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Other authors named Kareem:
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Author's popularity: 16
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Popularity: 8
Vote: | I'm not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court. |
Popularity: 8
Vote: | I've had enough success for two lifetimes, my success is talent put together with hard work and luck. |
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Vote: | If they took the idea that they could escape poverty through education, I think it would make a more basic and long-lasting change in the way things happen. What we need are positive, realistic goals and the willingness to work. Hard work and practical goals. |
Popularity: 7
Vote: | You can't win unless you learn how to lose. |
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Vote: | You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go... Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body. |
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Biography
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born April 16, 1947 in New York City, New York) was a successful high school, collegiate, and professional NBA basketball player. NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. Today he is a successful author, and part-time actor.
Basketball Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor (usually known as Lew Alcindor), to Cora and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor in Harlem, New York City, he was a center who grew to 7'2" (2.18 m) tall.
High school
He led Power Memorial Academy to three straight New York City Catholic championships and a 71-game winning streak, and a 96-6 overall record.
College
He played for the UCLA Bruins' from 1965 to 1969 under coach John Wooden. During his time on the team, UCLA had 88 wins and only two loses. Graduated with a B.A. from UCLA. The Harlem Globetrotters offered him $1 million to play them, he said 'no'.
NBA
On a coin-flip with the Phoenix Suns, he would be the number one pick in the 1969 NBA Draft pick. The winner of the coin-flip was the Milwaukee Bucks, where he would play five seasons. In 1975 the Bucks traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers, for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters and rookie blue chippers Dave Myers and Junior Bridgeman.
While at UCLA Abdul-Jabbar converted to Islam. He took his Arabic name in 1971, publicly announcing it on May 1 of that year, one day after the Bucks completed a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Bullets (known today as the Washington Wizards) in the NBA Finals. However, he has repeatedly denied any connections to the Nation of Islam, having been converted by a Turkish imam of the Hanafi school of thought, under whom he studied at UCLA.
At UCLA, he suffered a scratched left eyeball; from then on, he mostly played wearing goggles.
While in LA, to improve his flexibility he started doing Yoga in 1976.
In addition to his goggles, Abdul-Jabbar was famous for his "Skyhook" shot, which was notoriously difficult to defend against. He was also notable for his physical fitness regimen. He retired from the game in 1989 after, a then record 20 pro seasons. Little known fact is that he is a pupil of the Kung Fu Master - Bruce Lee, under whom he studied Jeet Kune Do.
NBA Statistics
* Jersey Number - 33
*Games Played - 1560 (2nd Highest in NBA history)
*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 (2nd Highest)
*Blocks per Game - 2.57
*Points - 38,387 (Highest)
*Points per Game - 24.6 (12th Highest)
Honors
* Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (15 May 1995)
* College:
** Player of the Year (1967, 1969)
** Three-time First Team All-American (1967-69)
** Played on three NCAA champion teams (1967, 1968, 1969)
** Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969)
** Naismith Award (1969)
* NBA:
**NBA Rookie of the Year (1970)
**Played on NBA champion teams (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
**NBA MVP (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980) (a record 6 times)
**NBA Finals MVP (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
**Holds NBA career record for (in addition to total points):
***Minutes (57,446)
***Field goals attempted (28,307)
***Field goals made (15,837)
Coaching
Volunteers to coach basketball at the Alchesay High School basketball on the Fort Apache (also called the White River Apache), Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona, in 1998 for $1. In 2000 he was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers, under Jim Todd. Becomes head coach, in 2002, of the Oklahoma Storm of the USBL. Hired by the New York Knicks in 2004.
...(more on Wikipedia)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar".
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