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.

Subscribe to app.com for the latest on Bruce Springsteen and the New Jersey music scene.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers music and entertainment for the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.

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