Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born April 16, 1947 in New York City, New York) was a successful high school, collegiate, and professional NBA basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. Today, he is a successful coach, author, and part-time actor.

The trade

After the former Lew Alcindor changed his name and a couple seasons in Milwaukee under the new name, Kareem felt that the city didn't fit his cultural needs so he requested a trade to either the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers, In 1975, the Bucks traded him and reserve center Walt Wesley to the Los Angeles Lakers, for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters and rookie blue chippers Dave Myers and Junior Bridgeman. The trade paved the way for a second Abdul-Jabbar dynasty as the Lakers went on to become one of the most dominant teams the next decade.

Related Topics:
Milwaukee - New York Knicks - Los Angeles Lakers - 1975

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NBA Statistics

• Jersey Number - 33
• Games Played - 1560 (2nd highest in NBA history)
• Field Goal % - 55.9 (8th highest)
• Free Throw % - 72.1
• 3-Point % - 5.6
• Rebounds - 17,440 (3rd highest)
• Rebounds per Game - 11.2 (25th highest)
• Assists - 5660 (29th highest)
• Assist per Game - 3.6
• Steals - 1160
• Steals per Game -
• Blocks - 3189 (2nd highest)
• Blocks per Game - 2.57
• Points - 38,387 (highest)
• Points per Game - 24.6 (12th highest)

Coaching

Abdul-Jabbar had been interested in coaching since his retirement, and given the influence he has had on the league, he had presumed those chances would come easily. However, during his playing years, he had developed a reputation of being introverted and sullen, often refusing to speak to the press, leading to the impression that he had nothing to say. This reputation contributed greatly to his lack of coaching opporunities.

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Since he began lobbying for a coaching position in 1995, he had only been able to work as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Seattle SuperSonics, helping mentor their young centers, Michael Olowokandi and Jerome James, respectively. He was the head coach in 2002 of the Oklahoma Storm of the USBL, but failed in a bid to get the head coach position for Columbia University a year later. He then worked as a scout for the New York Knicks. Finally, on September 2, 2005, Abdul-Jabbar returned to the Lakers as a special assistant to Phil Jackson to help develop the team's young center Andrew Bynum. He has also served as a volunteer coach at Alchesay High School on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona since 1998.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles Clippers - Seattle SuperSonics - Michael Olowokandi - Jerome James - 2002 - Oklahoma Storm - USBL - Columbia University - Scout - New York Knicks - September 2 - 2005 - Phil Jackson - Andrew Bynum - Fort Apache Indian Reservation - Whiteriver, Arizona - 1998

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