Back in 1971, the United States Supreme Court ruled that any player would only be eligible to enter the NBA four years after graduating from high school. This whole controversy was brought about by Spencer Haywood and the fact that the ABA allowed him to play after his sophomore season at the University of Detroit way back in 1969. This mandate obviously had a significant impact on the league when it was implemented — one that resonates to this very day and to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
In a recent interview, Haywood spoke about LeBron's all-time scoring record. The 74-year-old talked about his legacy in the game of basketball and how ultimately, it had a significant impact on the Lakers superstar's career:
“Oh he’s going to add to the record but, you also have to think: He would not have broken that record if he didn’t have four extra years that Spencer Haywood provided for him,” Haywood told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on YouTube’s Scoop B Selects. “Because before I came along, you had to wait for four years before you got into the pros. So LeBron was able to come in from out of high school so he’s got 8,000 plus because of what I did. So it’s a beautiful thing to see and to see Kareem is on the acceptance level that says, ‘You know? He broke this record,' because all of these records are going to be interesting.”
Spencer Haywood is not wrong. When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar entered the NBA, he was already 22. He wasn't eligible to play until four years after he graduated high school, which is why Kareem played the full four years for UCLA in college. Abdul-Jabbar did play 20 years in the NBA en route to his scoring record, but you have to say, LeBron James does have a significant advantage.