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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is considered to be a living icon of the
National Basketball Association (NBA).
The retired American center still holds the record for the most points scored in the NBA which is the premier men's professional basketball league in the world.
This is despite Abdul-Jabbar having retired from professional basketball in 1989, a year after helping Los Angeles Lakers clinch the NBA championship.
Nicknamed the Big A, Abdul-Jabbar scored a total of 38,387 points during his illustrious 20-year career which started at Milwaukee Bucks in 1969.
The Big A played an instrumental role in helping Bucks clinch the 1971 NBA championship and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times during his time with the team.
Abdul-Jabbar, whose birth name is Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr, adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 - its translation roughly "the noble one, servant of the Almighty [i.e., servant of Allah]".
In 1975, Abdul-Jabbar moved to Lakers where he played his best basketball and helped the team clinch the NBA championship five times and was named MVP three times.
The Big A also holds the record for the most field goals made (15,837), most minutes played (57,446) and most MVP awards won (six).
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Some, including NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas, as well as Julius Erving have called Abdul-Jabbar the greatest basketball player of all time.
“To me, the greatest player to ever play the game that I’ve seen is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,” Thomas said on Clutch Points.
"Arguably the best basketball career ever. From grade school to high school to college to the NBA, there has never been a more dominant player that I’ve ever seen.”
He is often compared with his compatriot Karl Malone, who is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Malone's 36,928 career points scored ranks as the second all-time in NBA history behind Abdul-Jabbar having played for Utah Jazz and Lakers during his 18-year career.
But one player who looks destined to surpass the Big A's record is former Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heats star Lebron James, who is third in all-time points having accumulated 34,087 points thus far.
James is the active NBA player with the most career points scored. The accomplished small forward is the man looking to lead Lakers to their 17th NBA championship this season.
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