Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Who is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the leading scorer in the history of the National Basketball Association. During his career, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, 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.