Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Working With Ivica Zubac On His Skyhook

The greatest Laker of all time let former Lakers’ center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar practice with him this week and it is already paying dividends

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2016 NBA Summer League was none other than GOAT, Ivica Zubac. Taken 32nd overall by the Lakers in the 2016 NBA Draft, expectations were relatively low from the start.

However, since then Zubac, aka Zu-Blocka, has caught the attention of General Manager Mitch Kupchak and has even drawn comparisons to fellow European center, Marc Gasol.

While Zubac said his main focus will be defense this year, he also hopes to bring back an old move dear to fans of the Showtime Lakers.

In an interview with Ryan Ward of AXS.com, Zubac said that he is working tirelessly with assistant coach Bill Bertka to bring the skyhook back.

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"During Lakers Media Day on Monday, Zubac talked about his pursuit to master the art of the skyhook and how often he’s been working on it over the summer.“Yes, every day,” Zubac told AXS.com. “When I first came here Mitch Kupchak told me coach Bill Bertka is going to do the workouts with me. First session, we went to watch film of Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]. He asked me, ‘Can you shoot the sky hook?’“We started working at it, and he saw I can make that shot. He was so happy because he told me ‘no one after Kareem’ attempted that shot. We started working on that shot every day. You’re going to see it when the season starts.”"

Bertka served as an assistant under Bill Sharman, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, so he is more than qualified to be working with Zubac. However, no is more qualified than the man who invented the shot, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Zubac didn’t get the opportunity to work with Cap all summer, but that seems to have changed, according to a tweet sent out by the Croatian sensation himself.

That’s right ladies and gentleman. Ivica Zubac is working with Kareem on bringing back his patented skyhook. This is what dreams are made of ladies and gentlemen.

In a league where bigs are considered less and less important, Zubac has the chance to be the highly skilled center the Lakers have missed since the departure of Pau Gasol in 2014.

Next: 5 Reasons Fans Shouldn't Over Hype This Team

Does having the skyhook in his arsenal automatically make him a future Hall of Famer? No (yes), but it certainly doesn’t hurt.