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NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar amassed 38,387 regular season points over his 20-year career with the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers from 1969 to 1989. Along the way, he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in 1984, a title he held for almost 39 years. That was until LA Lakers star forward LeBron James surpassed his record on Tuesday night against OKC Thunder
A big factor in Abdul-Jabbar’s elite scoring total was his longevity, as he played a whopping 1,560 career regular season games. That included 11 seasons with 80-plus games played. Abdul-Jabbar’s final regular season game came on April 23, 1989, against Seattle. He finished with ten points, six rebounds, three assists and one block on 83.3% shooting as his Lakers team secured a 121-117 victory.
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Abdul Jabbar’s Lakers would go on to make a finals run that season. LA (57-25) faced off against Detroit (63-19) in the 1989 NBA Finals, in a matchup between the league’s two best regular season teams.
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Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers were looking to secure their third straight title. However, the Lakers got swept 4-0 by Detroit, with Pistons star guard Joe Dumars winning the finals MVP.
In his final NBA game, in Game 4 of the 1989 NBA Finals on June 13, 1989, Abdul-Jabbar struggled. He finished with just seven points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks on 25.0% shooting.
The Lakers lost 105-97 with Abdul-Jabbar checking out for the last time to a standing ovation. After the series, he announced his retirement at the age of 42.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career accomplishments
Outside of his iconic former scoring record, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished his career with one of the most impressive resumes in NBA history.
Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA titles, two finals MVPs and six regular season MVPs. He was also selected to a whopping 19 All-Star games and 15 All-NBA teams, ten of which were All-NBA First Team selections.
At the defensive end, Abdul-Jabbar was selected to 11 All-Defensive Teams, five of which were All-Defensive First Team selections. So all things considered, Abdul-Jabbar is undeniably one of the greatest all-around players to have ever played the game.
Also read: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The underrated legend
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