Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is experiencing a very similar phenomenon shared among many during the coronavirus outbreak. That would be none other than sports withdrawal.

Abdul-Jabbar, 72, shared his thoughts on going through the absence of sports. All major leagues in the United States have suspended operations. The NBA and NHL stopped their season with less than one-third of the season to go. MLB halted spring training and the hiatus has now extended into the original Opening Day date. Meanwhile, the NCAA canceled the annual March Madness national championship.

The actor and author penned a column in The Hollywood Reporter about what he's doing to cope during his self-isolation time with sports. He's mainly been rewatching movies. “To re-create the thrill of sports competitions and all the sweaty and tearful drama they entail,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “I've taken to rewatching my favorite sports movies.”

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Christian Laettner (Duke), Danny Manning (Kansas), Akeem Olajuwon (Houston), Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), Tyler Hansbrough (UNC) all together. March Madness logo in front. March Madness bracket as the backgroud (unless that looks bad).

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Abdul-Jabbar picked one classic movie per sport and names such classics as 1986's “Hoosiers”—the epic high-school basketball feature depicting a coming-of-age tale about an underdog Indiana team—”Bang the Drum Slowly” from 1973, and 1956's “The Harder They Fall.”

Abdul-Jabbar of course made his own acting debut next to Bruce Lee in “Game of Death” in 1972. And was most famous for his status as incognito co-pilot of “Airplane!”. The 19-time All-Star is also an acclaimed writer, publishing two autobiographies and a nonfiction history of a black battalion in World War II, along with his semi-regular cultural musings in THR.