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By InsideHoops.com

Full Name: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Formerly known as: Lew Alcindor
Born: 8/16/47 in New York
High School: Power Memorial (N.Y.) College: UCLA
Drafted by: Milwaukee Bucks (1969)
Height: 7-2; Weight: 267 lbs.
Transactions: Traded to Los Angeles Lakers, 6/16/75
Honors: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1995); NBA champion (1971, '80, '82, '85, '87, '88); NBA MVP (1971, '72, '74, '76, '77, '80); 10-time All-NBA First Team; Five-time All-NBA Second Team; Five-time All-Defensive First Team; Six-time All-Defensive Second Team; 19-time All-Star; One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996)

"The prototype - a perfect basketball machine." - InsideHoops.com

Lew Alcindor was born in New York City, with the name Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. He had no brothers or sisters. He went to high school at Power Memorial (which no longer exists) and absolutely dominated on the basketball court.

Leaving New York, Alcindor went to play for John Wooden at UCLA. In those days, college freshmen weren't allowed to play at the varsity level, but from his sophomore year on, he was totally unstoppable. Alcinder was an All-American in 1967, 1968 and 1969, named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament in those years as well, and selected as Player of the Year in 1967 and 1969. UCLA won national championships all three years.

In the 1969 NBA draft, Alcinder was taken first, by the Milwaukee Bucks, who were only in their second year of existence. They got the pick thanks to winning a coin toss against the Phoenix Suns. This was at a time when Bill Russell's Celtics days were over, and Wilt Chamberlain was in his mid 30's and winding it down. Alcinder easily won Rookie of the Year, with averages of 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. The Bucks had won 27 and lost 55 their first season. With rookie Alcinder they won 56 and lost 26.

During the summer of 1970-71, the Bucks traded for Oscar Robertson from the Cincinnati Royals. Robertson, an NBA legend nicknamed The Big O, was 31 at the time. He, Alcinder, Bobby Dandridge and a terrific supporting cast won 66 games that season and swept their way to an NBA championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets. That season, Alcinder won MVP, with averages of 31.7 points and 16.0 rebounds per game, and Finals MVP as well.

That summer, before the start of the 1971-72 season, Alcinder converted from Catholicism to Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which translates to "noble, powerful servant."

In the 1971-72 season Jabbar scored 34.8 points per game and won MVP again.

In the 1973-74 season he won his third MVP award.

Oscar Robertson, now 35, announced his retirement. The next season (1974-75) the Bucks fell hard in the win column.

Kareem wanted out of Milwaukee at this point, partially due to the supporting cast around him but also due to a desire to be in a city where more people shared his religious and life beliefs. He asked to be traded, singling New York and Los Angeles out as places he'd like to go. The Bucks made it happen and in 1975 traded Kareem to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Junior Bridgeman, Elmore Smith, Dave Meyers and Brian Winters.

Like the Bucks, the Lakers in 1974-75 were low in the win column. Los Angeles center Wilt Chamberlain had retired a few seasons earlier, and Kareem was the ultimate replacement.

In 1975-76, Kareem's first season with the Lakers, he won his fourth MVP.

In 1976-77, Jerry West coached the Lakers. Kareem won the MVP award again, his fifth. The Lakers lost in the conference finals to Bill Walton and the Portland Trail Blazers.

In 1977-78, Abdul-Jabbar broke his hand in a fight after punching Kent Benson, a Milwaukee rookie. That season, and the next, saw the Lakers a fairly average, unimpressive team.

In the 1979 NBA draft, using a pick from the Utah Jazz, the Lakers took Ervin "Magic" Johnson. Showtime in Los Angeles would begin. In the next 10 years the Lakers won nine division titles.

In Magic Johnson's first season (1979-80), the Lakers won 60 games and destroyed everyone in the playoffs to win the NBA championship. Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP award yet again, his sixth, which was an NBA record. Kareem, now 33 years old, sprained his ankle in game 5 of the finals and was done for the playoffs. So, in game 6, Magic Johnson, a rookie 6-9 point guard, jumped center. Just 20 years old, Johnson put up 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in a 123-107 Lakers victory for the championship.

Kareem stayed in incredible shape throughout his career. He had an amazing fitness program, doing yoga and martial arts, and meditating to keep his mind right.

On April 5, 1984, Magic passed Kareem the ball for a sky-hook, producing point number 31,420, which put him past Wilt Chamberlain as the new all-time NBA scoring leader.

From 1979-80 to 1988-89 the Lakers went to the NBA finals 8 times, winning 5 championships. They beat the Boston Celtics twice, the Philadelphia 76ers twice and the Detroit Pistons once.

At the end of the 1988-89 season, Kareem hung up his goggles and made his retirement official. His stats filled the record books. The numbers are incredible: 20 years, 1,560 games, 38,387 points (24.6 ppg), 17,440 rebounds (11.2 rpg), 3,189 blocks, and a .559 field-goal percentage.

One of Kareem's biggest legacys was his trademark shot, the sky-hook. A hook-shot of momentous proportions, the sweeping of his arm combined with his height and the manner in which he shot it made the sky-hook completely unguardable.

There may never be another Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

InsideHoops.com names him "The prototype - a perfect basketball machine."