Lew Alcindor was born on April 16, 1947, in New York City. He first started playing basketball when he was in second grade. He invented what would end up being his signature shot, the skyhook, in fifth grade. He went to power memorial high school in 1961. In both his freshman and sophomore years, his high school basketball team won every game, and won the league championship. Then, in 1965, he decided to go to UCLA for his college education.

During his years in UCLA, Alcindor's college team won three championships. In 1968, he made an important decision and changed his religion to Islam, and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the name most call him by today. In 1969, he entered the NBA draft, and was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that had only come into existence three years before he was drafted. In his first season, he helped the bucks get 56 wins and only 26 losses, and was named the rookie of the year. In his second season, the Bucks got Oscar Robertson in a trade with the Cincinnati Royals, who are now the Sacramento Kings. This trade would help the Bucks that season. With the help of Robertson, the Bucks finished with a 66-16 record, and faced the Baltimore Bullets, who are now the Washington Wizards, in the finals. The Bucks swept the series and won their first championship ever, and Abdul-Jabbar was named the MVP. The summer after that, Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. While in Los Angeles, he set many records and won 5 championships. They won the championship in 1979-80 and 1981-82 over the Philadelphia 76ers, in 1984-85 and 1986-87 over the Boston Celtics, and in 1987-88 over the Detroit Pistons. He also set records for most career points, most career playoff points, and most ever regular season MVP awards with 6. He retired in 1989, with many awards and championships going with him.