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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar          

Highest-Scoring NBA Player in History & Cancer Survivor

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and six-time NBA champion. He has a national platform as a regular contributing columnist for The Washington Post and The Hollywood Reporter, where he shares his thoughts on some of the most socially relevant and politically controversial topics facing our nation today. After 50 years as an athlete, activist and New York Times best-selling author, he offers his perspectives as a nationally recognized speaker who regularly appears on the lecture circuit. His new book "Becoming Kareem" is an autobiographical account of his tumultuous spiritual and athletic journey from childhood through college and his first year in the NBA.

His Emmy Award-winning HBO Sports documentary, "Kareem Minority of One", debuted as HBO's most watched and highest rated sports documentary of all time. Currently, Abdul-Jabbar serves as the chairman of his Skyhook Foundation whose mission is to "Give Kids a Shot That Can't be Blocked" by bringing educational STEM opportunities to underserved communities through innovative outdoor environmental learning.

Before President Obama left office in 2016, he awarded Abdul-Jabbar the nation's highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Abdul-Jabbar is also a cancer survivor. In November 2009, he announced that he was fighting a form of leukemia and had been since December of the previous year. In February 2011, he updated the public, saying that his cancer was then at an absolute minimum. Today, Abdul-Jabbar is a spokesperson for Novartis, the company that makes his cancer medication. In 2011, he was awarded the Double Helix Medal for his work in raising awareness about cancer research.

Speech Topics

Surviving Cancer

In November 2009, Abdul-Jabbar was diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a rare form of blood and bone marrow cancer that creates an inordinate amount of white blood cells. He immediately thought he had a very limited time to live. However, with treatment, his long-term prognosis proved favorable, and in February 2011, doctors declared the retired NBA star free of cancer. To combat his illness, he worked closely with his doctors to develop a healthy regimen. Once very shy, Abdul-Jabbar now raises awareness about the disease and is a spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company Novartis. In this inspiring presentation, he speaks about his experience and the lessons he learned, as well as how he adapted and overcame what might have been a death sentence.

News

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calls out anti-Semitism in Hollywood and sports

“If we’re going to be outraged by injustice, let’s be outraged by injustice against anyone.”

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