Lewis
Alcindor
grew up in New York City where he played High School Ball for Power
Memorial High School, leading the team to a 95-6 record while he was
there. He was a highly regarded prep as a 3-Time All-American. He landed
on arguably the best college basketball teams in history, the UCLA Bruins
under John Wooden. Alcindor won three consecutive NCAA titles from
1967-1969, leading the Bruins to a 88-2 record over those seasons. He was
also named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player those 3 years,
the first and only player to do that. He was also, of course, named the
College Player of the year by all the major organizations (TSN, AP, UP,
USBWA) from 1967-1969. His
Collegiate Success, and reputation as perhaps the best College Player of
All-Time, translated into his Number One Selection in the 1969 Draft by
the Milwaukee Bucks. He left UCLA as their all-time leading scorer with
2,325 points.
As a rookie, Kareem averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game,
leading to his selection as the Rookie of the Year. Also, Lew
changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the early seventies
when he converted to the Muslim faith. Abdul-Jabbar played
with the Bucks for 6 years, being named the League MVP in a Milwaukee
uniform in 1971, 1972 and 1974 (he would win 3 more as a Laker). Kareem
won his only NBA title with the Bucks, and fellow Hall of Fame great Oscar
Robinson in 1971. Four of his six years in Milwaukee he averaged better
than 30 points a game.The Milwaukee era ended with his trade to the Lakers for the 1975-76 season. In Los Angeles he won 3 more MVP Trophies (1976, 1977 and 1980) and teamed up with another MVP, Magic Johson, to win 5 more NBA titles (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988). Kareem was also named the NBA Finals MVP in 1971 and 1985. Over his career, Kareem won 6 MVP Trophies and 6 World Championships, along with 9 NBA all-time records. Jabbar's career records include:
When Kareem's career ended, he was shortly thereafter elected to the Hall
of Fame in 1995. Jabbar also was named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players
of All Time Team in 1996. Speaking of fifty, Kareem turned the big
"five-oh" on 4/16/97. Kareem was a fan favorite, playing in 18
all-star games over his long career. He was simply a great all-around
player who
could defend rebound and kill you with his sky-hook. Kareem's 7-2 frame
was ideally suited to dominate in the middle against the big men and was
by far the best center who played during the 1970s and 1980s. Jabbar's
signature trademark, other than the sky-hook, is his goggles. In
addition
to basketball, Kareem has a movie career...although he is no Robert
DeNiro. His greatest Hollywood claim to fame was as a co-pilot in an
Airplane movie. Although he got to fight Bruce Lee in the 1978
movie Game
of Death.
On February 18, 2000, Kareem was named an
assistant coach of the LA Clippers. He ended his relationship with them
after the season, but in the Spring of 2002, he signed on to coach the
Oklahoma Storm, a semi-pro basketball league. It is his first job as a
head coach.
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