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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Sports & Performance
Former professional NBA center and Hall of Famer who starred with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers and became a bestselling author.
Biography
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. on April 16, 1947, is a former professional basketball center who played 20 seasons in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. He starred at Power Memorial High School, played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins—winning three consecutive national championships—and was selected first overall in the 1969 NBA draft. He led the Bucks to an NBA championship in 1971, adopted the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and became known for his trademark skyhook as he established himself among the league’s top scorers.
Over his career he was a six-time NBA MVP, a multiple-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, a member of six NBA championship teams as a player, and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. After retiring in 1989 he has also worked as an actor, coach, bestselling author, and martial artist, and has served as a U.S. global cultural ambassador; he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
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Books by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Becoming Kareem
In his first memoir written especially for young readers, Abdul-Jabbar focuses on his relationships with several important coaches in his life—including his father, his high-school coach, and Coach Wooden—while telling the story of his life and career.