Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

**Kareem Abdul-Jabbar** (born **Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.** on April 16, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach. He was known as **Lew Alcindor** before changing his name in the fall of 1971 several years after converting to Islam. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time. He has also had numerous television and movie appearances.

## Early life

Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., was born in Harlem, New York City, on April 16, 1947. His family was not poor, and his father was a graduate of the famed Juilliard School of Music in virtuoso trombone. He attended Power Memorial High School. in New York.

## College

Alcindor went to college at UCLA. When he played on the freshman team, it beat the UCLA varsity team that had won two national championships. When he played on the varsity team, it won three national championships. When Alcindor was at UCLA, the NCAA did not allow the dunk and so he developed a hook shot, called the skyhook. Alcindor also got a degree in history.

## Professional basketball career

lcindor was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1969 NABA Draft. He led the league by scoring twice with the Bucks. He also won three MVP awards with them. In 1975, Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He won three more MVP awards with them, as well as five championships.

Abdul-Jabbar played in the NBA until 1989. When he left, he had scored 38,387 points. He was also one of the ten most accurate players, and blocked the third-most shots. Abdul-Jabbar was placed in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.

## Outside basketball

Abdul-Jabbar studied martial arts with Bruce Lee, and appears in the Lee movie _The Game of Death_. He is also in the movie _Airplane!_. Abdul-Jabbar has written several books. Some of them are on basketball, but he has also written a book about the Harlem Renaissance that was later made into a documentary movie.

Abdul-Jabbar has also been an assistant coach for several NBA teams and usually helped tall players play better. Abdul-Jabbar has had leukemia since 2009. He accepted Islam after the game. He became an assistant coach after he retired.

## Related pages

- _Mantis_

## Other websites

- Kareem's complete bio at NBA.com
- Kareem's page at the Basketball Hall of Fame
- 1967-68 Oscar Robertson Trophy  USBWA College Player of the Year

## Infobox (basketball biography)

- **name**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- **image**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar May 2014.jpg
- **caption**: Abdul-Jabbar in 2014
- **height**: 218 cm
- **weight**: 102 kg
- **birth place**: New York (state), New York, USA
- **nationality**: American
- **highschool**: Power Memorial Academy, Power Memorial
(Manhattan, New York)
- **college**: UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA (1966–1969)
- **draft year**: 1969
- **draft round**: 1
- **draft pick**: 1
- **draft team**: Milwaukee Bucks
- **career start**: 1969
- **career end**: 1989
- **career position**: Center (basketball), Center
- **career number**: 33
- **years1**: –
- **team1**: Milwaukee Bucks
- **years2**: –
- **team2**: Los Angeles Lakers
- **highlights**: * 6× List of NBA champions, NBA champion (1971 NBA Finals, 1971, 1980 NBA Finals, 1980, 1982 NBA Finals, 1982, 1985 NBA Finals, 1985, 1987 NBA Finals, 1987, 1988 NBA Finals, 1988)
* 2× Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Finals MVP (1971 NBA Finals, 1971, 1985 NBA Finals, 1985)
* 6× NBA Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Most Valuable Player (, , , , , )
* 19× List of NBA All-Stars, NBA All-Star (–, –)
* 10× All-NBA Team, All-NBA First Team (–, , , , , , )
* 5× All-NBA Team, All-NBA Second Team (, , , , )
* 5× NBA All-Defensive Team, NBA All-Defensive First Team (, , –)
* 6× NBA All-Defensive Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team (, , –, )
* NBA Rookie of the Year Award, NBA Rookie of the Year ()
* NBA All-Rookie First Team ()
* 2× List of National Basketball Association annual scoring leaders, NBA scoring champion (, )
* List of National Basketball Association annual rebounding leaders, NBA rebounding champion ()
* 4× List of National Basketball Association annual blocks leaders, NBA blocks leader (, , , )
* No. 33 Milwaukee Bucks#Retired numbers, retired by Milwaukee Bucks
* No. 33 Los Angeles Lakers#Hall of Famers, retired and honored numbers, retired by Los Angeles Lakers
* NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
* 3× NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA champion (1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1967–1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1969)
* 3× NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player, NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1967–1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1969)
* 3× List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards, National college player of the year (1967–1969)
* 3× Consensus first-team NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American (1967 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, 1967–1969 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, 1969)
* No. 33 UCLA Bruins men's basketball retired numbers, retired by UCLA Bruins
* 2× Mr. Basketball USA (1964, 1965)
* Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
**As assistant coach:**
* 2× NBA champion (2009 NBA Finals, 2009, 2010 NBA Finals, 2010)
- **stats league**: NBA
- **stat1label**: Point (basketball), Points
- **stat1value**: 38,387 (24.6 ppg)
- **stat2label**: Rebound (basketball), Rebounds
- **stat2value**: 17,440 (11.2 rpg)
- **stat3label**: Block (basketball), Blocks
- **stat3value**: 3,189 (2.5 bpg)
- **profile**: kareem_abdul-jabbar
- **bbr**: abdulka01
- **hof player**: kareem-abdul-jabbar
- **cbbaskhof year**: 2006