Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired from the NBA following the 1988-89 season as the league’s all-time leading scorer with 38387 points and he remains on top.. The 7’ 2” phenom led UCLA to three consecutive NCAA titles (1967 to ’69) before embarking on a prolific professional career where he captured his first NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 before helping lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five world championships during the 1980’s.

This amazing lot features his game-used and dual-signed sneakers from his final regular-season game on April 23 1989 at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood California against the visiting Seattle SuperSonics. In a hard-fought 121-117 victory for the Lakers the 41-year-old center played 26 minutes tallying 10 points and six rebounds. The Lakers organization literally rolled out the red carpet for Kareem that evening having a pre-game retirement ceremony to honor the basketball God as he sat on a large throne-like chair near center court wearing these very shoes. The Lakers made it back to the Finals that season where they fell to the Pistons. It marked Kareem’s eighth trip to the NBA Finals in ten years as a Laker.

The backstory regarding the provenance of these shoes is well-worth sharing. A voluptuous dark-haired beauty from Biloxi Miss. by the name of Brenda Venus met Kareem in 1981 while working out at a local gym in L.A.  Having provided Kareem with many pairs of shoes during the course of their relationship – even having a pair of moccasins made for him that he wore quite often – Venus requested that a pair of Kareem's basketball sneakers from his final season. She even asked him for the last pair of shoes that he wore in the last game of his career which ended up being Game 4 of the 1989 NBA Finals. Kareem ultimately decided to give her this pair of L.A. Gears from his last regular-season game. “In June of 1989 Kareem presented the shoes to me at my home sat on the sofa and signed his name on the shoes in front of me” she recalled. The former model/actress and Playboy columnist has an impressive IMDb page and is now a best-selling author on seduction and pleasing your partner. See her lovely photos attached including one wearing a 1987 Lakers ring that Kareem also gave her.

The L.A. Gear Airstream model B423 shoes sport a white purple and yellow colorway and come in Kareem's size 16. The midsole cushioning in the heel shows slight deterioration otherwise the shoes remain completely intact and indicated appropriate court usage. “Airstream” appears in purple and “L.A. Gear” appears in yellow embroidery on the outer sides of both shoes while “L.A. Gear” is embroidered in purple on the heels of either shoe. The white shoelaces appear to be the originals on both shoes. Kareem has signed both sneakers “Abdul-Jabbar” in black marker on the outward toe area. What an incredible piece of game-worn basketball history from the league’s top scorer of all time!

Includes notarized letter of provenance from Brenda Venus. Autographs pre-certified by PSA/DNA.