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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The Los Angeles Lakers

Jabbar, who won a third MVP award in 1974, asked to be traded after the 1974-75 season. The Bucks honored his request and traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in return for four players in 1975. After six seasons with the Bucks, he was entering the peak of his career as he made the move to Los Angeles. He recorded his highest statistics ever during the 1975-76 season and won a fourth MVP award with the Lakers in 1976. He made history as the first Lakers player ever to be honored as MVP, and in 1976-77 he walked away with a fifth MVP award.

Career Statistics

Yr Team GP PTS FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF
LAL: Los Angeles Lakers; MIL: Milwaukee Brewers.
1969-70 MIL 82 2361 — 51.8 65.3 14.5 4.1 — — — 283
1970-71 MIL 82 2596 — 57.7 69.0 16.0 3.3 — — — 264
1971-72 MIL 81 2822 — 57.4 68.9 16.6 4.6 — — — 235
1972-73 MIL 76 2292 — 55.4 71.3 16.1 5.0 — — — 208
1973-74 MIL 81 2191 — 53.9 70.2 14.5 4.8 1.4 3.5 — 238
1974-75 MIL 65 1949 — 51.3 76.3 14.0 4.1 1.0 3.3 — 205
1975-76 LAL 82 2275 — 52.9 70.3 16.9 5.0 1.5 4.1 — 292
1976-77 LAL 82 2152 — 57.9 70.1 13.3 3.9 1.2 3.2 — 262
1977-78 LAL 62 1600 — 55.0 78.3 12.9 4.3 1.7 3.0 208 182
1978-79 LAL 80 1903 — 57.7 73.6 12.8 5.4 0.9 4.0 282 230
1979-80 LAL 82 2034 0.0 60.4 76.5 10.8 4.5 1.0 3.4 297 216
1980-81 LAL 80 2095 0.0 57.4 76.6 10.3 3.4 0.7 2.9 249 244
1981-82 LAL 76 1818 0.0 57.9 70.6 8.7 3.0 0.8 2.7 230 224
1982-83 LAL 79 1722 0.0 58.8 74.9 7.5 2.5 0.8 2.2 200 220
1983-84 LAL 80 1717 0.0 57.8 72.3 7.3 2.6 0.7 1.8 221 211
1984-85 LAL 79 1735 0.0 59.9 73.2 7.9 3.2 0.8 2.1 197 238
1985-86 LAL 79 1846 0.0 56.4 76.5 6.1 3.5 0.8 1.6 203 248
1986-87 LAL 78 1366 33.3 56.4 71.4 6.7 2.6 0.6 1.2 186 245
1987-88 LAL 80 1165 0.0 53.2 76.2 6.0 1.7 0.6 1.1 159 216
TOTAL 1560 38387 5.6 55.9 72.1 11.2 3.6 0.7 2.0 2527 4657

Although the Lakers had a 53-29 record that year—the best in the league—the team failed to win the conference title. The 1979-80 season brought a new team owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, to the Lakers. Jabbar re-negotiated his contract to a generous advantage. A new player, a phenomenal 20-year-old rookie named Magic Johnson, joined the Lakers that year. The Lakers won the championship, and Jabbar won a record-breaking sixth MVP award.

As the Lakers collected more championships—in 1982, 1985, and 1987—the team in 1988 became the first in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back NBA championships. In 1989, after 20 seasons of professional play, Jabbar retired from the NBA. The Lakers retired his jersey, Number 33, in 1990. Likewise, the Bucks retired his jersey.

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