Abdul-Jabbar's Streak Breaks

On Dec. 4, 1987,  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does not score in double figures ending his streak of 787 games doing so.

Abdul-Jabbar is one of the best to play in the NBA, he is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points, an average of 24.6 points per game, and also bright in 17,440 rebounds, an average of 11.2 rebounds per game, and had 3,189 blocks in his career, an average of 2.5 blocks per game.

During his career with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards.

On top of those feats Abdul-Jabbar was also named the 1970 Rookie of the Year and was named to the NBA All-Rookie team that year. He won two NBA Finals MVP’s in 1971 an 1985. He was named an NBA All-Star 19 times, from 1970-1977, and 1979-1989. He was named to the All-NBA First Team 10 times, and five times to the All-NBA Second Team. He was a two-time NBA scoring champion in 1971 and 1972. Was the NBA leading rebounder in 1976.

But it wasn’t just his offense that made Abdul-Jabbar special, it was his defense too. He was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times, and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team six times. He was the NBA’s block leader four-times during his career.

After he retired from the NBA Abdul-Jabbar no. 33 jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks.

In 1996, he was named to the NBA’s 50^th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Abdul-Jabbar was also well known for his trademark "sky-hook", a hook shot in which he bent his entire body (rather than just the arm) like a straw in one fluid motion to raise the ball and then release it at the highest point of his arm's arching motion. Combined with his long arms and great height (7 feet 2 inches), the sky hook was difficult for a defender to block without goaltending. It was a reliable and feared offensive weapon and contributed to his high lifetime field goal percentage of .559. As a twist, he was adept at shooting the skyhook with either hand, which made him even more difficult to defend against. According to Abdul-Jabbar, he learned the move in fifth grade after practicing with the Mikan Drill and soon learned to value it, as it was "the only shot I could use that didn't get smashed back in my face".