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Basketball Career (continued from Kareem's Biography page)
Coach Donahue handled the recruiting in this manner for Kareem during
his entire high school career. Kareem played ball, went to classes, never
spoke to reporters or recruiters, never had to take phone calls or read
letters. He was completely sheltered from the distractions. At the end of
Kareem's senior year, the coach sat down with Kareem and his parents,
and made an announcement. They stated that they would select 5 schools that would be considered, visits would be made to each, and after that Kareem and his parents would make the decision. After his 5 visits, he selected UCLA.

Kareem had made an excellent choice in selecting UCLA. To put it simply, he played for the best college team in the country in 1965-66. But during those years, freshmen were not eligible to play varsity. What a team it would have been of the freshmen could have played because during their first game at Pauley Pavilion, the UCLA freshmen team beat the varsity team (a 2-time NCAA Championship team) 75 to 60, with Kareem leading the way with 31 points, 7 blocked shots, and 21 rebounds! The jayvee team went 21 and 0 that year with Kareem averaging 33 points and 21 rebounds.

During his first ever varsity game (1966-67), Abdul-Jabbar set a UCLA scoring record with 56 points. For the season Kareem averaged 29 points and 15.5 rebounds with a .667 shooting percentage as the UCLA Bruins went 30-0. They would end the season with a victory over a gallant University of Dayton 79 to 64 for the NCAA Championship. It would be the first of 7 NCAA Championships in a row.

During his junior year, Kareem was involved in what many have dubbed "The Greatest Game in College Basketball History" when he and the Bruins took on Elvin Hayes and the University of Houston in the Astrodome before a crowd of 52,000+. He was just getting over an eye injury prior to the game and had an un-Kareem performance where he went 4 for 18 from the field. Elvin Hayes scored 39 points, including the two winning free throws with the game winding down, as Houston defeated UCLA 71 to 69 and snapped their 47-game winning streak. Kareem would go on to lead UCLA to another NCAA Championship that year when they defeated the University of Houston in the semi-finals 101 to 69. During that game Kareem scored 19 points and pulled in 18 boards. It was during his senior year in college when he would secretly change his legal name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Bruins went on to defeat the University of North Carolina 101 to 69 in the Championship game.

UCLA defeated Rick Mount 92-72 in the NCAA final to capture the championship once again in Abdul-Jabbar's senior year. UCLA lost only one game in his senior season when USC played stall-ball and won 46-44. Kareem finished his very accomplished UCLA career with 3 National Championships (Freshman were not eligible when he played), Named 1st Team All-American 3 Times (67,68 & 69), selected as Player of the Year in 1967 and 1969 by The Sporting News, United Press International, the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Named Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament in 1967, 1968 and 1969, scored 2,325 points (a 26.4 average per game) and had 1,367 rebounds (a 15.5 average). Kareem dominated the college game.

It was reported that the Harlem Globetrotters offered him $1 million to play for them, but he declined, and was later picked first in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks were a young team in only in it's second season. They had won the 1st draft pick via a coin-toss with the Phoenix Suns. Kareem averaged 28.8 points (2nd in the NBA) and 14.5 rebounds (3rd) to lead the Bucks to a much improved record of 56 and 26. They reached the Eastern Division finals, but were defeated by the Knicks. Kareem was awarded the League's Rookie of the Year Award.

The Milwaukee Bucks went out to improve the team ad did so by acquiring Oscar Robertson, an outstanding player in his own right. Oscar was a 12 time All-Star and the only player in NBA history to averaged a triple double over an entire season. With the addition of Oscar, the Bucks became a dominant team and went on to record 66 victories in the 1970-71 season. Kareem was awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (the 1st of 6) and his first scoring title (he averaged 31.7 ppg). The Bucks were dominant in the playoffs as well, going 12 and 2, and sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in 4 games in the NBA finals. Kareem was named NBA Finals MVP. It was the very next day that he would announce that his legal name is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which translates to "noble, servant of the powerful one". Kareem had been a practicing Muslim since his college days.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a dominant force for Milwaukee,and repeated as scoring champion and NBA Most Valuable Player during the 1971-72 season. Kareem won his 3rd MVP in 1973 and was among the top five NBA players in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage. He helped the Bucks to repeat as division champs for four straight years. In 1974 the Bucks returned to the NBA Finals, but eventually lost to the Boston Celtics, who were led by 6-9 center Dave Cowens and a stable of guards who proved too quick for the aging Robertson, who was 35. "The Big O" retired after the playoffs, which ended the Bucks' string of division titles. Without Robertson, the team sank to last place in 1974-75 with a 38 and 44 record. Kareem missed the first 16 games of the season with a broken hand, which he broke when he hit a basketball support after having his eye injured. It was after this eye injury that Kareem began wearing eye goggles. Years of battling under backboards and being scratched in the eyes had taken their toll on his eyes and, Kareem developed an eye syndrome where the eyes dry out easily and cease to produce moisture.

It was during the 1974/75 season that Kareem made his request for a trade to either New York or Los angeles. He spoke well of Milwaukee and its fans, but he said he was unhappy due to the lack of people who shared his religious and cultural beliefs. In 1975, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters, and rookie sensations Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman. It would turn out to be a good trade for both teams, but the Lakers had the better of it.

Kareem had a dominant season his first year with the Lakers when he averaged 27.7 points per game, and lead the league in blocked shots and in rebounding. He had a total of 1,111 defensive rebounds which set an NBA single season record (these types of stats were not kept prior to 1973-74). This defensive rebounding record still remains. For his hard work and effort, Kareem was awarded the MVP award - it was his 4th! Unfortunately for Kareem, the Lakers did not have a good enough supporting cast and they missed the play-offs. Kareem helped Los Angeles to improve their winning column by 10 games, but they still only finished 30 and 52.

The next season (1976-77), Jerry West was hired as the Lakers' coach, and his return to the Lakers helped mark a vast improvement in the team. The Lakers were back in first place and finished with a league best record of 53 and 29. Kareem had another fantastic season averaging 26.2 points per game, 13.3 rebounds, and a field goal shooting percentage of .579. He was once again named the NBA's Most Valuable Player (his 5th), which tied him with the legendary Bill Russell who had played for the Boston Celtics. The Lakers, however, would not taste satisfaction in the playoffs. They were swept ion the conference finals by the Portland Trail Blazers who would go on to win the NBA Championship with Bill Walton manning the post.

The Lakers would continue to produce some solid but unspectacular results and would finish in the middle of the pack the next 2 seasons. Meanwhile Kareem was still producing big numbers. It was during the 1977-78 season when Abdul-Jabbar would break his right hand when he punched Kent Benson in the jaw. The addition of Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon was not enough to lift Los Angeles to the upper echelons of the NBA.

During 1979 the last piece of the Laker puzzle was chosen in the draft. With a first round draft pick that Los Angeles obtained from the Utah Jazz, they selected Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Johnson had just lead his Michigan State team to the NCAA Championship as a freshman, and many felt like he was the next can't miss player, and they were right! With his glowing smile, enthusiasm for the game, and astute playmaking and passing, Magic was the missing piece to Los Angeles' efforts to become a power-house. With him, Magic brought a fast breaking up and down game to the Lakers that with the help of Michael Cooper, James Worthy, and Kareem, of course, would later be called "Showtime"! The Lakers would go on to win 9 division titles and 5 NBA Championships in the last 10 years of Kareem's career.

In Magic's rookie season the Lakers won 60 games, and went on to win the 1980 NBA Championship. Kareem had averaged 24.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game and was awarded the MVP Award (his 6th) once again. Kareem continued to produce the next 6 seasons averaging at least 20 points per game. It was true that his rebounding average dropped to between 6 and 8 boards per year, but the years of pounding under the boards had taken a toll. Kareem stayed in fantastic shape and was able to play an average of over 30 minutes a game at the age many NBA players retired at. Much of this endurance and stamina was due to Kareem's intense physical training with yoga and martial arts.

Kareem would go on to pass Wilt Chamberlain as the NBS's All Time Leading Scorer in a game against the Utah Jazz on April 5, 1984. It was very fitting that the shot which gave him the points lead was his trademark sky-hook.

The Lakers would go on to reach the NBA Finals 8 times in the 10 seasons between 1979-80 and 1988-89. They would win 5 titles, beating Boston and Philadelphia twice each, and the Detroit Pistons once. Kareem has gone on record saying that the 1985 Championship may have been the sweetest of the 6 titles he was a part of because it was closed out in the Boston Garden and vanquished the ghosts of the arena and the Celtics; a team that defeated the Lakers just the year before in the championship and had done so many times during the playing days of Bill Russell. It was also after many had written Kareem off as being washed up. Kareem was 38 at the time and he had a lackluster performance in the 1st game of the series against the Chief, Robert Parish, with scoring 12 points and only having 3 boards. The Celtics won that first game in a romp 148 to 114 and many in the press labeled the game "the Memorial Day Massacre."

Kareem was determined to come back with a vengeance and he immediately went into an intense film-watching, practice, and workout session. This apparently worked as Kareem returned in Game 2 to score 30 points, pull down 17 rebounds, dish out 8 assists, and record 3 blocks as the Lakers won 109 to 102. This game would be the start of a dominating performance by Kareem and the Lakers, and they went on to beat Boston in 6 games for the Championship. Kareem averaged 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2 blocks per game in the 4 games the Lakers won. He would deservedly be awarded the Finals MVP award.

In the 1986-87 season, the Lakers would again go on to defeat Boston in the NBA Championship. During the regular season Abdul-Jabbar averaged 17.5 points per game, the first time in his career that he averaged less than 20 points per game. At 40, he signed a contract to play for 2 more years for the Lakers. The following year the Lakers won over Detroit, which made them the first team since the 1968-69 Celtics to repeat as NBA champions.

In Kareem's final season (1988-89), the Lakers once again made the NBA finals in a rematch against the Detroit Pistons. With an aging Kareem and injuries to Magic and Byron Scott, the Pistons were just too much and they swept the series. Kareem did have one good performance in the championship series in game 3 when he scored 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. During the regular season Kareem's average dipped down to 10.1 points per game, and for the first time in his career his shooting percentage dropped below .500 (.475).

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's retirement marked the end of an era in the NBA. Kareem left the game as the NBA's all-time scorer ( 38,387 points / 24.6 ppg), 17,440 rebounds (11.2 rpg), 3,189 blocks, and a .559 field-goal percentage in a career over 20 years and 1,560 games. He had scored in double figures in 787 straight games.

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