Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also called (until 1971) Lew Alcindor, (born April 16, 1947, New York, N.Y., U.S.), U.S. basketball player. During his college career at UCLA, his team lost only two games, and he led it to three national championships (1967–69). He then joined the Milwaukee Bucks; in 1975 he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Standing 7 ft 2 in. (2.18 m), he was the dominant center of his time and helped his teams to six NBA titles. By the time he retired in 1989, Abdul-Jabbar had scored 38,387 points, the most in the NBA (until LeBron James broke his record in 2023). He also set the record for most field goals (15,837) and most minutes played (57,446). He was voted Most Valuable Player a record six times. After his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar became a prolific writer, publishing nonfiction and fiction. In 2016 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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