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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Visits Toledo as Part of Authors!
Authors! Series
Sojourner’s
Truth Staff
As part of
the Authors! Authors! series, sponsored by the Toledo Lucas
County Public Library and The Blade, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
spoke on Wednesday, March 2 at the Stranahan Theater about
his basketball career, his latest book, the state of the
game and the state of the nation.
Lest we
forget, before he was an author, an actor, a scholar, a
columnist, a culture critic, a filmmaker and an activist,
Abdul-Jabbar was quite a basketball player.
Actually,
he was one heckuva basketball player, arguably the best
ever, if one takes into account the fact that he was on six
NBA championship teams and three NCAA championship teams,
won a record six NBA most valuable player awards and holds
the league’s all-time scoring record – a record that may
never be broken.
These days,
the man for all seasons keeps himself busy writing (he now
has 10 books to his credit) and regaling audiences with his
insights on politics, basketball and the social condition.
And, there’s also that new book – Mycroft Holmes, the
story of Sherlock’s older, smarter brother – written in
collaboration with Anna Waterhouse.
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The Library's Rhonda Sewell introduces Kareem Abdul Jabbar
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Abdul-Jabbar, a native New Yorker, first came to the
public’s attention during his high school days at Power
Memorial High School where his teams reeled off 71 straight
victories at one point. He then took his talents across
country to UCLA, where he won three national titles before
being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks.
In six
seasons with the Bucks, Abdul-Jabbar, who has been
recognized by ESPN as the greatest college basketball player
of all time, the greatest NBA center of all time and the
second greatest NBA player of all time, won a championship,
before being traded to the LA Lakers, where he won five more
titles in 14 years.
At the
Stranahan last week, Abdul-Jabbar talked about politics and
his disdain for Donald Trump, his long career and how he
seriously considered attending the University of Michigan
before being enthralled by the sunshine of southern
California and the gifted players of the NBA – then and now.
And, of
course, his latest book and projects to come!
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