Although he was diagnosed last December with Cancer, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar the NBA Hall of Famer and All-time leading scorer, has recently decided to go public with his diagnosis to try and spread awareness about the disease. He has a rare form of Leukemia called chronic myelogenous leukemia, or “CML” for short. It is a cancer of the white blood cells. Although it can be fatal it is often treatable if caught early. And here is hoping that in Kareem’s case it was early enough to cure him.
Abdul-Jabbar (previously Alcindor) was legendary for his ‘skyhook’, a move that is not seen often today but was one of the most effective scoring tools in the greatest scorers arsenal. He would use it to keep space between the ball and his defender as it was seemingly impossible to block. Aside from scoring Kareem is also among the all-time leaders in rebounds and blocks. He won 6 league MVPs and 6 NBA Championships. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has most recently been seen in the league as the personal coach to young Lakers big man Andrew Bynum, although this season Bynum opted to discontinue their one-on-one training.
Yahoo Sports had this from Kareem today on his cancer diagnosis:
Citing the way Los Angeles Lakers teammate Magic Johnson brought awareness to HIV, Abdul-Jabbar said he wants to do the same for his form of blood cancer, which can be fatal if left untreated.
“I’ve never been a person to share my private life. But I can help save lives,” he said at a midtown Manhattan conference room. “It’s incumbent on someone like me to talk about this.”
Abdul-Jabbar became concerned last year after feeling odd sensations. He went for tests at UCLA, where he dominated college basketball in the late 1960s, winning three straight NCAA championships from 1967-69.
“I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis,” he said. “That’s not normal, even for my age.”
An exam showed his white blood cell count was “sky high” and a doctor quickly diagnosed his condition. At first, all Abdul-Jabbar heard was the word “leukemia.”
“I was scared,” he said. “I thought it was all the same. I thought it could mean I have a month to live.”
“That was my first question,” he said. “Was I going to make it?”
A longtime student in martial arts, Abdul-Jabbar said he took the approach of a samurai, to face death without fear.
“I had my face on,” he said.
Instead, doctors told him CML was treatable with proper medication and monitoring.
The Hoop Doctors wish Kareem all the best with his treatment, and we are praying that you recover fully from this disease. We will leave you the reader with these highlights of the greatest scorer of all-time:
