Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Was Larger Than Life To The ‘New Girl’ Cast

FOX’s New Girl featured numerous guest stars during its seven-season run, but one in particular literally stands above the rest.

It is of course the 7′ 2″ basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who made an appearance in the season one episode “Normal.”

“I remember standing next to him and feeling like a little doll,” said Zooey Deschanel. “He is so tall.”

For Lamorne Morris, it was a massive moment to work with Abdul-Jabbar, who was his childhood hero. Morris said the NBA's all-time leading scorer was his idol, and meeting him, let alone act with him, was a dream come true.

“Kareem was to me what Prince was to everyone else,” he said. “He’s the guy.”

In the episode, Morris’ character “Winston” shares a cubicle wall with the famous basketball player. In one scene, Abdul-Jabbar hits “Winston” in the head with a paper ball over the wall using his signature skyhook shot.

“He was nailing that every single (take). He kept hitting me in the head every single time,” said Morris. “I thought, ‘The accuracy on this man!’ Incredible.”

The actor said of all the guest stars that appeared on the show, meeting Abdul-Jabbar is still an experience that doesn’t feel real. Sadly, the basketball legend doesn’t remember working with Morris on New Girl in 2012.

“I was just recently in Ohio, Dave Chappelle has this thing called Summer Camp, and we were there, and Kareem was there,” Morris told his cohosts. “I was so nervous to go talk to him, even though we had worked together. So, I walk up and start this conversation with him, and the look he gives me is kind of like, ‘I don’t remember what you’re talking about, but nice to meet you.”

Join hosts Deschanel, Morris, and Hannah Simone as they begin to wrap up the first season of New Girl on their rewatch podcast Welcome to Our Show. Listen to the full episode “Normal,” on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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