Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retired in 1989, died on November 16th from complications of pneumonia. The 70-year old was known for playing over 20 seasons and winning six NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is survived by a wife, two daughters and three sons.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was an iconic figure in American sports. He is a six-time NBA champion, six-time MVP, and the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. However, he lost his battle with cancer on November 16th at age 69. His death has been mourned by many people across the globe.
Despite the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers’ reputation for high-octane scoring, they still had the league’s best center in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem was there to pick apart defenders in the halfcourt setting while Magic Johnson led the charge in transition.
Abdul-Jabbar, who was 7 feet 2 inches tall and had a lethal skyhook, had a 20-year career that culminated in his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. But his lowest moment has nothing to do with the Lakers… or a basketball floor.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a star both on and off the court.
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With an NBA-high 38,387 points, Abdul-Jabbar let his performance speak for itself.
Across 20 remarkable seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the big man averaged 24.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. With 19 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA choices, and an all-time high of six NBA MVP trophies, his career came to a close with 19 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA selections, and an all-time high of six NBA MVP honors.
Best of all, he concluded with six rings, five of which he earned while playing for the Showtime Lakers from 1980 to 1988. He was widely regarded as one of the league’s GOATs.
Kareem was a tremendous celebrity on the floor, but he mostly stayed to himself off the court. Aside from appearances in Airplane!, Abdul-Jabbar was not one for the grandiose, larger-than-life parties that his Lakers colleagues were known for.
When he wasn’t excelling at his real profession, Abdul-Jabbar was probably reading, writing, or listening to music at his Bel-Air house.
Kareem’s residence, containing his most valuable things, was destroyed by an electrical fire.
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The Lakers went to Boston on Jan. 30, 1983, to face the rival Celtics. Despite Kareem’s 27 points, the Lakers lose 110-95 to end a seven-game winning run.
However, the defeat was insignificant in relation to what occurred later that evening.
The Associated Press called Josh Rosenfield, LA’s media relations director, in the middle of the night to tell Abdul-Bel-Air Jabbar’s house had been destroyed in an electrical fire. Kareem’s fiancée Cheryl and son Amir, fortunately, awoke during the fire and managed to flee.
Abdul-response Jabbar’s to the tragedy was described in Jeff Pearlman is a writer who lives in New York City’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
The facility would be able to cope with the loss of the edifice. The combustion of his three valued collections — oriental carpets, rare Middle Ages Qur’ans, and over three thousand jazz CDs — shattered him. “My record collection was perhaps the single most significant item that was destroyed,” [Abdul-Jabbar] stated.
Jeff Pearlman is a writer who lives in New York City
The unfortunate fire also damaged the clothing, childhood photographs, and basketball trophies of the Hall of Fame center.
Abdul-Jabbar was blown away by the outpouring of love from Lakers fans.
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Abdul-Jabbar had a mixed response from fans off the floor, despite his popularity on the court. Kareem, unlike the gregarious Johnson, was known for being grumpy, reclusive, and distant.
The large guy, on the other hand, was taken aback by the outpouring of support for his personal sorrow.
Kareem would come at the Lakers’ facility shortly after the fire and be greeted with jazz recordings mailed in by fans from all around the nation. What began as a few here and there has grown to hundreds every day. They’d even send records to the hotel where he and his colleagues slept when on the road.
“I recall a rural Southern couple — white, with a child — someplace in the Midwest,” Rosenfeld said on Showtime. “And the youngster delivers Kareem three ancient, old jazz recordings as he walks out to the bus.” And Kareem comes to a halt and looks at each one, and I can see he didn’t simply pass them by. He expressed his gratitude to them. You could tell such things had an effect on him.”
Kareem may not have always been a people guy. But, after reaching rock bottom, his trust in mankind was restored to some extent.
Basketball Reference provided all statistics.
RELATED: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Remembers Leaving $1.8 Million on the Table as a Rookie Just to Keep His Promise
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, has died. He was mourned by many people in the NBA community. The loss is far worse than anything he endured on the court. Reference: kareem abdul-jabbar movies.
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