The NBA's all-time scorer before LeBron — six-time champion and inventor of the unstoppable skyhook shot.
Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — was born in New York City in 1947, converted to Islam at UCLA and adopted his Muslim name in 1971. Drafted 1st overall by Milwaukee in 1969, he spent 6 seasons at the Bucks (1969–1975) winning 1 championship and 3 MVPs before a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989) where he won 5 more championships with Magic Johnson. He scored 38,387 career points — the NBA all-time record that stood for 39 years until LeBron surpassed it in 2023 — at 24.6 per game across 20 seasons and 1,560 regular season games. He added 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He won 6 league MVPs — the most in NBA history — and 2 Finals MVPs. His skyhook — a one-handed hook shot that was virtually impossible to defend — was the most reliable scoring move in NBA history. His top speed of 38.9 km/h and 57,446 regular season minutes reflect extraordinary longevity. He was named to 19 All-Star Games. He won the Olympic gold medal as a college player in 1968. His career blocks total of 3,189 is the all-time NBA record. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996 and the NBA's greatest player ever in 2016 by a panel of historians.
Skyhook shot and NBA all-time scoring record
How They Played
Dominant center with unstoppable skyhook, excellent footwork
Lasting Impact
Greatest center of all time, cultural icon and activist
NBA Champion 1971 (Milwaukee), 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988 (Lakers)
His skyhook shot was so accurate that opposing teams never found a way to defend it across his 20-year career.
Did You Know?Career Honours
- NBA Champion 1971 (Milwaukee), 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988 (Lakers)
- NBA MVP 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980
- Finals MVP 1971, 1985
- All-Star 19x
- All-NBA First Team 10x
- Olympic Gold 1968
- Blocks Leader all-time (3,189)