Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar bigraphy, stories - American basketball player

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar : biography

1947-4-16 –

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., April 16, 1947) is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the leading scorer in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his career, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP. In 1996, he was named one of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

In college at UCLA, he played on three consecutive national championship teams, and his high school team won 71 consecutive games. During his NBA career, he played with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA’s all-time leader in points scored, games played, minutes played, field goals made, field goal attempts, blocked shots, defensive rebounds, and personal fouls. In 2008, ESPN named him the “greatest player in college basketball history.” Others, including Pat Riley and Isiah Thomas, have argued that he is the greatest basketball player of all time.

Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a basketball coach, and a best-selling author. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U.S. global cultural ambassador.

NBA career and statistics

Teams and years

  • 1969–75 Milwaukee Bucks
  • 1975–89 Los Angeles Lakers

Statistics

  • Games played – 1560 (2nd most in NBA history)
  • Field goal % – 55.9 (10th highest in NBA history)
  • Free throw % – 72.1
  • Three-point % – 5.6
  • Rebounds – 17,440 (3rd most in NBA history)
  • Rebounds per game – 11.2 (23rd highest in NBA history)
  • Assists – 5,660 (34th in NBA history)
  • Assist per game – 3.6
  • Steals – 1,160
  • Steals per game – 0.74
  • Blocks – 3,189 (3rd most in NBA history) (Note: blocks were not officially tabulated until the 1973–74 season)
  • Blocks per game – 2.57
  • Points per game – 24.6 (14th highest in NBA history)
  • Holds NBA career record for:
    • Most points (38,387)
    • Most minutes played (57,446)
    • Most field goals made (15,837)
    • Most field goals attempted (28,307)
    • Most All-Star selections (19)
    • Most All-Star games played (18)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/abdulka01.html Basketball reference

Career highs

40 point games

70 times in the regular season 55 with Milwaukee Bucks 15 with Los Angeles Lakers

50 point games

All of Abdul-Jabbar’s 50 point efforts occurred while he played for the Milwaukee Bucks. His career high as a Laker was 48 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on .

Points Opponent Home/Away Date FGM FGA FTM FTA
55 Boston Celtics Home format=mdy|1971|December|10}} 23 36 9 11
53 Cleveland Cavaliers Away format=mdy|1970|November|4}} 20 32 13 14
53 Boston Celtics Away format=mdy|1971|January|27}} 22 31 9 14
53 Cleveland Cavaliers Away format=mdy|1972|February|9}} 23 31 7 9
53 Philadelphia 76ers Home format=mdy|1972|February|18}} 18 28 17 22
52 Atlanta Hawks Home format=mdy|1975|January|2}} 18 29 16 20
51 Seattle SuperSonics Neutral format=mdy|1970|February|21}} 18 25 15 23
51 Boston Celtics Away format=mdy|1972|February|13}} 21 36 9 14
50 Los Angeles Lakers Away format=mdy|1972|March|17}} 22 39 6 8
50 Portland Trail Blazers Home format=mdy|1975|January|19}} 18 30 14 16