NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a Bruce Springsteen fan: 'Just a cool dude'

Bruce Springsteen fans come in all shapes and sizes.

Add 7-foot-2-inch basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the list.

“Bruce Springsteen is just a cool dude,” tweeted Jabbar on Monday, Oct. 3, with a link to his Substack page, where he wrote an entry on the upcoming Springsteen album of soul covers called “Only the Strong Survive.”

“Hell, yeah!” Abdul-Jabbar exclaimed. “Bruce has included soul music in his concerts for years. This is a great opportunity to honor some of the classics that influenced him as well as reintroduce the music to a wider audience.”

“Only the Strong Survive” includes covers of soul and R&B songs by Jerry Butler, Four Tops, Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Jimmy Ruffin, Tyrone Davis, Frank Wilson and more.

Abdul-Jabbar, 75, is a New York City native who was MVP of the NBA six times during his 20-year career. He's a big jazz fan, and appeared on the 2008 Will.I.Am track “Yes, We Can.” On the 2018 Tom Petty album “American Treasure,” he can be heard introducing the band at a 1981 concert at the Forum in Inglewood, California, where Abdul-Jabbar starred at center for the Los Angeles Lakers.

More:Tour the Jersey Shore of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

In the movies, Abdul-Jabbar's many credits include fighting Bruce Lee in 1972's martial arts classic “Game of Death.”

Springsteen, 73, of Freehold and Abdul-Jabbar both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the same White House ceremony in November 2016.

“Only the Strong Survive” will be released on Nov. 11.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers music and entertainment for the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a fan of the Boss