The LA great is highlighted for his interests away from the court.
The NBA’s second-leading scorer is a man of depth.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has always been a man who continued multitudes beyond the 94 feet of an NBA court. In a new interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bovada Sports, Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Nabaté Isles discussed how a musical foundation in Abdul-Jabbar’s young life helped him become the layered adult he is now.
“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is… the ultimate Renaissance man because he grew up in the Jazz world,” Isles said. His best friend was Larry Willis, the great pianist, god rest his soul. You had also, too, his father [Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Sr.] was a trombonist as well, not just a police officer in New York City, but a trombonist who played gigs.”
Abdul-Jabbar once owned a massive collection of 3,000 or so jazz records, which sadly were destroyed in a 1983 house fire.
Beyond his passion for jazz, he is of course a published author many times over. Yes, he has written the requisite memoir or five (his first such book, “Giant Steps,” was named after a John Coltrane record), but he’s also penned several historical nonfiction books and even four Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock’s smarter brother) adventures, including a graphic novel! He’s also regular contributor to Time, Jacobin and The Hollywood Reporter as a cultural commentator.
He’s also received three (!) government appointments across both political lines: once as a U.S. cultural ambassador by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012, once as a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, and most recently as a member of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee by then-Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin.
Abdul-Jabbar has had a massive cultural impact beyond just his contributions as one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, although his remarkable basketball achievements are also one in a million. That’s what happens when you’re one of the game’s GOATs.
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