NBA legend and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar describes the importance of Muhammad Ali‘s career-threatening activism in a new clip from MSNBC’s "IconocLIST."

"He came about at a time when Black Americans were supposed to be very thankful for the opportunities they got and not rock the boat," explained Abdul-Jabbar in the clip above from "IconocLIST." "His political sensitivities were absolutely on mark when he said, I believe it was, ‘Ain’t no Viet Cong ever called me nigger,’" he said, explaining Ali’s resistance to the Vietnam War draft.

Abdul-Jabbar will discuss Ali and other idols in his episode, which airs Saturday (December 10).

The promo was released yesterday (December 6), just one week after Sports Illustrated awarded Abdul-Jabbar and fellow activist-athletes Jim Brown and Bill Russell with the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.