Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Net Worth

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Quotes

• I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.
• On meeting Coach John Wooden: Coach Wooden's office was about the size of a walk-in closet. I was brought in, and there was this very quaint-looking Midwesterner. I'd heard a lot about this man and his basketball wisdom, but he surely look like he belonged in a one-room schoolhouse. I found myself liking Mr. Wooden right away. He was calm, in no hurry to impress me with his knowledge or his power. He called me Lewis, and that decision endeared him to me even more. It was at once formal, my full name. II was no baby Lewie. Lewis. I liked that.
• On Coach John Wooden: He broke basketball down to it's basic elements. He always told us basketball was a simple game, but his ability to make the game simple was part of his genius. There was no ranting and raving, no histrionics or theatrics. To lead the way Coach Wooden led takes a tremendous amount of faith. He was almost mystical in his approach, yet that approach only strengthened our confidence. Coach Wooden enjoyed winning, but he did not put winning above everything. He was more concerned that we became successful as human beings, that we earned our degrees, that we learned to make the right choices as adults and as parents. In essence, he was preparing us for life.
• After 9/11, all of a sudden you have this suspicious spotlight on you just because you're Muslim. It was a radical change and it really bothered me. People understand that, even though they take a Christian identity, are not practicing what Jesus was all about. It's the same thing with the radical Islamic people. They're about hatred and trying to impose their will on people.
• Players today are tremendously gifted, but they don't understand the game as well as players from my generation who got to play in college and learn the nuances, when situations arise that lead to victory or defeat. They think it's all about being on Play of the Day.

Interesting Facts about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1. B.A. from U.C.L.A. [1969]
2. NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points.
3. Graduate of Power Memorial High School, New York City.
4. Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
5. Played for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1970 thru 1974-1975) and Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1976 thru 1988-1989).
6. Studied Jeet Kune Do Martial arts under Bruce Lee.
7. Only college player to win three Player of the Year awards.
8. Holds the NBA record for Most Valuable Player awards with six.
9. Began wearing goggles on the court due to corneal erosion syndrome, a condition where the eye cornea doesn't produce moisture and begins to dry out.
10. The NCAA outlawed the dunk shot because of his dominance at center for UCLA.
11. Assistant coach for the NBA Los Angeles Clippers, (2000).
12. Holds NBA career records for most minutes (57,446), most points (38,387), most field goals made (15,837) and most field goals attempted (28,307). First player in NBA history to play 20 seasons. Led NBA in scoring (1971-1931.7 ppg, 1972-1934.8 ppg). Led NBA in rebounding (1976-1916.9 rpg). Led NBA in blocked shots (1975, 1976, 1979, 1980). NBA MVP (1971-1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980). NBA Rookie of the Year (1970). All NBA First Team (1971-1974, 1976-1977, 1980-1981, 1984, 1986). NBA All-Defensive First Team (1974-1975, 1979-1981). NBA Finals MVP (1971, 1985).
13. NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team (1980). NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996).
14. Played for UCLA (1965-1969). The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1967, 1969). Three-time First Team All-America (1967-1969). Two-time National Player of the Year (1967, 1969). Three-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1967-1969). Naismith Award winner (1969). Leading scorer in UCLA history. Led NCAA with .667 field goal percentage (1967) and .635 field goal percentage (1969).
15. Played in 18 NBA All-Star Games (1970-1977, 1979-1989).
16. Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament wrote a song about him based on the urban myth that he lost all of his money investing in hotels for tall people. The song, entitled "Sweet Lew," appears on the album "Lost Dogs."
17. Grandparents are originally from Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.
18. Father was a transit police officer in New York City.
19. Father of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
20. Retired from the NBA in 1989.