Gortat compares teammate to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 'Boban is unstoppable'

New Los Angeles Clippers center Marcin Gortat knows how tough a defensive assignment his teammate Boban Marjanovic is. After all, the Polish Hammer has had the unique experience of trying to box out the 7-foot-3 big man who tips the scales at close to 300 pounds.

‪"I mean, Boban is unstoppable," said Gortat, according to the Los Angeles Times' Andrew Greif. "To be honest with you I'm just surprised how incredibly skilled he is for his size and incredibly smart. Just because people have a tendency to look (at the) physical aspect of him, they're thinking he's a little funny, but it ain't funny when he out there on the court and you've got to guard him. It ain't funny, I'm telling you right now."

There's nothing remarkable about Marjanovic's career averages of 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game during his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, and Clippers. But then you realize he's putting those numbers up in fewer than nine minutes of playing time per night. Per 36 minutes, the 30-year-old is registering 22.9 points and 14.8 rebounds.

‪"You got to be really focused on the guy to guard him right," Gortat continued, "because otherwise he's going to get you 20 and 12 in eight minutes. That's what he did, he showed up every game he checked in for eight minutes and got a double-double. I mean, Jesus Christ, that's better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

Ridiculous as it is to compare a career reserve to the NBA's all-time scoring leader, Gortat technically isn't far off in his haughty appraisal; Abdul-Jabbar averaged 24.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per 36 minutes from 1969-89.