Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

commons.wikimedia.orgSteve Jenner [Public domain]The National Basketball Association has a history of producing some of the best athletes the world has ever seen, such as Michael Jordan and Lebron James. Another such individual is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor on April 16, 1947 in Harlem, New York. Early on, the awkward giant made a name for himself playing basketball in elementary and middle school. He was offered many scholarships to many private and prestigious high schools in New York City. He ended up playing for Power Memorial Academy, setting a record for points scored in High School in New York.(“Kareem”, Contemporary) After high school, he enrolled at UCLA to play basketball under John Wooden. In his freshman year, where could’t officially play for the school, but that didn’t stop him from still beating the varsity team.(“Kareem”, Britannica) He was drafted into the NBA in 1969 first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. By the end on his 20 year career, the 7’2” center was the NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points and had blocked 3,189 shots--also a league high. He was also named the league's most valuable player a record six times. But he wasn’t just a great basketball player. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is also one of the hardest working people of our generation and a prominent race and religion equality advocate, and that is what makes him a hero.

commons.wikimedia.orgVladapreda [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in addition to being the best center of all time, is also an extremely hard working individual. In regards to his style of play, “Although Abdul-Jabbar lacked the physical strength of NBA centres Chamberlain and Willis Reed, he brought an excellent shooting touch to the position and a wide range of graceful post moves, including his sweeping, nearly indefensible sky hook” (“Kareem”, Britannica). Kareem worked hard to replace what he lacked on the court to innovate the way the modern center in the NBA plays. Instead of being generic he worked hard and figured out how to be more effective. In the 1985 playoffs, Jabbar was so dead set on playing the series that when “Abdul-Jabbar broke his foot in the fifth game; he was taped and returned to score forty points but watched the rest of the series on television” (“Kareem” St. James Encyclopedia). Kareem worked so hard that when he had to play in the nba finals he didn’t stop because he had an injury. He pushed through and worked his way to an amazing 40 point performance. Kareem had one of the best work ethics that pushed him as far to reinvent the position of center and even to play some of his best basketball while severely injured. But that's not all that made him great, he also was a racial justice hero.

commons.wikimedia.orgU.S. Department of State from United States [Public domain]Growing up in the racially troubled city of Harlem, he experiences racial inequalities and struggles, such as the Harlem race riots, Kareem learned that he could be a prominent equal rights advocate. Early in his life, Kareem decided to change his beliefs to Islam, and “Meanwhile Alcindor was coming to a turning point in his faith, prompted by his experiences with racial discrimination and bigotry. Lew had refused to join the 1968 Olympic team because he felt blacks should not represent a country that denies them their full rights” (“Kareem”, Contemporary). Not only did he change his beliefs, he stood up for what he believed in and protested what was a great opportunity for him to further his basketball success and fame, and did it all for the sake of telling the world his race deserved equal rights. He was willing to sacrifice his career for the good of the people being oppressed in their own land. After witnessing a policeman fire at a innocent black student, which prompted the race riots, he states that “‘Right then and there I knew who I was and who I had to be,’ he wrote in Kareem. ‘I was going to be black rage personified, black power in the flesh’” (“Kareem.” St. James Encyclopedia). After witnessing one of the biggest moments of the civil rights movement, he committed his life to giving basic rights to everyone in the United States. Kareem, if anything, was going to carry his influence to promote and encourage equality for all people. When his country needed racial equality most, Kareem used his influence to help the cause and step up for a truly equal nation, making him one of the biggest civil rights advocates.

commons.wikimedia.orgFrank Bryan [Public domain]As you can see, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the hardest working athletes ever and a very influential race and religion equality advocate, which makes him a hero. Kareem worked so hard and it paid off, revolutionizing the way centers played ever since. Also, his influence in the civil rights movement will not soon be forgotten, as he carried his star power gained from his dreamy ball play to encourage his massive following of fans to grant rights to those who didn't have them. In addition to his Racial justice Influence and legendary work ethic, Kareem is a true inspiration because of his insane feats and records in the sport of basketball. “By the end of his extraordinarily long career, he had set NBA records for most points (38,387), most field goals made (15,837), and most minutes played (57,446). At the time of his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar had also amassed the most blocked shots in league history (3,189; since broken by Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo) and the third most career rebounds (17,440). He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.”(“Kareem” Britannica) Kareem is the best center of all time and one of the top 5 players ever no matter who you ask. He is especially near and dear to my heart because as mentioned before he invented and popularized insane moves like the unguardable post hook that my teammates and I have used to get easy points in games. But, in the end, none of his influence would have affected the civil rights movement, none of his hard work would have changed the game, if he never made it to the NBA and became a superstar.

"Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 8, Gale, 1994. Biography In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606001279/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=2f8fd45b.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Mar. 2019,

www.britannica.com/biography/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar

"Kareem Abdul-Jabbar." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture Online, Gale, 2013. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2419200005/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=69c02486