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Archive 1

Caption

The caption in the article: "Look ma! I can fly!"

Um...is this really an appropriate caption for an enclyclopedia? Also the picture has a noticeably black square in the top right corner - maybe a better quality picture could be found?

  • Sir, you can change the caption, something like "Kareem dunking in Lakers uniform during team photo shot", might be better. Also, you can crop the photo, it has a lot of wasted space on the right side. As far as a better picture, you need one with permission, so you can post one without permission that may get removed, post one of your own, or try and obtain one "WITH" permission, which may be difficult. Thanks WikiDon 17:47, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

I'm afraid we have here a HUGE copyright infringement. See this web page : [1]. We may have to rewrite the article Mrbluesky 23:19, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Wow. That text was totally ripped. I'll see what I can do. Kaisershatner 16:46, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Here's the rest of it:

Chamberlain had retired two years earlier, a fact that helped explain the Lakers' 30-52 record and last-place finish in 1974-75. Abdul-Jabbar helped bring about a 10-game turnaround in his first season in Los Angeles. His contributions (27.7 ppg, 16.9 rpg) won him yet another NBA Most Valuable Player Award, his fourth in only seven years in the league.

The following season Jerry West was hired as the Lakers' coach, and he guided the team back into first place with a league-best 53-29 record. Abdul-Jabbar (26.2 ppg, 13.3 rpg, .579 field-goal percentage, 261 blocks) was named Most Valuable Player for the fifth time in eight years, tying Celtics legend Bill Russell's record.

In 1979, using a first-round draft pick obtained from the Utah Jazz, the Lakers selected a 6-9 point guard named Earvin "Magic" Johnson from Michigan State. Johnson's arrival marked the beginning of a decade that would bring Abdul-Jabbar five more championship rings. With a blitzkrieg fast break that came to be known as "Showtime," the Lakers won nine division titles in the final 10 years of Abdul-Jabbar's career.

In Johnson's first season the Lakers won 60 games, and they lost only 4 of 16 postseason contests en route to the 1980 NBA Championship. In a moment that would link the two superstars forever, Johnson jumped center for the injured Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. Abdul-Jabbar had severely sprained his ankle in Game 5 after scoring 40 points to help the Lakers take the series lead. The 33-year-old center couldn't play in Game 6, so the 20-year-old rookie took Jabbar's position and went on to tally 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists, leading the Lakers to a 123-107 victory and the championship. For the season, Abdul-Jabbar (24.8 ppg, 10.8 rpg) further cemented his place in history by winning a record sixth MVP Award.

Abdul-Jabbar continued to average at least 20 points for the next six seasons. He practiced yoga and martial arts to keep his arms and legs strong and limber, and he meditated before every game to reduce stress.

On April 5, 1984, in a game against the Utah Jazz played in Las Vegas, Abdul-Jabbar had perhaps his finest moment. Taking a pass from Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar whirled and launched his trademark sky-hook toward the hoop. The shot drew nothing but net, giving Abdul-Jabbar career point No. 31,420, which vaulted him past Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

The Lakers reached the NBA Finals eight times in the 10 seasons between 1979-80 and 1988-89. They won five titles, beating Boston and Philadelphia twice each and the Detroit Pistons once. The 1985 series against Boston was perhaps the most satisfying for Abdul-Jabbar. At age 38 the league's senior center was thought by many observers to be washed up. In Game 1 it looked as though they were right -- Abdul-Jabbar had only 12 points and 3 rebounds in his matchup with Robert Parish. The Celtics romped to a 148-114 win in what became known as "the Memorial Day Massacre."

In Game 2, Abdul-Jabbar recorded 30 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocked shots in a 109-102 Lakers win. Los Angeles went on to win the series in six games. In the Lakers' four victories Abdul-Jabbar averaged 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 blocks. In one memorable sequence Abdul-Jabbar grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and swished a sky-hook. He even dove for a loose ball. "What you saw," Riley told Sports Illustrated, "was passion." Abdul-Jabbar was named Finals MVP.

Abdul-Jabbar's retirement marked the end of an era for the NBA. He left the game as the games all-time scorer, which may never be surpassed, with 38,387 points (24.6 ppg), 17,440 rebounds (11.2 rpg), 3,189 blocks, and a .559 field-goal percentage from a career that spanned 20 years and 1,560 games. He scored in double figures in 787 straight games.

Ok...

His Lakers career is barely mentioned. Just passed over. That definitely needs to be worked on (his role in the "Showtime" Team - semi-rivalry with Robert Parish etc.) --Knucmo2 12:12, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

I thought it was a good/great summary of his life. I could of had more about the playing though. There wasn't enough detail of the playing. I taught me some new things.

on another note what about his appearance in Airplane, or his relationship with bruce lee.

NYC was his mother?

'He was born to New York City and Ferdinand Lewis "Al" Alcindor as an only child in Harlem, New York City'

I'm fairly sure that's not right. But without enough knowledge to fix it, can someone else? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 130.119.248.12 (talk) 12:16, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

GA Review

Overall, I think it's very complete. A good deal of work has gone into this. But I think there's still quite a few issues before attaining Good article status. I'd put it at a high B at present.

GA review (see here for criteria)
  1. It is reasonably well written.
    a (prose): b (MoS):
  2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.
    a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
  3. It is broad in its coverage.
    a (major aspects): b (focused):
  4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.
    a (fair representation): b (all significant views):
  5. It is stable.
  6. It contains images, where possible, to illustrate the topic.
    a (tagged and captioned): b (lack of images does not in itself exclude GA): c (non-free images have fair use rationales):
  7. Overall:
    a Pass/Fail:

The prose is still quite choppy throughout, and could use a good copyedit. The sections on 'post NBA career', 'acting career', 'player profile', and 'personal life' could probably use the most work. It probably isn't necessary to go into too much detail on the Bruce Lee and Airplane! roles (a play-by-play of the Roger Murdock scene is not exactly encyclopedic -- it looks more like an obsessed fan writing about his favorite Abdul-Jabbar scene in the movie). The 'in popular culture' section should be eliminated, with the important material from that section moved to the section on 'acting career'. Some of the television & movie appearances mentioned in that list are notable, but merely referencing that he was, "mentioned in a song," or, "mentioned on saturday night live," is not really important. The 'appearances in the media' section looks like somebody spilled something over from 'in popular culture' -- get rid of it.

The list of dates he appeared on the cover of sports illustrated doesn't really add anything to the article, and is really just a list. It might be better to move this to a separate page, linked to under 'see also'. Or, better yet, find a list of the covers of sports illustrated and link to that, with a reference to how many times Kareem was featured.

Since 'Professional basketball career and statistics', 'athletic honors' and 'books authored' are mainly just lists, you might want to move them closer to the end. Keep the prose nearer to the beginning.

The 'sky hook' subsection might be better done if it was shortened a little bit, and integrated into some of the preceding sections regarding his basketball career.

There are some sections early in his college career section where he is referred to as 'kareem abdul-jabbar', when in fact, he hadn't changed his name yet. He should be referred to in the article at this time as 'Lew Alcindor', changing to 'kareem abdul-jabbar' only after the point where he changed his name.

Overall, there's a lot of uncited material in the article (sometimes, entire sections). Too many specific instances to mention here. The references should also be formatted in accordance with WP:CITE (e.g. full author, title, publication, date of publication, and date of URL retrieval) should be included, instead of just a link to the website. The importance of this is such that, should the web page ever disappear, we still have information on who wrote it and where it was published, so that it's still a reliable source, even if inaccessible.

Again, I think a good amount of work has been done on this so far, and the article is looking good. It's just not quite to GA status yet. Editors might find the following pages helpful: WP:LEAD, WP:WIAGA. Cheers! Dr. Cash 21:36, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Early life

I've changed the information regarding his size at birth from "twenty-four and a half inches" to "twenty-two and a half inches" because that's what the linked article (Reference 3) states. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.56.125.48 (talk) 19:35, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Isnt he from Dyckman /Inwood? Not harlem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.23.245.3 (talk) 00:08, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Game of the century

This section seems to imply that there was a direct rivalry between Hayes and Abdul-Jabbar. They were not guarding each other at any point during that game, so there is no way that Hayes could have "limited" him to 15 points. This limitation is more likely due to the fact that he had missed two and a half games prior to that due to an eye injury and had not practiced for over a week. --Justintree (talk) 13:44, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

iPhone

Have you noticed that this article has been seen in an iPhone commercial? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mumble45 (talk • contribs) 17:06, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I just saw that iPhone commercial last night. The user does a Google search for Abdul-Jabbar and this article is the top result. The user then scrolls down past his picture in the infobox to a section headlined "Career Records". Anton Mravcek (talk) 19:51, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Inwood neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City

Inwood is a neighborhood in Queens, NY and not Manhattan, NY. Perhaps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was from Inwood in Queens,NY or Manhattan, NY. Cfjh (talk) 02:45, 16 February 2009 (UTC) CFJH

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  • That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
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Why he left the Bucks

I've recently read a reason for his leaving that differs from the one provided in this article.

Scavone, Daniel C (2002) [1992]. Dawson, Dawn P (ed.). Great Athletes. Vol. 1 (Revised ed.). Salem Press. pp. 7–10. ISBN 1-58765-008-8. When his five-year contract with the Bucks expired in 1975, Kareem asked to be traded. He had led Milwaukee to the playoffs four times, but he had problems with Costello's coaching philosophy.

I'm not sure if it is a big enough deal to add or change anything, but here it is in case anyone wants it.--Rockfang (talk) 21:35, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Converting to Islam/name change?

I'm reading this article and I'm a little confused. Did Kareem change to his current name during his UCLA years or during his Bucks years? I'm seeing two answers in the article and I'm kinda miffed (I don't know much about him so I'm reading to learn).

By the way, I fixed the Lew Alcindor redirect which was previously 1337.Penpen35 19:27, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Islam... hmm... I think that Mr. Abdul-Jibberjabbar is mighty confused on his history... I have read few accounts of slaves being brought over to the US that followed Islam. Of course he was in the NBA... who was it that said they were going to turn their team around 360 degrees? Jason Kidd I believe... as to be expected. I'm not fond of basketball at all. Now unless someone can prove me wrong, I'll take back what I said but until then, I think that's one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever had the utmost misfortune to lay my eyes upon. BurningAfterTheDawn 03:32, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

It is fashionable for some to claim that African slaves understood Arabic and practiced Islam, see, e.g., the story of Kunta Kinte in Roots, but if you read Roots carefully, you will realize that they were very primitive. For example, whenever Kunta or his tribe wanted to go anywhere, they walked, which is a tacit admission that they had not yet invented the wheel or domesticated any animals which they could use for travel. All we have to do is look at sub-Saharan Africa today, and we will see that it is not exactly teeming with education or culture. John Paul Parks (talk) 11:59, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Almost all of northern Africa is Muslim. If people brought to America from Africa were from northern Africa, they were probably Muslim. I would't expect the Christian slave-traders to have recorded the religions and dialects of those whome they kidnapped, but then again, as we can see from the retarded entrys by BurningAfterTheDawn and the other cracker John Paul Parks, Christians are not the brightest of folks, Martin Luther King, Jr. to the contrary, but he was no cracker. For a portrait of the white Christian intellect, take a look at the poster-boy George W. Bush. Teetotaler 8 August, 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.67.81.197 (talk) 17:36, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Mr AbdulJibberJabber? I know it's fashionable to whitewash your Western Christian racist past, it's clear for all to see and even with whitewashing and blatant propaganda can't be denied. But hey American enjoy your bankrupt economy.... HAHAHAHA, JibberJabber indeed. With racist views like yours no wonder in Sub-Saharan Africa Islam is spreading faster than almost anywhere else on Earth, which says a LOT.

LOL :) 174.18.4.14 (talk) 05:43, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Celebrity Jeopardy

Someone should mention his dominating performance on Celebrity Jeopardy. (The actual show, not the SNL parody.) I think he was up against Martina Narvatalova and Reggie Jackson. Kareem finished with something obscene like $150,000 (back before they doubled the values), I think the other contestants were still in the hundreds!

Actually, Kareem's most notable Celebrity Jeopardy experience was the moment in which he gave his own name as an incorrect answer. But in the game you're talking about, Kareem won with $22K pre-doubled values (Navratilova was second with $8,999.) While an impressive total, Kareem's $22K pales in comparison to, say, Andy Richter controlling the universe in his appearance earlier this year with a (post-doubling) total of $68K. Преображенский (talk) 08:16, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

The summary

I want to further discuss my changes to the article's summary. Chrishomingtang and I both want a summary that complies with WP:LEAD. The question is what qualifies with compliance.

The summary as it currently stands meets WP:LEAD's counsel to "define the topic, establish context, explain why the subject is interesting or notable, and summarize the most important points—including any notable controversies." It covers:

  • Names (both birth and Arabic) with pronounciation, birthdate
  • Jobs
  • Highlights of principal job

Since Abdul-Jabbar is primarily known as a basketball player, it makes sense that the bulk of the summary discusses his basketball career, both professional and amateur. Conversely, it does not make sense to mention in the summary:

  • Where he grew up
  • Parents' names and careers. Abdul-Jabbar's parents are notable solely for their son and don't merit greater discussion than what already exists in the first paragraph after the summary.
  • His conversion to Islam. Religious conversion is not inherently unusual or notable and I do not know of any particular controversy regarding Abdul-Jabbar's change of religion or name. (Again, note that both his names are mentioned in the summary, as they should be.) If such controversy exists and is meaningful, first discuss it in the body of the article, not the summary.

The summary could use Abdul-Jabbar's birthplace (as opposed to where he grew up); hopefully someone steps up. YLee (talk) 20:50, 17 March 2010 (UTC)


Murders at his D.C. House =

I think it would be appropriate to mention the murders which occured at the house he owned in D.C. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1087055/index.htm "seven persons, including five children ranging in age from nine days to 11 years, were murdered in a Washington, D.C. house that Abdul-Jabbar had purchased for them. Because the three-story, $78,000 building is also the U.S. center for Hanafi Moslems, an orthodox Islamic group of which Abdul-Jabbar is a member, and because of information given by residents of the house who survived the slaughter, both Abdul-Jabbar and the Washington police believe Black Muslims were responsible for the murders." See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mafia

Hypercallipygian (talk) 18:26, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Picture crop?

Can someone please crop that photograph of him at a book signing? There is a lot of dead space on either side of him and would look much better without it. Jrcla2 (talk) 23:21, 29 May 2010 (UTC)

Name change

I would like to know more about why Abdul-Jabbar changed his name and why he chose the name he did. I think this article should probably have a small section devoted to it. Tpbaxter (talk) 20:58, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Info/stats Box

Can the Lakers colors of purple and gold be added to his info/stat box? I have noticed that other top stars often have the color of their primary team included, seems a shame the all time leading scorer doesn't receive the same honor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.90.142.198 (talk) 10:55, 30 November 2010 (UTC)

Kareem the best

I explain why KAREEM is the best he has been voted by ESPN best center of all time in Wilt's wikipedia --rourébrébé80.11.4.62 (talk) 16:19, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

It's too cluttered to discuss this in the lead for now, especially while #Greatest player claims in the lead also wants to claim he is the greatest player (any position) in the lead.—Bagumba (talk) 16:40, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

Greatest player claims in the lead

There seems to be debate over edits like this one with claims that Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest player of all-time. Please discuss here to determine consensus of how this should be presented (if at all) in the lead.—Bagumba (talk) 21:45, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

We seem to have a fan who is using WikiP to justify their fandom. Most of the items are cherry picked quotes from various interviews. You can find each of those quoted as stating that other players are also the best of all time. Per WP:NPOV and WP:UNDUE. While a brief mention of his being among the best it fine the current page entry is OTT hyperbole. I would trust Zagalejo and Bagumba to pare the item down to meet wiki-standards. The editor from Evansville has used at least two IPs and one username to put this in. It would be nice if they chose one and stuck with it. It would also be nice if they stopped mislabeling edits as vandalism. MarnetteD | Talk 22:16, 6 June 2013 (UTC)
Let's all assume good faith. I agree that vandalism is not an appropriate description merely because there is a difference of opinion on content. I'm sure many of are fans here, but consensus needs to be respected.—Bagumba (talk) 22:33, 6 June 2013 (UTC)
I'm mostly concerned that we're giving undue weight to a Bleacher Report article and a message board post. Those sources shouldn't be used to support such grand claims, and really shouldn't be used at all. Anyone on the internet can crunch some numbers and make a case that x basketball player is the greatest of all time. We need to give more priority to the opinions of established basketball figures.
I can live with quoting people like Isiah Thomas and Pat Riley (although the Riley quote comes from 1985 [2], so he might not even believe that anymore). Zagalejo^^^ 23:38, 6 June 2013 (UTC)
The debate seems to be how best to present his legacy in the lead. The quotes from Thomas and Riley are verifiable, so should belong in the body at a minimum.—Bagumba (talk) 00:14, 7 June 2013 (UTC)
My concern is that wikipedia is taking sides in what is clearly an unsettled debate. The reference to Thomas and Riley's comments, as well as the reasoned arguments of journalists, demonstrate that the debate is open. Further, the debate is about the summation of a career, not a minor statistic or characteristic, so it belongs in the intro. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.195.230.12 (talk) 17:04, 7 June 2013 (UTC)
It is a valid concern for the overall article. For the lead, MOS:INTRO recommends that "Editors should avoid lengthy paragraphs and over-specific descriptions, since greater detail is saved for the body of the article." Perhaps we can generally state he is among the greatest players ever in the NBA, and leave specific arguments for him being the greatest to the body. We do need to provide due weight regarding the majority's opinion on the greatest player ever.—Bagumba (talk) 19:31, 7 June 2013 (UTC)
Can we at least get rid of the Hoops Nation link ([3])? It's an anonymous message board post. Zagalejo^^^ 00:58, 8 June 2013 (UTC)
Writing "he is among the greatest" is an understatement. The same could be said of Larry Bird or Dr. J, for example, but no one serious makes an argument for either of their being the greatest of all time. Kareem is in a different category. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.180.167.5 (talk) 13:22, 8 June 2013 (UTC)
Can you propose your preferred wording that addresses everyone's concerns?—Bagumba (talk) 16:16, 8 June 2013 (UTC)
I was bold and removed the Hoops-Nation link, since no one has responded to my previous comment. Zagalejo^^^ 00:03, 15 June 2013 (UTC)

Was Lew Alcindor The tower of Power when he was a basketball player at Power Memorial Academy?

I recently added information to Lew Alcindor's (I won't call him by his second name) article stating that he was the tower of Power when he was in high school. The edit was immediately reverted because it wasn't verified. This happens quite frequently on Wikipedia, and this is unfortunate because a lot of good information goes missing in articles. Please read the following clip that I cut from an article:

They Still Remember Power's Tower By Ray Didinger, Daily News Sports Writer Posted: May 25, 1989

It was the best high school basketball team in America, maybe the best ever.

It won 95 of 101 games during a four-year period. It won 71 games in succession. All while playing the toughest competition around.

The name on the jersey said it all: Power. As in, Power Memorial High School, New York City, 1961 to '65.

On the best of those teams, the undefeated '63-64 group, Art Kenney and Jack Bettridge were the forwards. Bob Grundstrom, Jack Bonner and Paul Houghton shared time in the backcourt.

The tower of Power was junior center Lew Alcindor, 6-10 going on 7-2, a shy, self-conscious teenager who later grew into the pro basketball legend known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Great team, great memories.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This positively verifies that Alcindor was called the tower of Power. It's frustrating for me to make excellent contributions that are reverted. I'm not very good at verifying information, but I would never post false information to Wikipedia.

Anthony22 (talk) 03:43, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Please make the spelling of "skyhook" consistent. The article sometimes spells it with a hyphen and sometimes with a space, but the Random Webster dictionary lists only "skyhook" as correct.

Will-o-the-west (talk) 19:29, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Done Thanks, Celestra (talk) 05:03, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 24 November 2013‎

I would like to request of an Admin that the introduction to this page include the fact that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named the greatest Center of all time by ESPN in 2007 (see footnote no. 32), perhaps just after the note that he was named the greatest college basketball player by ESPN in 2008. Please also edit the comment about Pat Riley's and Isiah Thomas's comments about that they "stated" these comments, not that they "regard him" as the greatest (there is no evidence they continue to believe this). Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.179.151.41 (talk) 14:37, 24 November 2013‎

Done. Thanks. --Stfg (talk) 18:30, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Edit request for locked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article

I would like to request an edit to the lead for this article. Last fall, Julius Erving argued on Bill Simmon's show that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest basketball player of all time. Julius Erving is a widely known and respected figure in basketball and should be added to the names "Pat Riley" and "Isiah Thomas," who are already cited in this article as having publicly argued that Kareem is the greatest. Please cite this clip, where Erving makes the argument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ3nJ7ZfiF8 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.179.151.41 (talk) 14:11, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

 Done – Wbm1058 (talk) 03:23, 11 April 2014 (UTC)


Infobox image

FYI

There is a related discussion at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_National_Basketball_Association#Infobox_image_for_retired_players that you are invited to join.—Bagumba (talk) 08:02, 25 May 2014 (UTC)


Edit request for locked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article

I would like to request of an Admin. to add the fact that Kareem's teams (Bucks and Lakers, during time he played for them) earned 10 berths to the NBA Finals. Please add this to the list in the lead (end of para. 2) that states that his teams earned 18 berths to the playoffs, etc. Thanks.

Done. By the way, the page is page protected, not locked. - Hoops gza (talk) 00:22, 14 August 2014 (UTC)

Edit request for locked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article

I would like to request of an Admin. to add in the "As author" section that Abdul-Jabbar has been a regular contributor to Time (magazine) and that he appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday, January 25, 2015 to talk about a recent column, which pointed out that Islam should not be blamed for the actions of violent extremists, and that Christianity has not been blamed for the actions of violent extremists who profess Christianity. Please cite this column: [1] Please cite this clip from Meet the Press: [2]

References

  1. ^ "These Terrorist Attacks Are Not About Religion". Time. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  2. ^ "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Meet the Press". nbc.com. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
Done. Thanks. --Mknoester (talk) 18:30, 04 February 2015 (UTC)

Edit request for mispelling

In the "As author" section the second paragraph has a typo in the last name as "Adbdul-Jabbar" rather than "Abdul-Jabbar"; could someone please fix this?— Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.220.160.1 (talk • contribs)

YesY Thanks.—Bagumba (talk) 20:37, 10 February 2015 (UTC)

Edit request to correct playoff statistics for locked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article

Please correct the years given for Kareem's playoff statistics. The years shown have been shifted by one year forward into the future. This is shown as his first appearance in the playoffs in 1970-1971 and culminating in 1989-1990. It should show as 1969-1970 through 1988-1989. This is consistent with his regular season statistics and the fact that he retired in 1989 and did not play in the 1989-1990 playoffs. Please refer to his basketball-reference page for further details. [1]

Done. — Myasuda (talk) 13:31, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/abdulka01.html

Height Identity

In light of his article in Time (http://time.com/3921404/rachel-dolezal-naacp-race-kareem-abdul-jabbar/?xid=fbshare) should his height be changed to 5' 8"? Mlorfeld (talk) 20:26, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

Just saw this as well and changed although someone else needs to change "listed height" to just "height"--A21sauce (talk) 20:06, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
Perhaps the two of you should read up on the term "irony" - KAJ was not stating that as his actual height. MarnetteD|Talk 20:10, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
How do you know? Reverting.--A21sauce (talk) 20:27, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
Stop making a fool of yourself. Or are you saying that every picture taken of him since he was in junior high are a fake? MarnetteD|Talk 20:44, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
You stop. Are you saying you can tell how tall someone is from a photo if it's not a police line up? You need to WP:PROVEIT, and you are engaged in an edit war.--A21sauce (talk) 21:04, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
You are clearly being silly (the most charitable word possible) in this. Yes one can tell a his height from a photo and TV recordings of his games. This as well as every single program from every game that he played in will verify things. MarnetteD|Talk 21:08, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
Don't know why some editors waste the time of folks who actually have some meaningful contributions to make to Wikipedia with such senseless edits. While no in-line citation is by his height in the infobox, at least five of the references clearly indicate his height. Didn't know that there were folks who don't understand written sarcasm. Onel5969 (talk) 21:14, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
Those inline sources are older. This is the most recent, thus it trumps the others, duh.--A21sauce (talk) 22:40, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

So now you are saying that he has managed to shrink? Please stop playing the buffoon. MarnetteD|Talk 22:42, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Why are you on Wikipedia if you can only attack someone that disagrees with you? Someone else brought it up to. Too bad you can't sufficiently convince people.--A21sauce (talk) 22:49, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
So now you are refactoring your posts. Nice. Please take this to DR or report it to any admin. The laughter will be heard everywhere. BTW a true policy based fact is that the source you are using is a WP:PRIMARY one and is not sufficient to make a change to the article. Another fact is that you are just trolling so no further replies are necessary. MarnetteD|Talk 22:57, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
I can't understand how anyone could read Abdul-Jabbar's piece in TIME magazine (linked above) and come away with the belief that he is actually 5'8" and has been propagating a great hoax all of these years. Anyone suggesting this is some sort of confession on Abdul-Jabbar's behalf clearly missed the point of the piece altogether. It belies all common sense.--Jezebel's Ponyobons mots 23:05, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
Wow. The level of incomprehension is staggering. Seriously? You think someone needs to convince people that a 7'2" person, whose height is well-documented (which you conveniently ignore) has to convince other people? Just because you seem incapable of understanding written sarcasm? (Obviously not including Ponyo) Wow. Simply wow. As Shakespeare said, "I am amazed, and know not what to say.". Onel5969 (talk) 23:15, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Pursuant to the discretionary sanctions covering biographies of living persons, A21sauce is banned from editing regarding Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for one year. Newyorkbrad (talk) 23:52, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Newyorkbrad, you've gone overboard here; I'm not the one that reverted twice while insulting people and not the only one who brought up the issue. Reporting you to administrator's board for abuse of administrator's privileges.--A21sauce (talk) 14:25, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
A21sauce, if you don't want to be treated like a dick, stop acting like one. Mr Potto (talk) 14:56, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
If you read your talk page, A21sauce, you'll see that Newyorkbrad took back his topic ban suggestion which you can see that because it was posted after his comment here.
I wish you would give up the aggression and see how ridiculous it was to take that Time essay seriously, as if a former professional basketball player who is 7'2" could actually secretly be 5'8". I think someone might have noticed if he had shrunk a foot and a half. I think that is only possible if he had been struck by a shrink ray or lost part of his legs, both of which would have made the news. Liz Read! Talk! 15:06, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

Bibliography

I have commenced a tidy-up of the Bibliography section using cite templates. Capitalization and punctuation follow standard cataloguing rules in AACR2 and RDA, as much as Wikipedia templates allow it. Feel free to continue. Sunwin1960 (talk) 02:42, 15 May 2016 (UTC)

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"Real Terms"

This phrase appears 3 times in the first paragraph of his Milwaukee Bucks career section, but it has no meaning attached to it. Does it mean "modern equivalent"? Or were there incentives (bonues etc) that upped the actual values to the higher number given? It needs a definition (plus a source) to be relevant, otherwise it's just extra words that are unnecessary and don't explain anything anyway. I'm going to remove them for now, until someone can give a definition and provide a source.Vyselink (talk) 16:54, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

Just as a quick comparison, I took a look at a couple of his contemporaries (Oscar Robertson and Pete Maravich) and neither of those pages uses the phrase "real terms". Vyselink (talk) 16:56, 14 July 2016 (UTC)
As I was editing, I saw the hyperlink to what "real terms" meant, so that ends that objection, but I still removed the phrase as being pointless. Unless we are going to do that for every player who played in the past, it is meaningless, and I believe should still be sourced, not just using an inflation metric. Vyselink (talk) 17:00, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

Martial arts

Yeah so I read in a book that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar used to get private martial arts lessons from Bruce Lee. Apart from this, I don't know much else about their relationship. Other than the fact KAJ was in a fight scene with BL in his movie.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.140.218.115 (talk) 18:25, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Bruce Lee was going to give him instructor rank to teach Martial Arts upon his return from overseas in the summer of 1973. To bad Lee died and it was never formally issued. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:D:A500:2A1:BC4D:EFD4:BC9F:6714 (talk) 04:52, 26 February 2015 (UTC)

According to Bruce lee he considered Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a black belt. A man capable to defend himself from strikes and blows in his movies That is why he let Kareem be in his movie. He would never let a non black belt fight with him because of possible fatal injury's to an untrained person. Kareem was never recognized as a black belt only because of Bruce Lee's sudden death. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.18.55.90 (talk) 01:38, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Re: Abdul-Jabbar on Airplane!

Currently - as I have to admit - there is an edit war going on between me and user MarnetteD regarding a certain scene on the comedy movie Airplane!. It regards Abdul-Jabbars attire when he (as co-pilot Roger Murdock) collapses at the plane's controls, wearing his trademark goggles and basketball shorts.

In her corrections from October 17, 2016, MarnetteD claims both times that "no you see them when he is being carried up the aisle - you see his tennis shoes as well" and "the previous sentence is about what happens onscreen"; meaning in the latter case that he is wearing his basketball attire as he is "carried" (rather, dragged) down the passenger aisle. I happen to possess the movie as DVD, and for as many times as I keep checking, as this particular moment transpires, he is NOT wearing anything else but pilot attire. The former correction statement - with particular note on "when he is being carried up the aisle" - is conjectural, since at that particular moment his feet (and therefore his footwear) - cannot be seen.

Unless there is an alternative version of the film with a scene diverging from the above description, I refuse to let that statement stand. If there is anyone who can point out whether such an alternative scene exists, I will be glad to take that into account. Otherwise, I will gladly provide a screenshot (.jpeg) if this is required to prove my point and correct a potentially false statement. DanielC46 (talk) 20:52, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

Non-athletic honors

In 2016 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received an honorary degree from Drew University after giving a commencement speech. [1] — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dudk3 (talk • contribs) 05:11, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ http://www.drew.edu/news/2016/05/15/a-letter-to-future-generations-kareem-abdul-jabbars-drew-commencement-speech

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Semi-protected edit request on 5 May 2017

Add a book to the Bibliography section: Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld (August 2016) ISBN 978-1618931719Senorlevine (talk) 04:09, 5 May 2017 (UTC) Senorlevine (talk) 04:09, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Done Gulumeemee (talk) 08:15, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

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Lame excuse

The sentence 'Alcindor gave the lame excuse that he was "too busy."' should be removed. The use of slang is not appropriate for Wikipedia and the sentence is biased and un-cited.

 Done arrow Reverted to status quo ante. Spintendo      05:20, 16 March 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 April 2018

ADD TO Bibliography/Books

Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court (2017) Sabry lk (talk) 10:03, 14 April 2018 (UTC)

 Done L293D (☎ • ✎) 15:27, 14 April 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. Community Tech bot (talk) 23:43, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 September 2018

"Also, Abdul-Jabbar's season marked the last time anyone had 4,000 or more PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists) in a single NBA season." Quote taken from "Professional Career: Los Angeles Lakers 1975-1989" section. In the 2016-2017 season, Russell Westbrook accumulated 2,558 points, 864 rebounds, and 840 assists, totaling 4,262 "PRA", all according to Basketball-Reference.com: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westbru01.html

I recommend amending the above line to read "...in a single NBA season until Russell Westbrook accumulated 4,262 PRA in the 2016-2017 season." If it is unclear whether or not other players have broken this record (I have not performed an exhaustive search), then I recommend both the original quote and my suggested amendment be removed. Msennello (talk) 23:09, 16 September 2018 (UTC)

@Msennello: Thanks for flagging this. It sounds like an obscure stat combo (possibly WP:OR). I went ahead and removed it.—Bagumba (talk) 08:15, 17 September 2018 (UTC)

In youth, known as "Lew Alcindor": how best to add this info?

Per this interview (and I'm sure other sources), he was known as "Lew" in his youth:

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/3/why-i-converted-to-islam.html

What's the best way to include this information? -- Dan Griscom (talk) 21:32, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 October 2018

Change "Mycroft & Holmes" to "Mycroft and Sherlock" in the Bibliography/Books section. see link - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078ZZY1B1/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title SherlocksMom (talk) 13:27, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

 Done ♪♫Alucard 16♫♪ 14:19, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

Relationship with Bruce Lee

Why so little about that? I thought that was a big highlight of his life, but this article barely covers it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lengis (talk • contribs) 22:40, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Yoruba?

That should not be put down without a citation. I have never heard of this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.112.134.90 (talk) 05:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Strange rug

It mentions that upon retirement he received an Afghan rug which is described as a strange gift. Now I'm not sure what kind of rug this was, but if it was a prayer rug, I don't see what's so strange about it considering the man is a Muslim. Can anyone clarify why the rug is described as strange? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.3.23.215 (talk) 08:02, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2019

Please change http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/abd0int-1 to https://www.achievement.org/achiever/kareem-abdul-jabbar/#interview PippaDiggs (talk) 18:14, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit semi-protected}} template. - FlightTime (open channel) 20:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2019

Please change [1]

to [2] PippaDiggs (talk) 20:38, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Interview -- Academy of Achievement". Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Interview by the Academy of Achievement".
 Not done for now: why? The first citation provides more context. DannyS712 (talk) 02:57, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Soda straw?

In the section on the skyhook, it says that Kareem would "bend his whole body like a soda straw, not just his arm". This makes no sense at all; the only reason I don't change it is I figure someone will just revert me. If you watch a few skyhooks, for instance at

(link censored, said to be on Wikipedia blacklist, I have no idea why, but just Google "Kareem skyhook video")

you'll see that his body is straight. His arm is pretty straight when he releases the ball too. What makes it a "skyhook" is that he gets up higher with it than just about anyone else; it's effective, i.e. almost unblockable, for that reason, and because his mobility, coordination, timing and footwork allow him to get the shot off by faking out the defender, getting him off balance or out of rhythm; by finding an angle where he either moves away from the defender, or gets his body in between the defender and his shooting hand. What makes this work is coordination, quickness, jumping ability, height of course, and skillful footwork. He doesn't "bend his body like a soda straw", and if he did, what good would that do?Wood Monkey 21:32, 8 August 2019 (UTC)

Feel free to rewrite with sources. It's likely WP:OR.—Bagumba (talk) 11:54, 17 August 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 September 2019

Kareem Abdul Jabbar won an NBA championship in the year 1971. After he won he accepted Islam .After he retired he became an assistent coach for the clippers. 204.153.195.94 (talk) 16:14, 17 September 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ___CAPTAIN MEDUSAtalk (We are the champions, my friends) 18:20, 17 September 2019 (UTC)

UCLA

I believe he made his varsity debut in Fall of 1966. Article says 1967. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.189.83.207 (talk) 02:59, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

Fixed. Thanks.—Bagumba (talk) 07:13, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

Coach Wooden

It seems misleading to say he had a strained relationship with coach Wooden. It compounds the problem by mentioning the incident when he was called a "nigger" without context. Reading the source shows that he liked his coach and, it seems, they had a good relationship.

If you read his book it is clear he has the utmost respect for Coach Wooden now. Wilt10013 (talk) 09:51, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

@Wilt10013: I think you misread it. It was talking about his relationship with his high school coach, not Wooden.—Bagumba (talk) 10:19, 13 August 2020 (UTC)
I tried to edit this to clarify it, but it was reverted. I would like to redo it to address the verbosity. I don't think a wholesale reversion was justified given the confusion the previous language was causing, as evidenced by the above comment, and also my own experience when I read the article.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Trbdavies (talk • contribs) 08:38, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
@Trbdavies: Regrding you most recent change, it seems redundant to not use a pronoun when it's in the high school section, it's talking about his high school career, and the only coach referenced up until that point was Donahue—his high school coach. It's unnecessarily repetive to keep repeating his proper name. As for the "n-word", I'm ambivalent, but WP:UNCENSORED is a site policy.—Bagumba (talk) 08:53, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
@Bagumba: I would agree with you as a general matter. However, in this case, there is confusion introduced by the reference to Coach Wooden in the next sentence. When I read it, I mistakenly thought Coach Wooden had used the n-word. The anonymous comment at the top of this thread also indicates someone else experienced this confusion. Therefore, I think a little redundancy in the form of repeating Donahue's name is justified, to distinguish him from Coach Wooden. This is a serious matter, and readers will come away from the article with a false impression that Wooden uttered the racial epithet if it is not explicitly clarified.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Trbdavies (talk • contribs) 09:10, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
@Trbdavies: Perhaps a better solution is to remove the book's name. Per the guideine WP:INTEXT: It is preferable not to clutter articles with information best left to the references. I don't think the timeline of when he said it or where he said it is particularly significant here.—Bagumba (talk) 10:12, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
@Bagumba: Okay, I have removed the name of the book, but kept the reference to Donohue's name in the previous sentence, for clarity.Trbdavies (talk) 23:57, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 April 2021

NBA Legend George Gervin has also called Kareem Abdul Jabbar the greatest of all time when he was on the B.S Report with Bill Simmons. — Preceding unsigned comment added by KS29 (talk • contribs)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Run n Fly (talk) 20:43, 30 April 2021 (UTC)

"then called Lew"?

Is anyone reading the opening line here? "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.; April 16, 1947), then called 'Lew,' is an American former professional basketball player"? What the hell does "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then called 'Lew'" mean? 69.113.166.178 (talk) 04:39, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

Removed. It didn't make sense when "then" was in the lead sentece as it was worded.—Bagumba (talk) 18:07, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

Articles

I've moved the below from the article. Listing every article (as opposed to books) of a writer is excessive. On the otherhand, content here might be useful to expanding the article.—Bagumba (talk) 09:43, 21 July 2021 (UTC)

Comment deleted here and moved to a new section. Ileanadu 69.138.31.49 (talk) 12:03, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 February 2022

NOT A FOOTBALL PLAYER IN HEADING- should read BASKETBALL PLAYER 184.56.23.44 (talk) 23:09, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

 Not done: That's referring to another person with a similar name. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:54, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

On the Shoulders of Giants

Hello @Bagumba: I don't object to using the same list format as the others however I do think the additional information

<ref name="Jabbar-Obstfeld-2007" /> with [[Raymond Obstfeld]]
::— cited in [[Harlem Renaissance]]

would be useful to readers. Especially the <ref name="Jabbar-Obstfeld-2007" /> gives a lot more information and libraries and sellers. Is it necessary to remove it? Invasive Spices (talk) 25 March 2022 (UTC)

@Invasive Spices: The relevant guideline MOS:WORKS only seems to mention listing the ISBN, whose link provides more information on accessing a given book. Feel free to suggest enhancements at the MOS itself. At any rate, it doesnt seem like it should be in a footnote, even if additional information was warranted—it should probably be inline. As for "cited in", many articles could potentially cite a work; I dont see the need to call it out in the Works section. It can be in the prose, if there is notable information for his bio. The related documentary is mentioned at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar#Documentaries with a link to the team, New York Renaissance. Regards.—Bagumba (talk) 00:58, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

EPSN

please change ((EPSN)) to ((ESPN)) 2601:541:4580:8500:FDB2:3B20:C2D:9C50 (talk) 21:46, 28 March 2022 (UTC)

 Done - FlightTime (open channel) 21:52, 28 March 2022 (UTC)

Introduction

This section contained information duplicated in the early life section, so it was removed for redundancy. --Jbossbarr (talk) 22:40 5 April 2008 (UTC)

The article should start that he is a social commentator, author and former professional basketball player . . . I tried to edit it but was unable to do so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sterngard (talk • contribs) 03:13, 5 April 2022 (UTC)

Family and Siblings?

Does he have a siblings? If so, what are their names? 2603:90D8:700:2E06:19AB:E9AF:D15C:D1B0 (talk) 03:47, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

The "Early life" section says he's an only child.—Bagumba (talk) 09:07, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Lewis Alcindor is his real birth name.

I find no record of an official name change in California records. If someone has proof of his alias Kareem Abdul Jabbar being his full real legal name, please show it. Just because he started calling himself his alias in 1971 does not mean that is his legal name.I have checked the records from 1971 to 1975 and have found no documation of a name change. 2600:1015:A001:E9DE:64A2:C922:678:5F11 (talk) 15:08, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

We reflect that sources call it his legal name. We would need to cite many secondary sources to contradict it, not original research.—Bagumba (talk) 09:32, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Name change

Every instance of "Lewis Alcindor" needs to be changed to "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," unless the sentence is pertaining to his name change. It was changed in 1968 - it's disrespectful to continue using the old one. 96.231.205.171 (talk) 17:27, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Something similar is done for deadnaming. Consider discussing at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Biography for applicability to MOS:CHANGEDNAME. —Bagumba (talk) 11:34, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 January 2023

Under Player Profile, first paragraph, second to last sentence, there is an error.

“It contributed to his high <ERROR> .559 </END ERROR> field goal accuracy, making him the <ERROR> eighth-most </END ERROR> accurate scorer of all time,[152]”

The source, [152], confirms that he shot .5595, which, if rounding, rounds to .560, and he is not the “eighth-most accurate scorer of all time,” but is the 21st most accurate scorer of all time.

This can be confirmed with the already cited source, found here: https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/fg_pct_career.html by looking under NBA, then clicking “Show hidden rows 21 to 250,” to expand the rows. Bdav00 (talk) 09:55, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Please change “It contributed to his high .559 field goal accuracy, making him the eighth-most accurate scorer of all time,[152]” to “It contributed to his high .5595 field goal accuracy, making him the twenty-first most accurate scorer of all time,[152]” Bdav00 (talk) 09:58, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Splitting hairs, .5595 could've been rounded up (from says .55949), but just adding a digit is simpler to rectify. Done. --Mvqr (talk) 10:36, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

That was really just the secondary edit, with the priority being his place amongst shooters. Thanks for the edit. Bdav00 (talk) 11:46, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Isiah thomas

He corrected his postion, he has recently stated lebron to be the GOAT. This should be corrected in the opening page header 2600:1700:6062:2480:753:C35A:AF25:3F97 (talk) 01:02, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

Ambiguous wording

Please reword the info regarding Lebron James' new record: "With 38,387 points, Abdul-Jabbar remained the NBA all-time leading scorer until February 7, 2023, when he was surpassed by LeBron James in Los Angeles, and he won a record six MVP awards." ... with the insertion of the Lebron info, the second part of the sentence is now unclear with regard to *who* won the MVP awards.

Suggest: "Abdul-Jabbar won a record six MVP awards, and with a career-record of 38,387 points, he remained the NBA all-time leading scorer until February 7, 2023, when he was surpassed by LeBron James." ... not sure "Los Angeles" detail matters in the context of this page. 70.162.40.89 (talk) 01:40, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Reworded as suggested, but with some modifications.[4] —Bagumba (talk) 17:27, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Writings

I believe the list of Kareem Abdul Jabbar's writings is vastly incomplete. To me, the most obvious missing attributed work is "Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement" which he wrote with Alan Steinberg. One of the editions of that book contains a foreward by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. KatieLouWho (talk) 02:45, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

It is already at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar#Works.—Bagumba (talk) 18:05, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Father from Haiti or Trinidad?

I was told that his father was Haitian descent. 

108.14.127.36 (talk) 19:07, 9 March 2023 (UTC)

Airplane! appearance

If people want to experience the entire scene, they should look it up on YouTube or stream the movie rather than reading a word-for-word narration here. It would be enough to say:

In 1980, Abdul-Jabbar played co-pilot Roger Murdock in Airplane!, which spoofed Elroy Hirsch's appearance in the source material film Zero Hour! by having Abdul-Jabbar recognized as himself rather than his character."

67.180.143.89 (talk) 18:57, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. AnnaMankad (talk) 16:07, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

The IP would like their suggested edit to be applied to the following paragraph:

In 1980, Abdul-Jabbar played co-pilot Roger Murdock in Airplane![26] He has a scene in which a little boy looks at him and remarks that he is in fact Abdul-Jabbar,[203] spoofing the appearance of football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch as an airplane pilot in the 1957 drama that served as the inspiration for Airplane!, Zero Hour![204] Staying in character, Abdul-Jabbar states that he is merely Roger Murdock, an airline co-pilot; the boy continues to insist that Abdul-Jabbar is "the greatest", but that according to his father he does not "work hard on defense" and that he does not "really try, except during the playoffs".[203] This causes Abdul-Jabbar's character to snap: "The hell I don't!" He then grabs the boy and snarls that he has "been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA" and been "busting my buns every night!" He instructs the boy: "Tell your old man to drag [Bill] Walton and [Bob] Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes."[203][205] When Murdock loses consciousness later in the film, he collapses at the controls wearing Abdul-Jabbar's goggles and yellow Lakers' shorts.[203] In 2014, Abdul-Jabbar and Airplane! co-star Robert Hays (character Ted Striker) reprised their Airplane! roles in a parody commercial promoting Wisconsin tourism.[206]

I agree with the IP but think the last sentence from the above should be included with the suggestion (I assume you overlooked it, as did I):

In 1980, Abdul-Jabbar played co-pilot Roger Murdock in Airplane!, which spoofed Elroy Hirsch's appearance in the source material film Zero Hour! by having Abdul-Jabbar recognized as himself rather than his character. In 2014, Abdul-Jabbar and co-star Robert Hays (character Ted Striker) reprised their Airplane! roles in a parody commercial promoting Wisconsin tourism.[206]

Does anybody else have any input? – 2.O.Boxing 21:41, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

The IP is right, the paragraph is too detailed. The 2014 line is worth keeping. I think your proposal is good. – Muboshgu (talk) 22:00, 17 May 2023 (UTC)
I believe his role was credited with lightening his image, being able to laugh at himself, when he was previously perceived as a curmudgeon. I dont have any suggestions at this point, but otherwise generally agree with condensing. —Bagumba (talk) 01:18, 18 May 2023 (UTC)
If you can find a source talking about the impact of the movie on his image, that'd be great. We could also keep the Crazylegs bit, but the main point is that this bio shouldn't recap the movie. (Which everybody should go and watch repeatedly.) – Muboshgu (talk) 01:24, 18 May 2023 (UTC)

Substack

Kareem now has a blog on Substack that he describes as "My take on news, pop culture, sports, and whatever else interests me." It's a good read and covers quite a range of topics. 73.17.194.216 (talk) 15:37, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 April 2024

Change, "Abdul-Jabbar was born in Harlem, New York City," to "Abdul-Jabbar was born in Inwood, New York City." Here is the source" https://myinwood.net/notable-inwood-residents/ 2603:7000:6300:4F40:45F9:D21:B640:D3D2 (talk) 15:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: That source only says that he grew up in Inwood, not that he was born there.—Bagumba (talk) 15:42, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
According to him in NY Mag, he was in Harlem for his first three years, then they moved to Inwood. I don't see where he was born per se. – Muboshgu (talk) 15:47, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
I've sourced the Harlem birthplace. —Bagumba (talk) 19:11, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
And of course that's already cited in the article. – Muboshgu (talk) 15:48, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
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