Encyclopedia > Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born April 16, 1947) was a successful collegiate and professional basketball player. Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor (byname Lew Alcindor) in New York City, he was a center who grew to 7'2. He played for UCLA from 1967 - 1969. During his time on the team, UCLA lost only 2 games. He become the #1 1969 NBA draft pick. After graduating from UCLA, he played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. While at UCLA Abdul-Jabbar had converted to Islam. He took his Arabic name in 1971. Abdul-Jabbar was famous for his sky hook shot, which was notoriously hard to defend against (and which no player has successfully duplicated). He was also notable for his physical fitness regime.

Statistics

Games Played - 1560 (2nd Highest)
Field Goal % - 55.9 (8th Highest)
Free Throw % - 72.1
3-Point % - 5.6
Rebounds - 17,440 (3rd Highest)
Rebounds per Game - 11.2 (25th Highest)
Assists - 5660 (29th Highest)
Assist per Game - 3.6
Steals - 1160
Steals per Game -
Blocks - 3189 (Highest)
Blocks per Game - 2.57
Points - 38,387 (Highest)
Points per Game - 24.6 (12th Highest)

Honors

College Player of the Year (1967, 1969)
Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1995)
NCAA champion (1967, 1968, 1969)
NCAA Player of the Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969)
NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
NBA MVP (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980) (a record 6 times)
NBA Final MVP (1971, 1985)
Rookie of the Year (1970)
One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)

Playing for the Lakers allowed Jabbar to try his hand at acting: In 1980, he participated as the co-pilot in the movie Airplane!!.

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