Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Childhood & High School Career
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was originally born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr,on April 15, 1947. He was born in New York, New York. All of Alcindor's life, he was always the tallest kid in class. At the age of nine, he stood 5'8". By the time he was in the eighth grade, he grown an entire foot and could already dunk a basketball. He started playing basketball at a very young age. He also excelled at it very well. Alcindor went to Power Memorial Academy. He put together a very impressive high school career. He made New York City school records in shooting and rebounding. At the same time, he led his team to 71 consecutive wins and three straight city titles. The National Sports Writers called Alcindor's team "The #1 High School Team of the Century."
College Career
In 1969, Alcindor graduated and enrolled at the University of California-Los Angeles. There, he continued to make a name for himself by becoming the college game's best player. Being coach by the legendary John Wooden, Alcindor led the Bruins to three national championships and was named the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Tournament's Most Outstanding Player in 1967, 1968, and 1969.
NBA Career & Later Life
During the spring of 1969, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Alcindor their first overall pick in the NBA. It was the second year the Bucks even existed in the NBA. Alcindor quickly changed his game to match the pros. He finished third in the league in rebounding and second in scoring. He also was named Rookie of the Year. Alcindor won his first Most Valuable Player award in 1971. In total, he earned six MVP honors in his very long career. Shortly after that season ended, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. converted to Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which translates into"noble, powerful servant." At the end of the 1975 season, Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. For the next 15 season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar worked with the rookie Earvin "Magic" Johnson to make the Lakers a great team in the NBA. Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar gave the Lakers five league titles. Kareem mastered the "skyhook" which became his signature jump shot. Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989. He was the NBA's leading scorer with 38,387, and he became the first NBA player to play for 20 seasons. He has been in many movies and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. In November 2009, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia but, he was declared in cancer-free in February 2001.