Inwood Man Loses NBA Scoring Record

INWOOD, NY — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar might be best known for his time playing and dominating on the basketball court for the UCLA Bruins, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers, but before all that — he was a kid growing up in Inwood.

Abdul-Jabbar has been in the headlines this week after LeBron James passed the legendary big man's all-time NBA scoring record on Tuesday night.

Amazing moment between Kareem and LeBron 🤝 pic.twitter.com/E2GvUCLy3B
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2023

Abdul-Jabbar, now 75-years-old, was born in Harlem in 1947 before moving with his family to Inwood at the age of three.

He grew up in the Dyckman Street NYCHA Development, and went to school at the nearby P.S. 52.

The legendary big man, whose sky hook shot is likely the most iconic move in NBA history, recalled growing up in Inwood in a 2013 New York Magazine profile.

“The northern side of Dyckman Street was Irish, and the southern side was Jewish," Abdul-Jabbar said. "I would walk from where I lived in the Dyckman projects up to P.S. 52 — my mom decided that I could walk to school alone, but I had to walk right through the Irish section of the neighborhood. Later on, as an adult, I found out that she used to follow me, from a half-block behind, to make sure that nothing happened.”

Abdul-Jabbar's father was a longtime NYPD officer.

The Inwood native took to Substack to articulate his feelings and reaction to his longtime scoring record being broken.

"If I had a choice of having my scoring record remain intact for another hundred years or spend one afternoon with my grandchildren, I’d be on the floor in seconds stacking Legos and eating Uncrustables," he wrote.

For those who haven't seen many highlights of Abdul-Jabbar collecting his 38,387 regular-season points, it's never a bad time to familiarize yourself.