Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I INTRODUCTION Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, born in 1947, American professional basketball player, a dominant competitor who holds the record for most points in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Known for his trademark, nearly unblockable shot dubbed the skyhook, Abdul-Jabbar led his teams to nine championship titles in college and the NBA. II AMATEUR CAREER Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, his parents moved to Manhattan when he was three years old. By the time he became a star for Power Memorial High School, Alcindor was already 6-ft 11-in (211 cm) tall. Heavily recruited by many top schools, he chose in 1965 to play for coach John Wooden at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). At that time first-year players were not eligible to play varsity college basketball, but Alcindor's freshman team routinely beat the defending national champion UCLA varsity in practice games. During his three-year varsity career, Alcindor led UCLA to three national titles and was named the most outstanding player in the postseason every year. III RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BELIEFS Alcindor declined to play on the 1968 United States Olympic basketball team as a protest against racial discrimination in America. In 1971 he publicly converted from the Roman Catholic Church to Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. IV PROFESSIONAL CAREER Abdul-Jabbar (then still Alcindor) was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first pick of the 1969 NBA draft. In his first season the 7-ft 2-in (218-cm) center averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game and was voted the rookie of the year. In 1970-71, with the addition of guard Oscar Robertson, Milwaukee won the NBA championship and Abdul-Jabbar was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the Finals. He led the NBA in scoring that year and the next and earned league MVP honors both years, as well as in 1974. In 1975 Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He collected two more MVP awards (1975 and 1977) and when Los Angeles added guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson it became a championship team. Led by Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, the Lakers won league titles in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Along the way AbdulJabbar collected his sixth league MVP award (1980), breaking the record set by Bill Russell, and was named MVP of the NBA Finals in 1985. In 1983 he broke the NBA scoring record of 31,419 points held by Wilt Chamberlain. V LEGACY Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989. He left the game with NBA records for most career points (38,387), blocked shots (3,189, since broken by Hakeem Olajuwon), MVP awards, and seasons played. He averaged 24.6 points per game during his career and played on six NBA championship squads and 19 All-Star teams. Often criticized during his playing career for his aloof personality, at his retirement he was widely praised by fans, fellow competitors, and the press. Abdul-Jabbar was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. After retirement he worked in broadcasting and held various coaching positions, including coaching a high school team on an Apache Indian reservation in Arizona. In 2002 Abdul-Jabbar led the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League (USBL) to a league championship. Abdul-Jabbar has published two autobiographies, Giant Steps (1983) and Kareem (1990). He has also written a book of historical biographies (Profiles in Black Courage, 1996) and coauthored a book about an all-black tank battalion in World War II (Brothers in Arms, 2004). He recounted his experience with the Apache Indian team in A Season on the Reservation (2000). Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.