Nineteen facts about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in April 16, 1947.
- His high school team won 71 consecutive games.
- During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points than any other player in league history, won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards.
- Lew Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar) was raised as a Catholic and attended St. Jude School in the Inwood section of Manhattan, but later converted to Islam.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the son of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker, and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Sr, a transit police officer and jazz musician.
- During his college career, Alcindor was twice named Player of the Year (1967, 1969).
- Lew Alcindor played three seasons for the UCLA Bruins from 1966-67 to 1968-69 under coach John Wooden, contributing to the team's three-year record of 88 wins and only two losses.
- The Harlem Globetrotters offered him $1 million to play for them, but he declined.
- The dunk was banned in college basketball after the 1967 season, primarily because of Alcindor's dominant use of the shot. It was not allowed again until 1976.
- While remaining relatively injury-free throughout his NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar twice broke his hand.
- On May 1, 1971, the day after the Bucks won the NBA championship, Alcindor adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
- 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.
- Once he joined the Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar began wearing his trademark goggles.
At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar held the record for most games played by a single player in the NBA; this would later be broken by Robert Parish.
- On June 28, 1989, after twenty professional seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar announced his retirement.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made the NBA's 35th and 50th Anniversary Teams, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players of All Time in 1996.
- Abdul-Jabbar 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.
- Abdul-Jabbar suffers from migraines, and his use of cannabis to reduce the symptoms has caused legal ramifications.
- His first book, his autobiography Giant Steps, was written in 1983 with co-author Peter Knobler.
