Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most beloved Lakers of all time -- and that's exactly why the Upper Deck trading card company believes they can't get a fair shot against him in a Los Angeles court.



It's all over a lawsuit Kareem filed last month -- in which he accused Upper Deck of using his image on a trading card without his permission.

Now, Upper Deck wants the case moved to San Diego .... arguing in new documents that because Kareem spent so many years playing for the Lake Show ... his "iconic status in Los Angeles will irrefutably prejudice [Upper Deck] and deny them a fair and unbiased trial."

So we gotta ask ... 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is outraged that a trading card company has traded on his image after he specifically shut them down ... and now Kareem is gunning for more than a million.


In a lawsuit filed today in L.A. County Superior Court and obtained by TMZ ... Kareem claims The Upper Deck Company plastered 6 Kareem pics from his days as a UCLA Bruin on its "Greats of the Game" series.

Kareem ... who is the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points ... claims Upper Deck had the audacity to market the cards after he turned them down flat.

The lawsuit, filed by legal pit bull Marty Singer, notes that when Kareem left the NBA, he blocked more shots, won more Most Valuable Player awards, played in more All-Star Games and logged more seasons than any other player.  Shockingly, Singer makes no mention of Kareem's epic performance in the greatest movie of all time -- "Airplane!"

The lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages.