‘Dancing With The Stars’ Recap: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Arike Ogunbowale Eliminated, Adam Rippon Shines

Season 26 of Dancing With the Stars: Athletes is already underway and cut two more athletes in just the second week. Star athletes showed off their fancy footwork by doing the cha-cha, foxtrot, salsa, and pasodoble but it wasn’t enough for two athletes turned dancers.

Retired NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was eliminated after scoring 26/40 for his salsa dancing. “The salsa is a party dance. You have brought the party to the ballroom,” judge Len Goodman said. Unfortunately, voters didn’t agree and sent him and his dancing partner Lindsay Arnold home. Abdul-Jabbar may be known for his famous footwork on the court but it did transfer over to the dancing world.

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Fellow basketball player, Arike Ogunbowale of WNBA’s Notre Dame team also went home. Although she scored higher with a 33/40 for her foxtrot it wasn’t enough to keep her on the dancefloor.  Ogunbowale starred for Notre Dame this past season, winning the national championship for her buzzer-beating three-pointers in the NCAA Tournament semi-final and national championship games.

Watch the Second Week DWTS Elimination Video Below:

Highlights of the night included Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, who scored the highest with 37/40 for his quickstep moves with dancing partner Jenna Johnson. Rippon has been a favorite with his entertaining facial expressions, swift moves and all-around enthusiasm.

Another high point of the episode was Olympic luger Chris Mazdzer, who continued to wow the judges and the audience. He scored the first nine of the season, with partner Witney Carson, from judge Carrie Ann Inaba for his Viennese Waltz dance. His score was a total of 33/40 and it seems like Mazdzer is a major player in the competition.

Olympic figure skaters Tonya Harding and Mirai Nagasu were both kept out of the bottom three. Harding danced the quickstep while Nagasu did the foxtrot to an odd song choice of “It’s a Small World After All.” Retired Olympic softball player Jennie Finch Daigle and Redskins cornerback Josh Norman also managed to stay alive in the competition.

Former DWTS runner-up David Ross will be a guest judge next Monday when the competition continues, where three more athletes are said to be sent packing.