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EspañolKAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
'Kareem Abdul-Jabbar' (born 'Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.' on April 16, 1947) is a retired American 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.[1]
Considered one of the greatest players of all time, the 7ft-2in (2.18 m) Abdul-Jabbar played center for UCLA from 1965 – 69. Later, he played professionally for the Milwaukee Bucks (1969 – 75) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1975 – 89), accumulating 38,387 points, the NBA's highest career total. He was famous for his "Skyhook" shot which was almost impossible to block because Kareem's body was between the basket and his arm, and because of his height. His on-court success was unprecedented; he won a record six Most Valuable Player Awards, played on six championship teams as a professional, and played on three NCAA championship teams under coach John Wooden as a collegian. His high school team won 72 consecutive games and his UCLA teams were an unmatched 88-2. After a then-record 20 professional seasons in the NBA, Abdul-Jabbar retired from the game in 1989. Following his success as a professional athlete, Abdul-Jabbar has become known as a successful basketball coach, author, and part-time actor.
Biography
Early life
He was born the only child of Cora, a department store price checker, and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Sr., a police officer and jazz musician, in Harlem, New York City.[2] At birth, he weighed 12 pounds, 10 ounces (5730 g), and was twenty-four and a half inches (69 cm) long.[3] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended St. Jude School in Inwood, New York.[4] From an early age he began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments. In high school, he led Power Memorial High School to three straight New York City Catholic championships, a 72-game winning streak, and a 96 – 6 overall record. He scored 2067 points in his high school career.
College
Heavily sought by collegiate basketball programs, he played for the UCLA Bruins from 1966 to 1969 under coach John Wooden, contributing to the team's three-year record of 88 wins and only two losses, one to Houston (see below) and the other to crosstown rival USC who played a "stall game" (i.e., there was no shot clock, so a team could exploit the rules by, basically, holding the ball as long as it wanted before attempting to score). During his college career he was twice named Player of the Year (1967, 1969), was a three-time First Team All-American (1967-69), played on three NCAA Basketball champion teams (1967, 1968, 1969), was honored as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969), and became the first-ever Naismith College Player of the Year in 1969. In 1967, 1968 he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Note: Freshmen were not eligible to play, so Alcindor only had 3 years to play, not four.
The dunk was banned in college basketball after the 1967 season, primarily because of Alcindor's dominant use of the shot.[5]
While playing for UCLA, he suffered a scratched left cornea on January 12, 1968 at the Cal game. He would miss the next two games against Stanford and Portland. This happened right before the momentous game against Houston. His cornea later would be scratched again during his pro career and he would then wear goggles for protection.
Game of the Century
Main articles: Game of the Century (college basketball)
On January 20, 1968, Alcindor and the UCLA Bruins faced the Houston Cougars in the first-ever nationally televised regular season college basketball game. In front of a record 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome, Elvin Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds--while limiting Alcindor to just 15 points--as Houston beat UCLA 71-69. The Bruins 47-game winning streak ended in what has been called the "Game of the Century". Hayes and Alcindor would have a rematch in the 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where UCLA would defeat Houston in the semi-finals 101-69.
School records
As of the 2006-2007 season, Abdul-Jabbar still holds a number of individual records at UCLA – remarkable, in part, because at the time freshman were ineligible for varsity basketball:
★ Highest career Scoring Average: 26.4
★ Most career Field Goals: 943
★ Most season Points: 870 (1967)
★ Highest season Scoring Average: 29.0 (1967)
★ Most season Field Goals: 346 (1967)
★ Most season Free Throw Attempts: 274 (1967)
★ Most single game Points: 61 and Most single game field goals: 26 (vs. Washington State, 2/25/67)
Milwaukee Bucks
The Harlem Globetrotters offered him $1 million to play for them, but he declined, and was picked first in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, only in their second season, who won the coin-toss for first pick over the Phoenix Suns.
Lew Alcindor's entry into the NBA was timely, as center Bill Russell had just left the Boston Celtics, and Wilt Chamberlain, though still effective, was then 33 years old. Alcindor's presence enabled the 1969-70 Bucks to claim second place in the NBA's Eastern Division with a 56-26 record (up from 27-55 the previous year), and he was an instant star, ranking second in the league in scoring (28.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (14.5 rpg), for which he was awarded the title of NBA Rookie of the Year.
With the addition of Oscar Robertson, Milwaukee went on to record a league-best 66 victories in 1970-71, including a then-record of 20 straight wins. Alcindor was awarded his first of six NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, along with his first scoring title (31.7 ppg). In the playoffs, the Bucks went 12-2 (including a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA Finals) and Alcindor was named Finals MVP. On May 1, 1971, the day after the Bucks won the NBA championship, he adopted the Arabic name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, meaning "noble, servant of the powerful one [i.e. of Allah]."
Abdul-Jabbar remained a dominant force for Milwaukee, repeating as scoring champion (34.8 ppg) and NBA Most Valuable Player the following year, and helping the Bucks to repeat as division leaders for four straight years. In 1973, Abdul-Jabbar won his third MVP Award in five years and was among the top five NBA players in scoring (27.0 ppg, third), rebounding (14.5 rpg, fourth), blocked shots (283, second), and field goal percentage (.539, second).
While remaining relatively injury-free throughout his NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar twice broke his hand. The first time was during a pre-season game in 1974, when he was bumped hard and got his eye scratched, which angered him enough to punch the basket support . When he returned, after missing the first 16 games of the season, he started to wear protective goggles. The second time he broke his hand was in the opening game of the 1977-78 season. Two minutes into the game, Abdul-Jabbar punched Milwaukee's Kent Benson in retaliation for an overly aggressive elbow. He was out for two months.
Although Abdul-Jabbar always spoke well of Milwaukee and its fans, after a few seasons he said that being in the Midwest did not fit his cultural needs and requested a trade to either New York or Los Angeles in October, 1974.[6]
Los Angeles Lakers
In 1975, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters, and rookie "blue chippers" Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman. And in 1979, they would acquire 1st overall draft pick Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who would average 19.5 points and 11.2 assists in his 14 years in the NBA, with 3 MVP awards and 10,141 assists. The trade and draft paved the way for a second Abdul-Jabbar dynasty as the Lakers went on to become the most dominant team of the 1980s, appearing in the finals eight times and winning five NBA championships.
While in L.A., Abdul-Jabbar started doing yoga in 1976 to improve his flexibility, and was notable for his physical fitness regimen.[7] He was also a pupil of the martial arts master Bruce Lee, and studied Lee's Jeet Kune Do style.
In 1983, Abdul-Jabbar's house burnt down, incinerating many of his belongings including his beloved jazz LP collection. Many Lakers fans sent and brought him albums, which he found uplifting.[8]
On June 28, 1989, after a record-setting twenty professional seasons, Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement. On his "retirement tour" he received standing ovations at all the games, home and away. In his biography ''My Life'', Magic Johnson recalls that in Abdul-Jabbar's farewell game, many Lakers and Celtics legends participated. Every player wore Abdul-Jabbar's trademark goggles and had to try a sky hook at least once, which led to comic results. The Lakers made the NBA Finals in each of Abdul-Jabbar's final three seasons, defeating Boston in 1987, and Detroit in 1988. The Lakers lost, however, to the Pistons in a four game sweep in his final season. In his final season every NBA team gave him a present from a yacht that said "Captain Skyhook" to more traditional items as all of his framed jerseys of his basketball career to the very strange, an Afghan rug.
Post-NBA career
Since 2005, Abdul-Jabbar has served as special assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar had been interested in coaching since his retirement, and given the influence he had on the league, he thought that the opportunity would present itself. However, during his playing years, Abdul-Jabbar had developed a reputation, however unjustifiable, of being introverted and sullen. He did not speak to the press, leading to the impression that he disliked them. In his biography ''My Life'', Magic Johnson recalls instances when Abdul-Jabbar brushed him off when Magic (as a ballboy) asked for his autograph, Abdul-Jabbar froze out reporters who gave him a too enthusiastic handshake or even hugged him, or refused to stop reading the newspaper while giving an interview. Many basketball observers, in addition to Abdul-Jabbar, believe that Kareem's reticence, whether through disdain for the press corps or simply because of introversion, contributed to the dearth of coaching opportunities offered to Kareem by the NBA. In his words, he said he had a mindset he could not overcome, and proceeded through his career oblivious to the effect his reticence may have had on his coaching prospects in the future. Kareem said: "I didn't understand that I also had affected people that way and that's what it was all about. I always saw it like they were trying to pry. I was way too suspicious and I paid a price for it."[9] Since he began lobbying for a coaching position in 1995, he has managed to obtain only low-level assistant and scouting jobs in the NBA, and a head coaching position only in a minor professional league.
Abdul-Jabbar has worked as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Seattle SuperSonics, helping mentor, among others, their young centers, Michael Olowokandi and Jerome James. Abdul-Jabbar was the head coach of the Oklahoma Storm United States Basketball League in 2002, leading the team to the league's championship that season, but he failed to land the head coaching position at Columbia University a year later.[10] He then worked as a scout for the New York Knicks.[11] Finally, on September 2, 2005, he returned to the Lakers as a special assistant to Phil Jackson to help the Lakers' centers, and in particular their young draftee Andrew Bynum.[12] Abdul-Jabbar has also served as a volunteer coach at Alchesay High School on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona since 1998.[13]
Acting career
Playing in Los Angeles facilitated Abdul-Jabbar's trying his hand at acting.
Abdul-Jabbar made his movie debut in Bruce Lee's posthumous 1978 film ''Game of Death'', in which his character Hakim fought Billy Lo (played by Lee). His character was the last and most dangerous guardian that Bruce Lee's character had to face. In the extended footage of the final fight scenes of the film, which last about half an hour, Abdul-Jabbar and Lee fight on the highest level of a pagoda in which Lee's character had to fight his way up. From Lee's viewpoint, the highest level on the pagoda is where Jeet Kune Do, represented by Abdul-Jabbar himself, is found. Through the entire fight, both men not only fight with an ease hard to obtain, but they both make it known neither of them fear death.
In 1980, he played co-pilot Roger Murdock in David Zucker's comedy, ''Airplane!'' In this famous movie, Abdul-Jabbar has a memorable scene in which a little boy looks at him and remarks that he is in fact Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Staying in character, Abdul-Jabbar states that he is merely Roger Murdock, an airline co-pilot, but the boy continues to insist that he is "the greatest", but that, according to his father, he doesn't "work hard on defense" and "never really tries, except during the playoffs". This causes Abdul-Jabbar's character to blow a fuse, grab the boy and snarl he has heard "that crap since UCLA", he "busts his buns every night" and the boy should tell his old man to "drag [Bill] Walton and [Bob] Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes". When Murdock passes out later in the film, he is carried out wearing Abdul-Jabbar's goggles and yellow Lakers' shorts.
He has had numerous other TV and film appearances, often playing himself, including appearances in the hit Chevy Chase movie ''Fletch'', the ABC sitcom ''Full House'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (his height humorously contrasted with that of diminutive child star Gary Coleman), ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', and ''Scrubs''. He also appeared in the telemovie version of Stephen King's ''The Stand'', played himself in ''Slam Dunk Ernest'' starring Jim Varney, ''The Mighty Ducks II'' with Emilio Estevez and made a brief non-speaking cameo appearance in another David Zucker comedy, 1998's ''BASEketball''. In addition, Kareem was the co-executive producer of the 1994 TV movie, ''The Vernon Johns Story''.
Player profile
:''His list of personal and team accomplishments is perhaps the most awesome in league history.''
:: — introductory line of Abdul-Jabbar's nba.com/history biography[14]
Abdul-Jabbar played the center position and is regarded as one of the best players of all time. He is the all-time leading NBA scorer with 38,387 points, having collected six titles, six regular season MVP and two Finals MVP awards, fifteen NBA First or Second Teams, a record nineteen NBA All-Star call-ups and averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He is also the third all-time in registered blocks (3,189), which is even more impressive because this stat had not been recorded until the fourth year of his career (1974).
On offense, Abdul-Jabbar was an unstoppable low-post threat. In contrast to other low-post dominators like Wilt Chamberlain, Artis Gilmore or Shaquille O'Neal, Abdul-Jabbar was a relatively slender player, standing 7-2 but only weighing 225 lbs.
However, he made up for his relative lack of bulk by showing textbook finesse and was famous for his ambidextrous 'skyhook' shot (see below), which defenders found impossible to block. It contributed to his high .559 field goal accuracy, making him the eighth most accurate scorer of all time[15] and a feared clutch shooter. Abdul-Jabbar was also quick enough to run the "Showtime" fast break led by Magic Johnson and was well-conditioned, standing on the hardwood an average 36.8 minutes. In contrast to other big men, Abdul-Jabbar also could reasonably hit his free throws, finishing with a career 72% average.
On defense, Abdul-Jabbar maintained a dominant presence. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team eleven times. He frustrated opponents with his superior shot-blocking ability, denying an average 2.6 shots a game.
As a teammate, Abdul-Jabbar exuded natural leadership and was affectionately called "Cap" or "Captain" by his colleagues. He was also known for his strict fitness regime, which made him one of the most durable players of all time. In the NBA, his 20 seasons
and 1,560 games are performances surpassed only by fellow legend Robert Parish.
Abdul-Jabbar made the NBA's 35th and 50th Anniversary Teams and in 1996 was named one of the 50 Greatest Players of All Time.
Sky hook
Abdul-Jabbar was well known for his trademark "sky hook", a hook shot in which he bent his body like a straw in one fluid motion to raise the ball (rather just than moving the arm) and let the ball go at the highest point of his arm's arcing motion. As he stood 7 feet 2 inches tall, the sky hook was nearly impossible for a defender to block without goaltending. Only a few have blocked his legendary skyhook, including basketball great Wilt Chamberlain and 7 foot 7 Manute Bol. It was a reliable and feared offensive weapon and contributed to his high lifetime field goal percentage of .559. As a twist, he was adept at shooting the skyhook with either hand, which made him even more difficult to defend. According to Abdul-Jabbar, he learned the move in fifth grade and soon learned to value it, as it was "the only shot I could use that didn't get smashed back in my face".[16]
Professional basketball career and statistics
Teams and years
★ 1969-75 Milwaukee Bucks
★ 1975-89 Los Angeles Lakers
Statistics
★ Jersey number - 33
★ Games played - 1560 (2nd most in NBA history)
★ Field goal % - 55.9 (8th highest in NBA history)
★ Free throw % - 72.1
★ Three-point % - .056
★ Rebounds - 17,440 (3rd most in NBA history)
★ Rebounds per game - 11.2 (tied for 24th highest in NBA history)
★ Assists - 5,660 (31st in NBA history)
★ Assist per game - 3.6
★ Steals - 1,160
★ Steals per game - 0.74
★ Blocks - 3,189 (3rd most in NBA history) (Note: blocks were not officially tabulated until the 1973-74 season)
★ Blocks per game - 2.57
★ Points per game - 24.6 (12th highest)
★ Holds NBA career record for:
★
★ Most points in NBA history - 38,387
★
★ Most minutes played (57,446)
★
★ Most field goals made (15,837)
★
★ Most field goals attempted (28,307)
★
★ Most All-Star selections (19)
★
★ Most All-Star games played (18)
★
★ Most playoff games played (237)
Athletic honors
★ Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (May 15, 1995)
★ College:
★
★ Player of the Year (1967, 1969)
★
★ Three-time First Team All-American (1967-69)
★
★ Three-time NCAA champion (1967, 1968, 1969)
★
★ Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969)
★
★ Naismith College Player of the Year (1969)
★ National Basketball Association:
★
★ Rookie of the Year (1970)
★
★ Six-time NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
★
★ Most Valuable Player (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)
★
★ Sporting News NBA MVP (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980)
★
★ Finals Most Valuable Player (1971, 1985)
★
★ ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" (1985)
★
★ One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)
★
★ First player in NBA history to play 20 seasons
★
★ '#7' in SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.
Books authored
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at a book signing.
Abdul-Jabbar is also a bestselling author, the latest of his books being "On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance". The book previous to that was "Brothers In Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes" (Publisher: Broadway 2004, ISBN 0-385-50338-5), co-written with Anthony Walton. It is the history of the 761st Battalion, an all-black armored unit that served in Europe in World War Two.
Other books:
★ ''Giant Steps'', with Peter Knobler (1987) ISBN 0-553-05044-3 (The book's title is an homage to jazz great John Coltrane.)
★ ''Kareem'' (1990) ISBN 0-394-55927-4
★ ''Selected from Giant Steps (Writers' Voices)'' (1999) ISBN 0-7857-9912-5
★ ''Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement'', with Alan Steinberg (1996) ISBN 0-688-13097-6
★ ''A Season on the Reservation: My Sojourn with the White Mountain Apaches'', with Stephen Singular (2000) ISBN 0-688-17077-3
Personal life
Abdul-Jabbar was married to Habiba Abdul-Jabbar (nee Janice Brown), and together they had three children: daughters Habiba and Sultana and son Kareem. They were divorced in 1978. He has another son Amir with Cheryl Pistono. His last child was his son Adam, who made an appearance on the tv show "Full House" with his father. He has also previously dated Pam Grier.[17]
Speaking about the thinking behind his change of name when he converted to Islam he said to ''Playboy'' magazine that he was "latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Muslims. My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th Century. My people were Yoruba, and their culture survived slavery (...) My father found out about that when I was a kid, and it gave me all I needed to know that, hey, I was somebody, even if nobody else knew about it. When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. And that's a terrible burden on black people, because they don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted."[18]
Abdul-Jabbar reached a settlement after suing Miami Dolphins running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar (born Sharmon Shah) because he felt Karim was sponging off the name he made famous by having the Abdul-Jabbar moniker and number 33 on Dolphins jerseys, even though names are not protectable under United States copyright laws. As a result the younger Abdul-Jabbar had to change his jersey nameplate to simply 'Abdul' while playing for the Dolphins.[19] The football player had also been an athlete at UCLA.
Kareem suffers from migraines[20], and his use of cannabis to reduce the symptoms has caused legal ramifications[21].
Kareem Abdul Jabbar Jr. made an appearance as a "stranger" on the TV game show ''Identity''.
Appearances in the media
In popular culture
''Sports Illustrated''
★ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated 29 times.
★
★ Dec. 5, 1966
★
★
★ Apr. 3, 1967
★
★
★ Jan. 29, 1968
★
★
★ Apr. 1, 1968
★
★
★ Mar. 31, 1969
★
★
★ Oct. 27, 1969
★
★
★ Mar. 9, 1970
★
★
★ Apr. 27, 1970
★
★
★ Apr. 19, 1971
★
★
★ Feb. 8, 1971
★
★
★ Apr. 24, 1972
★
★
★ Feb. 19, 1973
★
★ Oct. 14, 1974
★
★ May 20, 1974
★
★ Feb. 14, 1977
★
★ May 27, 1977
★
★ Dec. 15, 1980
★
★ May 5, 1980
★
★ May 9, 1983;
★
★ Feb. 1984
★
★ Dec. 23, 1985
★
★ June 10, 1985
★
★ June 17, 1985
★
★ May 26, 1986
★
★ June 22, 1987
★
★ Apr. 18, 1988
★
★ Jan. 23, 1989
★
★ Nov. 11, 1996
★
★ Dec. 27, 2004
'''
★ ' as Lew Alcindor''[22]
See also
★ List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
References
1. Kareem just kept on winning Schwartz, Larry
2. http://www.filmreference.com/film/99/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar.html
3. http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2507/Mr_Basketball_and_much_more_Kareem_AbdulJabbar
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Interview --Page 5/8-- Academy of Achievement
5. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836963,00.html
6. Say It Ain't So Milwaukee Bucks
7. http://www.yogaexpo.com/press/press27.htm
8. http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2006/01/talking_with_ka_1.html.
9. http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2006/01/talking_with_ka_1.html
10. Keeping Up
11. Esquire: Q + A: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Doug Cantor
12. LAKERS: Lakers hire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as Special Assistant Coach
13. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Volunteers As High School Coach On Indian Reservation in Arizona
14. nba.com/history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, accessed January 24, 2007
15. http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/FGP_career.html
16. http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2006/01/talking_with_ka_2.html
17. http://ps1.sportsline.com/b/member/playboy/8606_b9.html
18. Sportsline
19. Find Articles
20. [1]
21. [2]
22. http://graphics.fansonly.com/schools/ucla/graphics/06-footbl-mediaguide/18-history-a.pdf
External links
★ Official Web Site of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
★ Kareem's Career NBA Statistics
★
★ Kareem's complete bio @ NBA.com
★ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Statistics and Quotations
★ Kareem's page @ the Basketball Hall of Fame
★ 1967-68 Oscar Robertson Trophy USBWA College Player of the Year
★ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playerfile, stats, draft, NBA at 50, wallpapers
★ Giants: The 25 Greatest Centers of All Time, , Mark, Heisler, Triumph Books, 2003, ISBN 1-57243-577-1
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