Top 100 NBA Players: #2 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Teams

Milwaukee Bucks - 1969-75

Los Angeles Lakers - 1975-89

Playoffs

Appearances - 18 (1971,1972,1973,1974,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989)

Conference Finals - 14 (1970,1971,1972,1974,1977,1980,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989)

NBA Finals - 10 (1971,1974,1980,1982,1983,1984,1985,1987,1988,1989)

Championships - 6 (1971,1980,1982,1985,1987,1988)

Awards and Honors

Rookie of the Year - 1970

MVP - 6 (1971,1972,1974,1976,1977,1979,1980)

Finals MVP - 2 (1971,1980,1985)

All-NBA First Team - 10 (1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1984,1986)

All-NBA Second Team - 5 (1970,1978,1979,1982,1983,1984,1985)

Hall of Fame - 1995

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)

All-Time Ranks

Total Points - #1

Total Blocks - #3

Total Rebounds - #4

Blocks Per Game - #8

Points Per Game - #17

Field Goal Percentage - #21

Rebounds Per Game - #31

Total Assists - #45

League Leads

Field Goal Percentage (#1-1977, #2-1971,1972,1974,1979,1980, #3-1973, #4-1975,1978,1982,1983,1985, #5-1976,1981,1987)

Total Points (#1-1970,1971,1972, #2-1973,1974,1976,1977, #4-1975,1981, #5-1980)

Points Per Game (#1-1971,1972, #2-1970,1973,1976, #3-1974,1975,1977, #4-1978,1981)

Total Blocks (#1-1976,1977,1979,1980, #2-1974,1975,1981, #4-1978,1982)

Rebounds Per Game (#1-1976, #2-1977, #3-1970,1972,1979, #4-1971,1973,1974, #5-1975)

Blocks Per Game (#1-1975,1976,1979,1980, #2-1974,1977,1978, #3-1981,1982)

Total Rebounds (#1-1976,1977, #2-1972, #3-1970,1971,1974, #4-1979, #5-1973)

After being named the National Player of the Year 3 times, winning 3 straight national championships, and 3 straight Most Oustanding Player of the NCAA Tournament awards at UCLA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) was the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a rookie, Alcindor finished #2 in the league in scoring, with 28.8 per game, and third in rebounding with 14.5, and was easily named the Rookie of the Year. He led the Bucks from the worst record in the East the year before to the #2 seed, and he had 46 points and 25 rebounds in the deciding game of the first round, before the team's season ended in the second round.

The team traded for Oscar Robertson before the next season, and finished the season with the league's best record, with Alcindor averaging a league-leading 31.7 points per game along with 16.0 rebounds and winning his first MVP award. They lost only 2 games on their way to the NBA Finals, where they swept the Bullets, winning the championship and earning Alcindor the Finals MVP as well.

After the championship season, he announced that he wanted to be known by his Muslim name, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which he had used privately for several years. He had another dominant season, averaging 34.8 points and 16.6 rebounds, his second straight year leading the league in scoring, but the Bucks lost to the record-setting Lakers team in the Conference Finals, ending their bid for a repeat title.

After a slightly down year in 1973 (30.2 points, 16.1 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game) that ended in a first-round playoff loss, he won his 3rd MVP in 4 years in 1974, and led the Bucks back to the NBA Finals for the second time in their history. They played the Boston Celtics in that series, and Abdul-Jabbar averaged 32.6 points, but they lost in 7 games.

Abdul-Jabbar privately requested a trade after that season after the retirement of Oscar Robertson, but nothing came of it at the time. He played one more season with the Bucks, averaging 30.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, and leading the league in blocks with 3.3 per game in the second season the stat was recorded. Despite his individual success, the team missed the playoffs, the first time in his life that he did not reach the postseason.

He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason, and he had his best individual season, averaging 27.7 points, 5.0 assists, and league-leading 16.9 rebounds and 4.1 blocks, both career highs as well. He was named the MVP for the 4th time due to his great play, but despite his dominance, the Lakers missed the playoffs.

His individual numbers dropped a bit the next year, but he was able to lead the Lakers to the best record in the league, winning his 5th MVP along the way. They reached the Conference Finals, where they met Bill Walton and the Trail Blazers, and they ended up being swept by Portland.

He broke his hand punching an opponent in the first game of the next season, which caused him to miss 20 games, the only major injury of his career, and that was the only season in which he was not named an All-Star. The next year he led the league in blocks for the third time, but they lost in the second round, which was the second and last time in his career that he would have consecutive seasons without reaching the Conference Finals.

Magic Johnson was drafted by the team in 1979, and Kareem went on to win his record 6th MVP that year, with averages of 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.4 blocks, which led the league again. The Lakers went all the way to the Finals, winning the championship over Philadelphia in 6 games, with Kareem sitting out the final game due to injury.

Kareem was still the Lakers' best player for one more season, while Magic Johnson missed the majority of the season due to injury. He averaged 26.2 points and 10.3 rebounds, the 12th straight season that he averaged at least 23 points and 10 rebounds. He averaged at least 20 points per game for 5 more seasons, making it 17 in a row to start his career, a feat that has been surpassed by only LeBron James.

He went on to win 4 more championships with the Lakers, 3 as the sidekick to Magic Johnson, and even won another Finals MVP in 1985, 14 years after his first. By the time he won his 6th and final championship in 1988, he was no longer playing at a star level, but he returned for one final season, retiring in 1989 at the age of 42.

Kareem has been the NBA's all-time scoring leader since he passed Wilt Chamberlain's record in 1984, and he is also currently #4 in rebounds and #3 in blocks, despite the stat not being tracked during his first 4 seasons. He reached the Conference Finals 14 times in his career, more than any other player ever, and played in 10 NBA Finals more than anyone but Bill Russell and Sam Jones. He won 6 championships, and was either the best or second-best player on 5 of those teams, and won 6 MVPs, the most of any player ever. No matter how you look at his career, he was one of the greatest players of all time.