Basketball Shorts worn by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
name: label: user
content: Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem
label: maker
content: Medalist Industries. Sand-Knit Division
notes: label: Description
content: This uniform was worn in 1989 by center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during his record setting 19th NBA All-Star game selection. Jabbar retired at the completion of that season, finishing his 20 year professional career with the most points in NBA history. A six time NBA MVP, Jabbar was the preeminent big man of his era. Skilled and fluid in the post, he is still readily identified with his signature move, the sky hook.
label: Description
content: Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor in 1947. He dominated high school basketball in his native New York City before enrolling at the University of California in Los Angles (UCLA) in 1966. Under the tutelage of legendary Coach John Wooden, the 7"2 Alcindor led the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA titles (1967-1969) and was named National college player of the year twice.
label: Description
content: In 1970, Alcindor was drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. He quickly established himself as one of the league's best players, taking home that year's rookie of the year honors. That summer he changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in accordance with his conversion to Islam. The next season, the Bucks paired the young center with Oscar Robertson to win the NBA title. It was the first of six rings Abdul-Jabbar amassed over the course of his career, the rest coming after a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975.
label: Description
content: Championship success with Los Angeles came after the 1979 addition of charismatic point guard Ervin "Magic" Johnson. Led by Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar, the "Showtime" Lakers played a popular brand of up-tempo, fast-break basketball that reached the NBA finals an amazing 8 times during the 1980s, acquiring titles in ‘80, ‘82 '85,'87,'88.
label: Description
content: Away from the court, Abdul-Jabbar is a best-selling author, penning well-received books about such subjects as the African-American 761st Tank Battalion and the Harlem Renaissance. Abdul-Jabbar has also appeared as an actor in feature films, notably in the 1979 Bruce Lee vehicle "Game of Death," and the 1980 comedy "Airplane!"
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Wisconsin, Berlin
topic: label: web subject
content: Sports
label: name of sport
content: Basketball
label: level of sport
content: Professional
label: Subject
content: Islam
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1990.0186.02
label: catalog number
content: 1990.0186.02
label: accession number
content: 1990.0186
objectType: label: Object Name
content: shorts, basketball
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: nylon (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 20 in x 14 1/2 in; 50.8 cm x 36.83 cm