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.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.
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