Bucks: Marking 40 years since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trade changed 2 franchises
By Phil Watson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right, shoots over Baltimore Bullets center Wes Unseld on a 1972 NBA basketball program. (This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice.)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left Milwaukee as a three-time NBA MVP, an NBA Rookie of the Year and an NBA champion and Finals MVP.
He would play another 14 seasons in the NBA, putting together a 20-year career that is one of the longest—and most accomplished—in the history of the sport.
With the Lakers, Kareem would win five more NBA titles, three more MVP trophies, one more Finals MVP award and left the game as the leading scorer of all-time with 38,387 points.
With the Lakers, Kareem averaged 22.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 blocks in 34.3 minutes per game and shot .567/.056/.737.
His playing time, of course, diminished as he got older, as he averaged just 22.9 minutes in 1988-89. Of course, he turned 42 during the playoffs, so maybe “Cap” deserves a little bit of slack.
Abdul-Jabbar has made his peace with Milwaukee years after the acrimonious exit. His number was retired, re-dedicated in 2007, and Kareem has even done some commercials for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, including this reprisal of his role in the 1980 comedy classic Airplane with Robert Hays that aired in 2014 and really never gets old:
Here are Kareem’s per-game numbers with the Bucks before the trade and with the Lakers afterward.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-70 ★ | MIL | 82 | 43.1 | .518 | .653 | 14.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 28.8 | ||||
| 1970-71 ★ | MIL | 82 | 40.1 | .577 | .690 | 16.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 31.7 | ||||
| 1971-72 ★ | MIL | 81 | 44.2 | .574 | .689 | 16.6 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 34.8 | ||||
| 1972-73 ★ | MIL | 76 | 42.8 | .554 | .713 | 16.1 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 30.2 | ||||
| 1973-74 ★ | MIL | 81 | 43.8 | .539 | .702 | 14.5 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 27.0 | ||
| 1974-75 ★ | MIL | 65 | 42.3 | .513 | .763 | 14.0 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 30.0 | ||
| 1975-76 ★ | LAL | 82 | 41.2 | .529 | .703 | 16.9 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 27.7 | ||
| 1976-77 ★ | LAL | 82 | 36.8 | .579 | .701 | 13.3 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 26.2 | ||
| 1977-78 | LAL | 62 | 36.5 | .550 | .783 | 12.9 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 25.8 | |
| 1978-79 ★ | LAL | 80 | 39.5 | .577 | .736 | 12.8 | 5.4 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 23.8 | |
| 1979-80 ★ | LAL | 82 | 38.3 | .604 | .000 | .765 | 10.8 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 24.8 |
| 1980-81 ★ | LAL | 80 | 37.2 | .574 | .000 | .766 | 10.3 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 26.2 |
| 1981-82 ★ | LAL | 76 | 35.2 | .579 | .000 | .706 | 8.7 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 23.9 |
| 1982-83 ★ | LAL | 79 | 32.3 | .588 | .000 | .749 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 21.8 |
| 1983-84 ★ | LAL | 80 | 32.8 | .578 | .000 | .723 | 7.3 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 21.5 |
| 1984-85 ★ | LAL | 79 | 33.3 | .599 | .000 | .732 | 7.9 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 22.0 |
| 1985-86 ★ | LAL | 79 | 33.3 | .564 | .000 | .765 | 6.1 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 23.4 |
| 1986-87 ★ | LAL | 78 | 31.3 | .564 | .333 | .714 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 17.5 |
| 1987-88 ★ | LAL | 80 | 28.9 | .532 | .000 | .762 | 6.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 14.6 |
| 1988-89 ★ | LAL | 74 | 22.9 | .475 | .000 | .739 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 10.1 |
| Career | 1560 | 36.8 | .559 | .056 | .721 | 11.2 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 24.6 | |
| 14 seasons | LAL | 1093 | 34.3 | .567 | .056 | .737 | 9.4 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 22.1 |
| 6 seasons | MIL | 467 | 42.7 | .547 | .695 | 15.3 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 30.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/16/2015.
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