Epsiode 5: Sky Scrapers

And number four is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So Kareem was born, this is a weird one, like straight off the bat.

He was actually, everyone says, oh, Lou Alcindor.

His full name is Ferdinand Louis Alcindor Jr. That's his name.

He was born, was his name.

Born on April 16th, 1947 in Harlem, New York City.

The Mecca.

Raised in the Dykeman Street housing projects in the inward neighborhood

of Upper Manhattan.

Growing up as Lou Alcindor.

So that's the classic quiz question.

What was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's first name? It's always Lou Alcindor.

But it's actually Ferdinand.

So remember that one day.

And you'll be right.

He was big forever.

So at age nine, he was five foot eight.

And by the eighth grade, he was six foot eight and was already able to dunk, which is pretty unbelievable.

He was always the tallest kid, and he played at the Rucker Park in the eighth grade and was holding his own, and there's stories of him dominating back then, which is crazy.

He started playing basketball at nine, but right at the beginning, he would only practice footwork and sky hooks and all that kind of stuff, which is so different now.

Obviously, Steph Curry's changed the game in that way.

He was always super natural, apparently, but was unco, as all these big guys are when they're young, growing way too fast.

But he had natural touch around the rim, but his body was just, he was growing too big.

He then attended Power Memorial Academy High School.

In his freshman year of high school, he wasn't that great, which is kind of weird.