Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was once the legendary king of the NBA and the first man to play 20 seasons

Today we tell the story of "Sky Hook", born Ferdinand Lewis Asindor Jr., who was the first overall pick in the '69 NBA draft when the Milwaukee Bucks, in their second year, selected Alcindor. Interestingly, he was also drafted by the NBA's New York Nets, but he ended up with the Bucks, who offered more.

In the 69-70 season, the Bucks romped to a 56-26 record with Asindor, moving straight to second place in the Eastern Conference. Alcindo was the undisputed rookie of the year, second in scoring with 28.8 per game and third in rebounding with 14.5.

In the 1970 -71 season, Milwaukee traded to the Cincinnati Royals for defenseman Oscar Robertson. With the "Big O" and "Sky Hook" inside and out, along with Bob Dandridge, Jon McLoughlin, Greg Smith, and Lucious Allen, Milwaukee led the NBA in wins with a staggering 66, including a franchise-record 20 straight. Alcindor won his first MVP award after averaging 31.7 points (first in the league) and 16 rebounds (fourth in the league). The Bucks went 12-2 in the playoffs and swept the Baltimore Bullets 4-0 in the finals, winning the championship in just their third year as a franchise. Alcindo was named MVP of the finals.

Before the start of the 71-72 season, Alcindor converted from Catholicism to Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which means "noble and powerful servant." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the reigning scoring champion and MVP this season with 34.8 points and the Bucks won their second division title in four years.

In the 73-74 season, after just four years in the league, Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP trophy for the third time and finished in the top five in four important statistical categories: 27 points (third), 14.5 rebounds (fourth), 2.83 blocks (second) and 53.9 percent shooting (second) per game. The Bucks made it back to the NBA Finals, but lost to the Dave Cowens Celtics. At the end of the season, "Big O" announced his retirement and the Bucks' golden years came to an end.

The Bucks were a miserable 38-44 in '74-' 75. In '75, Abdul-Jabbar asked management for a move to New York or Los Angeles, and Bucks manager Wayne Ebrey knew there was no hope of keeping him. The Bucks sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade that paid Junio Bridgman, Duff Mayes, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters.

Abdul-jabbar helped the Lakers to a 40-42 record in the 75-76 season, and he was named MVP for the fourth time in his career with 27.7 points and 16.9 rebounds.

Lakers veteran Jerry West was hired as the team's head coach in the 1976-77 season, and the Lakers finished 53-29 and won the regular season championship. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won his fifth MVP in eight years after averaging 26.2 points, 13.3 rebounds, 57.9 percent shooting and 2.9 blocks per game. But they were swept in the Western Conference finals by the Bill Walton-led Blazers.

Despite Abdul-Jabbar's continued efforts, the Lakers finished in the middle of the league for the next two years. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was sidelined 20 games in the 1977-78 season after breaking his hand in a fight with Bucks rookie Kent Benson. But the Lakers' young Jamal Wilkes and Norm Nixon are starting to emerge.

In '79, the Lakers used a first-round pick from the Jazz to take Michigan State point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

In the 79-80 season, Magic's first year, the Lakers won 60 games and won 12 of 16 playoff games en route to the 1980 Finals. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar suffered a severe ankle sprain in Game 5 after scoring 40 points to help the Lakers win the crucial game of "King of Heaven." In Game 6, Magic Johnson replaced the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at center and had 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in the Lakers' 123-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won his sixth MVP award this season, averaging 24.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Abdul-jabbar averaged at least 20 points in each of the next six seasons, but as he got older his rebounds dropped to 6-8 per game. Thanks to proper maintenance and training, Abdul-Jabbar remains in perfect shape and has the stamina to play 32-35 minutes of intense games well into his 30s.

On April 5, '84, in a game against the Utah Jazz in Las Vegas, Abdul-Jabbar reached the milestone of 31,420 career points, passing Wilt Chamberlain to become the NBA's all-time scoring leader.

From the 79-80 to 88-89 seasons, the mighty Lakers reached the NBA Finals eight times in 10 years, winning five of them. In the '85 Finals, the then 38-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was an unheralded favorite among many pundits. In Game 1, he scored just 12 points and grabbed three rebounds against Robert Parrish in the Celtics' 148-114 drubbing of the Lakers on what became known as "Massacre Day." A humbled Abdul-Jabbar spent two days off, watching game film and maintaining his strength with a brutal marathon and anaerobic practice that Coach Pat Riley repeatedly forced him to stop. In Game 2, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks as the Lakers returned the favor 109-102. The Lakers beat the Celtics 4-2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 30.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and two blocks in the four wins and was named Finals MVP that year.

In the '86-' 87 season, the Lakers beat the Celtics again to win the championship. This time, Magic Johnson stole the spotlight, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar just dutifully played the role of green leaf. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dropped below the 20-point mark for the first time this season, scoring just 17.5 points. However, the Lakers still chose to re-sign the 40-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for two years. The next year, the Lakers overcame the Pistons to win the championship, making them the first team to do so since Boston in '69.

The '88-' 89 season, Abdul-Jabbar's farewell season, saw the Lakers reach the Finals again against a comeback Detroit Pistons team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 24 points and 13 rebounds in Game 3, but the Lakers were swept because of injuries to Magic and Byron Scott. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had seven points and three rebounds in the final game of his career, but he also received a standing ovation from many Pistons fans when he left the court. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shot 47.5 percent from the field for the first time in his career, falling below half and scoring a franchise-low 10.1 points.

Throughout his career, Abdul-Jabbar left a trail of NBA records. He was the first player to play all 20 NBA seasons, made 15,837 of 28,307 shots and scored an all-time high 38,387 points (24.6 per game) in his longest playing time of 57,446 minutes, while also contributing 17,440 rebounds (11.2 per game). 3,189 blocks (third in NBA) and 55.90 percent shooting (eighth in NBA). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the all-time leading scorer, third all-time blocker, most MVP, most All-Star selection and longest career season. He also had an amazing 787 consecutive games in which he scored in double figures. He also compiled a formidable list of individual and team honors: Rookie of the Year, six championships, six regular season MVPS, two Finals MVPS, 19 All-Star selections, two scoring titles, and an all-time NBA All-Star on both the 35th and 50th anniversaries. He also holds eight playoff records and seven All-Star records.