goggles to the doctors, nurses and staff at UCLA Health, who are tirelessly working to prevent the spread of COVID-19, or the coronavirus.

Abdul-Jabbar played three years at UCLA, and led his team to three NCAA championships during his time there. UCLA Health is also the official sponsor of the Lakers’ new training facility in El Segundo.

Abdul-Jabbar is just the latest Lakers star to extend his support to UCLA Health. Last month, James sent a video to the UCLA Health staff via TMZ, thanking them for the work they’ve done thus far.

“Hey, what’s up y’all? It’s LeBron here. This message goes to all the strong women and men at UCLA Health. I know these last couple of weeks have been very taxing on you guys with what’s going on with the coronavirus and everything. I just want to let you know that ya’ll hard work and ya’ll dedication does not go unnoticed. The James Gang family here thanks you guys and hopefully we can get back on our feet and we can get back to our everyday lives very soon ...

“The time and the commitment that you guys are putting in, it’s truly commendable and remarkable at the same time. So, God bless you guys and can’t wait to see you guys again. One love.”

There have been 6,910 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Los Angeles County, and 169 deaths as a result of the virus, according to L.A. County Public Health. Nationwide, there are 395,090 confirmed cases, according to The New York Times.

For more information on how to protect yourself and others from the coronavirus, in addition to what to do if you’re feeling sick, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.