Kareem Abdul-Jabbar surprised some fans by appearing at a Jackie Robinson Day tribute at Dodger Stadium in a wheelchair.

The NBA’s second-highest scorer was seen arriving at the statue that honors Robinson. He was pushed in a blue wheelchair but later got up to pose for photos. Abdul-Jabbar mentioned that the end of segregation was a significant milestone for Black Americans, and his family began following baseball because of the attention Jackie received.

A blonde woman wearing a beige coat rushed over to help steady the 78-year-old as he got out of the chair.

The Lakers legend had successful hip surgery just 15 months ago after falling at a concert.

“One of the goats… hate seeing the bigfella who played into his 40s being fragile,” one fan commented.

“Poor Kareem. Dude is such a legend,” another wrote with a crying emoji.

Standing at 7-foot-2, Abdul-Jabbar attended UCLA 25 years after Robinson did, and the two had a relationship before Robinson died in 1972.

Even though his mother wasn’t a follower of the game, they started listening to matches on the radio when Abdul-Jabbar was just 2 years old. He expressed the importance of Robinson’s team winning in those games they followed.

Abdul-Jabbar also shared a tale from Robinson’s time in the military. He narrated an incident where Robinson refused to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial and subsequent acquittal.

After leaving the military, the Lakers legend said that Robinson “started getting ready to do what he had to do on the field for kids like me.”

Abdul-Jabbar, who grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in NYC, made his professional basketball debut in 1969 while a member of the Milwaukee Bucks before forcing a trade to the Lakers in 1975.

In his post-NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar has spent his time in the arts, writing on Substack, while also working as a Hollywood Reporter columnist.