Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. was born on 16 April 1947, in New York City USA. As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar he is one of the most famous professional basketball players of all time – now retired – who is known for playing in such teams as the “Los Angeles Lakers” and “Milwaukee Bucks”. During his career, Kareem achieved a lot and this is only proved by numerous awards that he received. Some of the titles that Abdul-Jabbar gained include NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Finals MVP, NBA Rookie of the Year, National College Player of the Year, NBA All-Time Leading Scorer among others. In addition to this, in 1995 Kareem was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Despite the fact, that Abdul Jabbar does not play basketball anymore, he is still involved in many activities and is now even known as a best-selling author.
So how rich is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? It is estimated that Kareem’s net worth is $20 million. Clearly, he mainly gained this sum of money during his incredible career as a basketball player. Although he is now retired, Kareem still takes care of various activities that make his net worth higher. As Kareem is now known as a successful writer, it has become one of the main sources of his net worth, which continues growing.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Net Worth $20 Million
Kareem was tall from birth, and started playing basketball from a very young age; his talent was soon noticed by his high school team’s coach. Undoubtedly, Kareem added a lot to team’s performances, as he also improved his playing skills, winning the New York Catholic Schools championship three straight years, and Kareem setting the all-time points scoring record.
In 1966 Kareem started attending the University of California, Los Angeles and, of course, became a part of its basketball team, continuing to show great results and impress others. The team had a three-year 88-2 win-loss record, and won three NCAA Championships, with Kareem setiing too many records to mention, but perhaps the most notable was his highest points-scoring average per game in college history. During this period, Kareem converted to Sunni Islam, and changed his name.
Kareem’s professional career began soon after graduating from UCLA, as he became a part of the basketball team, called “Milwaukee Bucks” after the 1969 NBA Draft. This had a huge impact on the growth of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s net worth. Soon Kareem gained the NBA Most Valuable player Award and proved to be one of the best basketball players. Abdul-Jabbar played for the “Milwaukee Bucks” until 1975, becoming their all-time leading scorer, and the team making the play-offs every year, winning the NBA Championship in 1971.
Kareem then signed with the “Los Angeles Lakers”, a decision which also added a lot to Abdul-Jabbar’s net worth. He played 13 seasons with the Lakers, and they also made the play-offs every year, and won five NBA titles. Again, the records Kareem set are too numerous to mention, but he made the All-Star team every season he played, and was voted season MVP six times. He is acknowledged as the best of all time in his center position.
Despite his successful game in this team Abdul-Jabbar decided to retire from his career as a basketball player in 1989. Later he still worked as a basketball coach and this also made his net worth higher. In addition to his career as basketball player, Kareem is also known for his appearances in movie and television industries. Some of them include, “Game of Death”, “Living Single”, “21 Jump Street”, “In Living Color”, “Tales from the Darkside”, “Forget Paris” and others. All these appearances made Kareem’s net worth higher.
As mentioned, Abdul-Jabbar is a successful author, who has published such books as “Giant Steps”, “Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement”, “Mycroft Holmes”, “Kareem” and others. These books gained a lot of praise and sold well. Now it is one of the main sources of Abdul-Jabbar’s net worth.
If to talk about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s personal life, it can be said that he was married to Habiba Abdul-Jabbar, but they divorced in 1978. Kareem has 5 children: 3 with Kareem and two with other women. What is more, Kareem has several health problems as he suffers from migraines and was also diagnosed with leukemia. Despite this fact, Kareem is still a very active person and involves himself in various projects. Finally, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the best 50 basketball players of all time. There is no doubt that he and his extraordinary career is admired by other basketball players. Kareem is a perfect example of a hardworking, talented and generous personality.
Basketball player, Actor, Author, Basketball Coach, Screenwriter, Film Producer
Education
University of California, Los Angeles, Power Memorial Academy
Nationality
United States of America
Spouse
Habiba Abdul-Jabbar (m. 1971–1978)
Children
Habiba Abdul-Jabbar, Amir Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem Abdul Jabbar Jr., Adam Abdul-Jabbar, Sultana Abdul-Jabbar
Parents
Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Sr., Cora Lillian
Nicknames
Lew Alcindor , Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. , Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor , Lew , Kareem Abdul-Jabaar , Lewis Ferdinand Alcindor , The Big 'A' , Lewis Alcindor
NBA Most Valuable Player Award, Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, All-NBA Team, NBA Rookie of the Year Award, NBA All-Defensive Team, Presidential Medal of Freedom, NBA All-Rookie Team, Naismith Men's College Player of the Year, Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, NAACP Im...
Nominations
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Nonfiction
Movies
Airplane!, Ask Max, The Stand, Slam Dunk Ernest, Whitepaddy, On the Shoulders of Giants, The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America, All-Star Tribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jake Spanner, Private Eye
TV Shows
Uncle Buck, Matrix, Uncle Buck, Matrix
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Trademark
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Deep voice
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Towering height
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Shooting the "sky-hook" and wearing goggles when he played
[observation, 2016] Most young people today know Muhammad Ali only as the hunched old man whose body shook ceaselessly from Parkinson's. But I, and millions of other Americans black and white, remember him as the man whose mind and body once shook the world. We have been better off because of it.
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[on an interview between Barack Obama and ballerina Misty Copeland] Throw in a rabbi and a priest and you've got the start of a classic water cooler joke. But add first black U.S. President and first black female principal dancer for the American Ballet Theater and it's no longer a joke but an uplifting ideal for a new generation of African Americana. Two shining models of how diligence, discipline and perseverance can overcome even the most daunting obstacles to achieve the American Dream. But being a black role model is a doubt-edged sword of inspiration and frustration...
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Despite the fact that I've been writing about politics longer than I played sports, many of my critics begin their comments with "Stick to basketball, Kareem". By dismissing someone's views based on their profession, such critics are dismissing their own opinions as frivolous. ("Stick to plumbing" "Stick to proctology")..The idea that an athlete can't think is a stereotype of the dumb jock who is too busy jamming adorable kids into lockers to know anything about the world around him except what Coach tells him. Those days are over, folks.
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Maybe the worst racism of all is denying that racism exists, because it keeps us from repairing the damage. This country needs a social colonoscopy to look for the hidden racist polyps. The finish line is when racism no longer exists, not when people claim it doesn't exist because they don't personally notice it. Why is it that the people who are declaring racism dead are mostly white?
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I think Bono needs glasses to see. I needed glasses so I could keep people's fingers out of my eyes.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.
Father was a transit police officer in New York City.
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Grandparents are originally from Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.
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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."
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Played in 18 NBA All-Star Games (1970-1977, 1979-1989).
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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).
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NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team (1980). NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996).
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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).
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Assistant coach for the NBA Los Angeles Clippers, (2000).
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The NCAA outlawed the dunk shot because of his dominance at center for UCLA.
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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.
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Holds the NBA record for Most Valuable Player awards with six.
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Only college player to win three Player of the Year awards.
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Studied Jeet Kune Do Martial arts under Bruce Lee.
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Played for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Milwaukee Bucks (1969-1970 thru 1974-1975) and Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1976 thru 1988-1989).
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Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
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Graduate of Power Memorial High School, New York City.