Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem AbdulJabbar born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr born April 16 1947 in New York City grew up in the workingclass neighborhood of Harlem in a family of Trinidadian descent raised in the Catholic tradition and imbued with values such as honor and dignity An only child he was quickly marked by his exceptional height from elementary school onward he played with the tallest kids and at fourteen already over two meters 67 he was able to dunk His adolescence was punctuated by episodes of social confrontation and learning the art of street basketball which forged his competitive spirit AbdulJabbar distinguished himself early on at Power Memorial Academy where he set records for points and rebounds leading his team to 71 consecutive victories and three New York State high school championships This period is unanimously recognized as one of the greatest high school basketball careers in history In 1965 he entered UCLA under the tutelage of John Wooden and dominated the sport winning three consecutive NCAA titles from 1967 to 1969 and being named the tournament MVP each time His impact on the game was so significant that the NCAA temporarily banned the dunk during his time there In 1969 AbdulJabbar was the first overall pick in the NBA draft and joined the Milwaukee Bucks In his first season he distinguished himself with impressive statistics 288 points 145 rebounds 41 assists and was named Rookie of the Year In 1971 he led the Bucks to the NBA titlethe franchises only championshipand won his first MVP award It was also during this period that he converted to Islam taking the name Kareem AbdulJabbar publicly affirming his spiritual choice at a time when American society was still experiencing significant racial tensions AbdulJabbar then joined the Los Angeles Lakers where his career reached legendary proportions He won five more NBA titles bringing his total to six and accumulated six MVP awards He participated in 19 AllStar Games was a twotime league scoring champion and holds the career scoring record 38387 points His accolades also include two Finals MVP awards and a multitude of individual and team accolades He holds eight playoff records and seven AllStar Game records and was named to the NBAs 35th and 50th Anniversary Teams Technically Kareem AbdulJabbar revolutionized basketball by inventing perfecting and popularizing the sky hook a unique move that no one has equaled a curling arm shot difficult to block and incredibly effective which became his signature weapon He is also recognizable by his protective goggles which he adopted after an eye injury during his college years His renown extends far beyond the world of sports AbdulJabbar dedicated his life to the fight for civil rights and the promotion of African American culture writing several books and regularly participating in public debate Adored for his athletic achievements respected for his strength of character and social activism Kareem AbdulJabbar remains for many the greatest legend in basketball historya champion with universal values and an icon whose influence endures far beyond the court