Kareem's last hurrah; the NBA's most prolific player decides to call it quits after 20 exciting years

Ebony, May, 1989 by Douglas C. Lyons

KAREEM's Last Hurrah

The NBA's most prolific player decides to call it quits after 20 exciting years

TIPOFF is just minutes away in Chicago Stadium, home of basketball's Chicago Bulls. The world champion Los Angeles Lakers are in town for a game that ordinarily guarantees excitement. But at this night's contest, the excitement is even greater as the Bulls and their fans pay tribute to a remarkable player who is retiring from the game: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

At 42, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is indeed the center of attention. He has been holding court in the game of basketball for nearly three decades, rewriting the record books, and -- in the eyes of many -- becoming the game's all-time best player.

Perhaps no other player has had such a dramatic effect on the game. Kareem's moves on the court have been called "artistic," and his famed "skyhook" has become an institution of the sport. But now, the game's most prolific "big fella" is calling it quits after 20 exciting seasons in the NBA. "The sport definitely goes on," he says. "People find new heroes and they'll find new people to admire. I'm flattered they'll compare them to me."

Kareem's unequalled success in basketball is a matter of record. He holds the NBA's records for the most points scored, games played, minutes played, field goals made, field goals attempted, blocked shots and fouls. He averaged 23.5 points and 11.5 rebounds during his first 19 years as a pro. In addition, he's won six championship rings and has been named to 19 NBA All-Star teams. He is the only player in the league to be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player six times. "Some of the guys I've seen play recently will some day brag how they played [against] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and it's kind of sad," says Wes Unseld, who played against Kareem and is now head coach of the Washington Bullets. "In the first 10 years of his career, it would have been embarrassing for them to even step on the court with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."

It doesn't seem that long ago when Kareem was known as Lew Alcindor, a tall, skinny kid from New York who blossomed into a basketball star in the city's Catholic schools. He led his high school, Power Memorial Academy, to national recognition and so dominated the game that in 1968 the National Collegiate Athletic Association temporarily banned the dunk shot from college games while Alcindor was attending the University of California, Los Angeles. Nevertheless, he led the UCLA Bruins to three straight NCAA basketball championships.

On the way to capturing those titles, some major turning points in Alcindor's life off the court came in 1968. As a protest against racial discrimination, he boycotted the 1968 Summer Olympics. He also began studying the Islamic faith and adopted the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a Moslem name meaning generous, powerful servant of Allah. He officially changed his name three years later when he was playing with the Milwaukee Bucks. "He got a lot of flak for that," says Oscar Robertson, a former teammate of Kareem's and a standout in his own right. "I thought that the religious conversion was a personal thing, and Kareem had the right to do that if he chose to do so."

On the basketball court, Kareem has simply been awesome. His size and tenacious defense made it almost impossible for opposing players to score against him near the basket. And at 7-foot-2, he easily scored over opponents with what became his virtually unstoppable trademark shot -- the "skyhook." "Our offense was geared to go to him," Robertson recalls. "He was 7-something and no one could stop him. It would have been foolish for us not to go to him."

But this is Kareem's final season, and there have been some trying moments, partly because of a bruised right knee and--by his own admission --not being mentally prepared to play. Through it all, though, Kareem has stood tall. And now, 20 years later, he's ready to give it all up.

While he talks of future commercial endorsements and a possible career in movies, he has made one thing clear: He will stay away from basketball. "I don't want to coach," he says. "I can say without hesitation that I've done everything I wanted to do [in basketball]. I've had enough success to last me a couple of lifetimes."

PHOTO : The famed "skyhook" is one reason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar established himself as one of the

PHOTO : NBA's best. Below, during his "farewell tour," he addressed fans in Chicago as (from l. to

PHOTO : r.) Chicago Bulls announcer Johnny Kerr, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mayor Eugene Sawyer

PHOTO : look on.

PHOTO : The farewell tour for Kareem produced some lavish gifts, including (top) a piece of the

PHOTO : Boston Garden floor from Red Auerbach, president of the Boston Celtics, and (above) a

PHOTO : motorcycle from the Milwaukee Bucks. Off the court during a 1986 vacation, Abdul-Jabbar is

PHOTO : joined by his children (l. to r.) Sultana, Habiba, Kareem and Amir.

PHOTO : During his career, Kareem always attracted a crowd, whether it was from the media as a

PHOTO : youngster (top, left) or from opposing players (like Bob Lanier) on the court. In 1982, he