Without the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Kareem’s sky hook would have been unlikely to ever exist
If the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary never happens, the chain of events leading to the start of WWI is likely broken.
Without World War I, there is no Treaty of Versailles, whose punitive terms helped produce economic conditions that contributed to the rise of fascism and the start of WWII.
Before WWII, the average center in professional basketball was about 6’5, and players above a certain height were falsely assumed to be too clumsy to play well. During WWII, men above 6’6 were excluded from military drafts. This led to taller (white) people getting more opportunities in professional leagues, and directly provided an opportunity to the 6’10 George Mikan.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/culture-magazines/1940s-sports-topics-news
After five NBA and seven total championship wins, the “Mikan Drill” became the blueprint for post players, and served as the initial foundation for Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook.
https://www.espn.com/nba/features/kareem
When people mention Kareem’s success, as potentially the greatest center in league history, they often reference his individual athletic talent, or his teammates on the 1980s Lakers or Oscar Robertson. Not nearly enough credit is placed in the hands of Gavrilo Princip for pulling the trigger that let Kareem do his thing.
Kareem’s birth name was not Kareem, it was not Lew, it was Ferdinand. That’s not a coincidence. It’s possible that his middle name was Gavrilo Princip.
One historic shot led to another. Without him, we likely would not have had one of the most iconic shots in league history, or a scoring record that lasted almost 40 years.