Basketball Player: Kareem Abdul Jabbar
(Kareem doing a skyhook against different opponents. Image courtesy of ESPN)
Background
Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA titles, six MVP awards, and finished as the league's all-time scorer with 38,387.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. on April 16, 1947, in New York, New York.
Jabbar has four children from his first marriage to Habiba Abdul-Jabbar and a son from another relationship.
During his career in the NBA, Kareem was an actor in a couple of films such as 1979 martial-arts film Game of Death and the 1980 comedy Airplane!
He has written a few books such which include in 2000 book A Season on the Reservation, 2007's On the Shoulders of Giants and which was about the Harlem Renaissance.
November 2009 Abdul-Jabbar was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, but his long-term sickness looked to be in his favor. In February 2011, doctors declared him cancer free.
(Kareem smiling after a game. Image courtesy of RantSports)
Accomplishments
Abdul-Jabbar was recruited to play at UCLA and led the team to three national titles.
Jabbar was drafted first overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks, and later in his career traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jabbar had a legendary move known as "The Sky Hook". This is when you post up and turn shielding the opponent with the inside forearm and do a jump hook over them.
In 1995 Abdul-Jabbar was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Abdul-Jabbar was named a 2016 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by Barack Obama. Kareem was awarded because “He stood up for his Muslim faith when it wasn’t easy and wasn’t popular. He’s as comfortable sparring with Bruce Lee as he is advocating on Capitol Hill or writing with extraordinary eloquence on patriotism.” said former President Barack Obama
- 6× NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
- 2× NBA Finals MVP (1971, 1985)
- 6× NBA Most Valuable Player (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)
- 19× NBA All-Star (1970–1977, 1979–1989)
- 10× All-NBA First Team (1971–1974, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986)
- 5× All-NBA Second Team (1970, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1985)
- 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1974, 1975, 1979–1981)
- 6× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1970, 1971, 1976–1978, 1984)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1970)
- 2× NBA scoring champion (1971, 1972)
- 4× NBA blocks leader (1975, 1976, 1979, 1980)
- 3× NCAA champion (1967–1969)
- 3× NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1967–1969)
- 3× National college player of the year (1967–1969)
Quotes
"You can't win unless you learn how to lose." - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
"I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind." - Kareem Abdul Jabbar
(kareem doing a skyhook vs Phoenix. Image courtesy of Hub Pages)
Additional Information
nba.com/lakers/news/161122-kareem-abdul-jabbar-presidential-medal-freedom
(Page researched and written by Taji Owens)
