While the tributes to “THE GREATEST” have been pouring in non-stop, there is a particular one that left us speechless. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest ever basketball players, and more relevantly, a black athlete who converted to Islam in his younger days, much like Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali.

And in an emotional tribute to his ‘friend and mentor’, Abdul-Jabbar has floored us all.

Here’s the full text of it:

During my more than 50 years in the public eye, I have met hundreds of renowned celebrities, artists, athletes, and world leaders. But only a handful embodied the self-sacrificing and heroic qualities that defined my friend and mentor, Muhammad Ali. A master of self-promotion, he declared early in his boxing career, I am the greatest! This kind of boasting enraged many people, just as he’d hoped, ensuring a large audience that just wanted to see this upstart boy taught a lesson.

I may be 7’2″ but I never felt taller than when standing in his shadow.

Today we bow our heads at the loss of a man who did so much for America. Tomorrow we will raise our heads again remembering that his bravery, his outspokenness, and his sacrifice for the sake of his community and country lives on in the best part of each of us.

The post on his page carried two photographs as well.