Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hospitalized with broken hip

Last updated: 2023/12/16 at 9:10 PM

BigP Published December 16, 2023

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been hospitalized due to a broken hip, which he suffered at a concert on Friday night. Abdul-Jabbar’s long-time business partner, Deborah Morales, released a statement Saturday on the matter.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was undergoing surgery for a broken hip Saturday after falling at a concert in Los Angeles.

The NBA Hall of Famer was attending a show Friday night when he was injured. Paramedics at the undisclosed venue responded and the 76-year-old was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

His business partner, Deborah Morales, declined to provide a further update Saturday and referred only to a statement posted on Abdul-Jabbar’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Last night while attending a concert, Kareem had an accidental fall and broke his hip. He will have surgery today. We are all deeply appreciative of all the support for Kareem, especially from the Los Angeles Fire Department who assisted Kareem on site and the amazing medical team and doctors at UCLA Hospital who are taking great care of Kareem now,” Morales’ statement read.

Abdul-Jabbar was a key player on the Los Angeles Lakers’ teams during their “Showtime” era in the 1980s, leading them to five NBA championships. He was a six-time NBA MVP.

The 7-foot-2 center was the NBA’s career-scoring leader until being passed by current Laker LeBron James in February. Abdul-Jabbar owned the mark for 39 years.

He starred at UCLA, when he was known as Lew Alcindor and was a three-time national player of the year under coach John Wooden.

Abdul-Jabbar disclosed in 2020 that he had prostate cancer. In 2009, he said he had been diagnosed the previous year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a blood cancer.

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Reporting by The Associated Press.

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