Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. on April 16, 1947 and changed his name in 1971.
The NBA's social justice award is named after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award six times, and won six NBA championships (five with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Milwaukee Bucks). Amongst other accolades, Abdul-Jabbar received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, America's highest civilian honor.