Gophers legend Mychal Thompson and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were both first overall picks coming out of college. They both played for the Lakers, and were teammates in Los Angeles from 1987 to 1991, winning a pair of NBA titles in that time.
That’s about where the similarities stop. Well, that’s where they would end normally. Except for when a fan who posed for a picture with Thompson and posted it on TikTok thought she was standing next to Abdul-Jabaar at a recent Lakers game.
In the post, the social media user is seen taking a photo with Thompson, whom she tagged as Abdul-Jabbar. Thompson saw the image, posting a screenshot to his X account with the caption, “WUT THE…? KAREEM?”
WUT THE…? KAREEM? pic.twitter.com/rmEkZNbL4l
— Mychal Thompson (@champagnennuts) December 1, 2025
Thompson had some fun with the confusion in the comments. Twitter user Michael Harvey jokingly responded, “Weren’t you in the movie Airplane,” with Thompson responding, “I was…Academy award performance…”
Social media user HearNFootsteps responded to the post saying, “I was thinking a tall Rod Carew,” with Thompson saying, “Carew? Hey I’ll take THAT…Love Carew.” Evan Valenti said “At least she ‘legend right,” that had Thompson responding with, “Ahhhhh…TRUE.”
Thompson starred for the Gophers from 1974 to 1978, earning two All-American nods during his junior and senior seasons. He led the Big Ten in scoring in 1976-77 and 77-78, averaging 22 points per game. His 1,992 career points rank second all-time in Gophers history, only trailing Voshon Lenard (2,103 points).
After being taken No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1978 draft, Thompson was named to the NBA All-Rookie team, averaging 14.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.8 blocks during the 1978-79 season. He played seven seasons for Portland before he was traded to San Antonio in the summer of 1986. Thompson played for the Spurs for just half a season before he was dealt to the Lakers in February 1987.