This Day in Black Sports History: February 23, 1986

Throughout his 20-year career in the National Basketball Association, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s trademark sky hook was virtually untouchable, much like the records he held upon his retirement in 1989.

But since his early years growing up in New York City, Abdul-Jabbar was destined to secure his place among basketball royalty.

In high school, Abdul-Jabbar, known as Lew Alcindor, Jr. before converting to Sunni Islam, led Power Memorial Academy, to a 71-game winning streak, a 79-2 overall record and three consecutive New York City Catholic championships.

At UCLA, under the tutelage of head coach John Wooden, Alcindor would be equally dominant, twice winning the College Player of the Year Award (1967, 1969), earning three First Team All-American honors (1967-1969) and becoming the first Naismith College Player of the Year (1969).

With Alcindor anchoring the middle, the Bruins’ three-year record was an astounding 88-2, and the team would win three straight NCAA Championships with Alcindor as the Most Outstanding Player in each Tournament.

During his sophomore season at UCLA, Alcindor boycotted the 1968 Summer Olympics, deciding not to join the Men’s Basketball Team to protest the unequal treatment of African-Americans in the United States.

When Alcindor’s college basketball days were over, he owned a number of records at UCLA that have stood the test of time, including highest season scoring average (29.0), highest career scoring average (26.4) and most points in a single game (61).

Not surprisingly, Alcindor was the first overall pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1969 NBA Draft and the first overall pick of the New York Nets in the American Basketball Association (ABA) Draft. In addition, Alcindor was offered $1 million to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Ultimately though, Alcindor chose to play for the Bucks, who outbid the Nets for his services after coming off a season in which they finished an abysmal 27-55.

The addition of Alcindor would pay immediate dividends for Milwaukee as the team won 29 more games to lay claim to second place in the league’s Eastern Division. Alcindor was the overwhelming choice for Rookie of the Year, averaging 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.

The following season, Milwaukee added Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson to the roster, which propelled the talent-laden Bucks to 66 victories during the 1970-71 season and their first, and only, NBA Championship. The season would also turn out to be one of individual dominance for Alcindor, winning the scoring title (31.7 ppg), his first of six Most Valuable Player Awards and the NBA Finals MVP Award.

On May 1, 1971, the day after the Bucks won the NBA championship, Alcindor adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, its Arabic translation roughly meaning "generous/noble (Kareem), servant of (Abdul) the mighty/stern one (Jabbar) [i.e., of God]."

Over the next three seasons, Abdul-Jabbar continued to be the main reason why Milwaukee remained a perennial NBA powerhouse, all while capturing two more MVP Awards.

However, at his request, the Bucks traded Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers because, culturally and socially, Milwaukee was no longer a good fit for the generation’s next legendary center.

"Live in Milwaukee? No, I guess you could say I exist in Milwaukee," Abdul-Jabbar said in a early magazine interview.

"I am a soldier hired for service and I will perform that service well. Basketball has given me a good life, but this town has nothing to do with my roots. There's no common ground."

In two out of his first three seasons with the Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar would win his fourth and record-tying fifth MVP Awards, but when the team selected Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson with the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft, a dynasty began taking shape with Abdul-Jabbar as its centerpiece.

With the tandem of Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, the Lakers would go on to become the most dominant team of the 80’s, appearing in eight NBA Finals and winning five NBA championships.

Individually, although past his prime, Abdul-Jabbar continued his assault on the league record books, winning his sixth MVP Award in 1980, replacing Elvin Hayes as the all-time leader in games played on Feb. 23, 1986 and surpassing Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader in 1984.

When he officially retired in 1989 after 20 seasons, Abdul-Jabbar had 19 All-Star Game appearances, 10 All-NBA First Team selections, six NBA championships, six MVP Awards and two Finals MVP Awards under his belt, to go along with career averages of 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.

During his final season, Abdul-Jabbar was given standing ovations in every single game he played, and was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.

Click here to read the original article at Examiner.com.

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Bingo, Bango, Bongo.

I gotta give it to Bango here, putting his life on the line to bring some energy to the Bucks arena. He could single handedly be the reason why the Bucks take down the Hawks in the first round.

Props to Jeff for the tip.

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Bucks Have Last Opening Night

The Milwaukee Bucks are starting their season after every other team in pro sports have started their seasons beginning in '09. They are the only NBA team not to have played a game yet. Their season opener starts tonight at 7 EST. The Bucks have been shooting news out of the headlines the past week. Brandon Jennings will start, which bucks Scott Skiles' traditional beef against rookies, but Skiles says it's no big deal. Also this week, the New York Times ran a story about Jennings. They've been covering him since he trailblazed his way to Europe instead of college to wait out the NBA's age limit, and by the way it's really hard to describe an NBA player as ground breaking without calling him a trailblazer and feeling weird about it; I don't know why, but I've felt the same pull. In said story, Times writer Karen Crouse praised Jennings' frugal ways, as he opted to pick up a Ford Edge that runs about $26,000, thus bucking NBA spend trends like those of Antoine Walker (I don't know that I like the connection, but it's been made so I'm including it). Crouse also said the Ferrari in the Bucks parking lot belongs to Andrew Bogut, famed for his comments about NBA players irresponsibility. Bogut bucked the quick label of hypocrite that was lightly postulated at this news, and it turns out the Ferrari belonged to Michael Redd. Bogut criticized Michael Hunt (proceed to laugh at the real name) of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who was Crouse's source. Crouse has changed her article. Hunt has not.

Anyway, the Bucks start their season tonight. I'm not sure if it's an auspicious thing to be beginning last. Does it mean they'll be playing longer this season too? Well, that's doubtful. Still, at least they start without controversy. I'm hoping for an exciting season for Jennings. You?

(Big Mahalo to Brew Hoop and, y'know, PTI)

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NBA Off Season Rankings (11-20)

Hit ya up with a little eleven through twenty, yah? These are the teams that represent an admixture of positives and negatives. Some didn't have too many new negatives, but there are just so many lingering from last season. To the list!

11. Houston Rockets: So they lost Yao Ming, and there were scares that it would be permanently. These things happen. All in all, the Rockets made what they could out of a less than positive situation. They picked up Trevor Ariza and let head cases Ron Artest and Von Wafer walk. Perhaps they’re less talented now, but good news will hopefully be just around the bend. There are rumors T-Mac will be back and not in any shadowy echo of himself either. Keep in mind it’s a contract year for Tracy. I also have a feeling they’re still trying to land Marcin Gortat, and the center they’ve already brought in David Andersen could be a ringer in disguise. Besides, any off season that brings you Pops Mensah-Bonsu is a good one.

12. New Orleans Hornets: Emeka Okafor should fit in well with this team. He’s conscious enough for Chris Paul to use ably, and rather seems suited to the quiet fire CP3, Byron Scott, and David West radiate from down in the bayou. I really wish this team would break through, but look for them to struggle into the playoffs once again. Maybe Scott’s job will actually be at risk like the Sports Guy has been intimating for about a year (LINK?).

13. Charlotte Bobcats: Tyson Chandler makes this team interesting, and could draw a larger crowd if he makes good on some alley-oops with the ‘Cats host of middling young guards. This season really depends on Larry Brown’s management skills. I predict a bespectacled exodus around game 40.

Washington Wizards B-Ball Game, originally uploaded by ellievanhoutte.

14. Washington Wizards: A relatively quiet summer for the Wizards, but they got their work done early. The Wiz traded for Randy Foye and Mike Miller and lost precious little. Foye will be a nice injection of youth. This team can challenge the best teams in the East if they’re healthy, and Miller could be a missing piece if this team proves it can still contend. Let’s hope they’ve been using the quiet summer to get all the way healthy.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder: They got James Harden in the draft, and beyond that pretty much stayed pat. Etan Thomas will educate the kiddies. The real issue is Russell Westbrook angling for the team not to take Ricky Rubio with the 3rd pick. Can you imagine Rubio and Durant on the same team? The Beastie Boys would have to cut a new album just to redefine the meaning of “ill.” Think of the commercial possibilities! But I guess Westbrook is becoming the Mo Williams of the South-West. He’s the number two bullet in the gun, dammit! And you will respect and recognize him as such!

16. Indiana Pacers: It seems like the Pacers are spinning their wheels a bit. Bird says they’re waiting for a big star to come around and take this team solidly into contention. I don’t know when or why that would ever happen. This was a scrappy team last year, and it’ll continue to be so this year. Don’t expect them to make the playoffs though, even though they acquired Tyler Hansbrough, Dahntay Jones, and Earl Watson. Actually, I take that back. I’m shaking in my boots. They did get rid of Jamaal Tinsley, which they’ve been trying to do for years.

IMG_0116, originally uploaded by jrkff8.

17. Denver Nuggets: They could’ve done better, sure, but they kept some important pieces (namely Chris Andersen, but also Anthony Carter is nice too), so the off-season wasn’t exactly a bust, and Ty Lawson could be the steal of the draft. Still, losing Linas Kleiza hurts, and Dahntay Jones’ departure doesn’t help. Malik Allen and Arron Afflalo won’t make up for that production. Denver seems to be saying they were close enough last season, but can they really push the Lakers without having made any changes?

18. Minnesota Timberwolves: For all the headlines, the team didn’t make much of a splash this off season. Jonny Flynn will have his moments, and it’s kind of nice he doesn’t have to worry about Ricky Rubio, but the Wolves are still fairly thin across the board. Sessions looks to be slotted in next to Flynn in the starting lineup, which will be a nice experiment for the two young guards, but it’s not a lasting solution. The real question is did the off season allow Al Jefferson to get physically prepared for a return to action? Here’s hoping Kurt Rambis gets a few wins in what will probably be a difficult year.

19. Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans will be a stud. That much, I think, is clear. The Kings didn’t do much else this off season – they acquired Sean May and Sergio Rodriguez – and they desperately need to. We'll see if the Paul Westphal signing does anything.

paul westphal, originally uploaded by bballchico.

20. Milwaukee Bucks: Brandon Jennings could be a special player, but besides that Milwaukee just lost too many bodies this summer to look like anything serious this season. They picked up Roko Ukic. Okay. The re-signed Ersan Ilyasova. Um, what? Is Scott Skiles still the coach here? I give him 25 games.

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