Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 6 NBA titles, banned dunks, Islam, glasses, books and cancer

Kareem Abdul-Jabbarformerly Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor jr., born in Harlem (New York) on April 15th 1947: the mother was of Cherokee origins, the grandfather was from Trinidad and the father, nicknamed Big Al, was a railway police officer and also a jazz musician. 2 meters and 18 tall (for 102 kilos of weight), he played in the role of center. In the heart of his career, his agile and slender, but at the same time powerful, physique made the difference. Jabbar, who at the age of 14 was already over 2 meters tall, was in fact both a fast and extremely technical player: up to that point, no center had yet been seen capable of scoring so many points, of being a great rebounder (average of 15 approximately per game), blocking opponents and serving assists with the skill of a point guard. Plus she had class and elegance in his movements. He was such a definitive player that the NCAAwhen he played for UCLA, the famous Los Angeles university, he introduced a rule (later revoked because it was absurd and contrary to the basketball show) that prevented dunks. The provision was essentially designed against Jabbar, to stem him. But he made a virtue of necessity and developed alternative weapons: he refined his block and above all developed shots with hook shooting, the famous sky hook that would become his trademark. It was an unstoppable finish, because Kareem carried the ball so high that he could beat his opponents. Bob Cousy, in turn one of the legends of the NBA, admirably summarized the excessive power of Jabbar: he managed to combine the skills in which Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain excelled.