Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem
[Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.]
Basketball
b. April 16, 1947, New York, NY
When he was thirteen, Lew Alcindor was 6-foot-8, and college scouts were already eyeing him. At Power Memorial Academy, he scored 2,067 points and had 2,002 rebounds as he led the team to 53 consecutive victories.
Alcindor was recruited by more than 200 colleges. He chose UCLA, where he played for the legendary John Wooden. With Alcindor starting at center, UCLA won three consecutive NCAA championships, 1967 through 1969, and Alcindor was named the tournament's most valuable player, as well as an All-American, all three years. He scored a total of 2,325 points, averaging 26.4 a game, at UCLA.
There had never been a basketball player like him. At 7-foot-2 and 235 pounds in his prime, he could score, rebound, pass, play defense, and block shots. Bob Cousy said that he "pretty much combines what Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain have individually specialized in."
The Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association and New Jersey Nets of the American Basketball Association both drafted him. To avoid a major bidding war, Alcindor asked them each to submit a sealed bid and Milwaukee won with a contract offer of more than $1 million.
Alcindor won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1969/70, when he scored 2,361 points and had 1,190 rebounds, and he won the first of his six most valuable player Awards in 1970-71, when he was the league's top scorer with 31.7 points per game. He teamed with Oscar Robertson that season to lead the Bucks to their first NBA championship.
A Muslim since 1968, Alcindor formally changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on May 1, 1971. Many fans and sportswriters were shocked; Kareem, always rather moody and aloof, became virtually unapproachable because of the adverse publicity. But it didn't affect his play. He again led the NBA in scoring and was its MVP in 1971-72.
Kareem was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975 and spent 14 seasons there, during which the Lakers won five NBA championships. As time went on, his unsurpassed skills and growing cordiality won the fans and writers back. Boston Celtic fans gave him a ten-minute standing ovation when he broke Wilt Chamberlain's career scoring record in 1984, and fans everywhere rewarded him with ovations and gifts when he made his farewell tour in the spring of 1989, after having announced his retirement.
He holds NBA records for most seasons, 20; most games, 1,560; most minutes played, 57,448; most points, 38,387; most field goals, 15,837; and most blocked shots, 3,189. He was the NBA's regular season MVP in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, and 1980, and the playoff MVP in 1971 and 1985. Kareem was first-team all-star center in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, and 1986, and second-team in 1970, 1978, 1979, 1983, and 1985.