Jamaal Wilkes

Who is Jamaal Wilkes?

Jamaal Abdul-Lateef, better known as Jamaal Wilkes, is a retired American basketball player who played the small forward position and won four NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He was a three-time NBA All-Star and the 1975 NBA Rookie of the Year. Wilkes was also a key player on two National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams under coach John Wooden for the UCLA Bruins. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and his jersey No. 52 was retired by both the Lakers and the Bruins.

Wilkes converted to Islam and legally changed his name to Jamaal Abdul-Lateef in 1975, but he continued to use his birth surname only for purposes of public recognition.