How Old Is Kareem Abdul-jabbar

Let’s cut to the chase: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is old. But not in a dusty, forgotten way. He’s old like a classic car that still purrs.

Born on April 16, 1947, that makes him over 77 years old as of 2025. Go ahead, do the math. I’ll wait.

That’s older than sliced bread (which hit stores in 1928). Seriously, he’s been alive for nearly eight decades. He has seen eight different U.S. presidents in office.

The Skyhook’s Secret Sauce

You know what’s wild? His signature move, the skyhook, was invented when TV was still black and white. He debuted it in 1969. That’s the same year as the first moon landing.

Imagine practicing a shot while Neil Armstrong took that “one small step.” Kareem just kept swishing. For 20 years in the NBA.

He’s so old that his rookie season was against the Milwaukee Bucks—a team that barely existed. They joined the league in 1968. Before that, Milwaukee’s biggest hoop news was cheese curds.

Age Is Just a Number (and a Really Big Number)

Here’s a quirky fact: Kareem is older than the Internet. The World Wide Web went public in 1991. He was already a 44-year-old legend by then.

He’s also older than the microwave oven (popular by the 1970s). Not by much, but still. He ate food heated by fire as a kid. No, really.

And get this: He’s older than The Simpsons. The show started in 1989. Kareem had already retired from the NBA in 1989. He was 42 that year.

What Was He Doing When You Were Born?

Let’s play a game: Pick your birth year. If you were born in the 1990s, Kareem was already a retired grandpa with a black belt in martial arts. He earned that in 1998.

Born in the 2000s? He was busy writing books. He has authored over a dozen. One is a memoir called “Giant Steps.” Because, duh, he’s 7 feet 2 inches tall. That’s not old; that’s just tall.

Born in 1947? Then you’re twins with him, basically. Hope you have a skyhook, too.

The Quirky Details That Make You Smile

Kareem’s real name is Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. He changed it in 1971. That’s 53 years ago. He’s been Kareem for longer than most of us have been alive.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography: Age, Height, Stats, Net Worth, Wife

He played college ball at UCLA under John Wooden. Wooden was born in 1910. That means Kareem played for a coach from the pre-TV era. Imagine texting a guy who used a typewriter to write plays.

His skyhook was so deadly that no one ever blocked it in an NBA game. Not once. That’s like saying no one ever stole your sandwich from the fridge. Except the sandwich is 7 feet tall.

Why This Topic Just Fun to Talk About

We love talking about Kareem’s age because it’s a weird flex. He’s old enough to be a grandpa to half the NBA, yet he still posts savage tweets about politics and jazz.

He’s older than air conditioning (invented for homes in the 1950s). He played basketball in gyms that smelled like sweat and wood polish. No climate control. Just grit.

He’s also older than the NBA three-point line. That was added in 1979. Kareem had already won three MVP awards by then. He didn’t need three-pointers; he had the skyhook.

The Bottom Line: He’s Timeless

So how old is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? He’s 77 and counting. But numbers lie. He’s eternal in basketball lore.

He’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points. That record stood for 39 years until LeBron broke it in 2023. LeBron was born in 1984—37 years after Kareem.

Think about that: Kareem’s scoring title survived the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2010s. It took a Martian-like athlete to finally topple it.

And even now, at 77, Kareem doesn’t slow down. He still travels, speaks, and writes. He recently posted a video of himself doing push-ups. At 77. That’s more than I did this week.

So next time someone asks, “How old is Kareem?” just smile. Say he’s old enough to have invented the skyhook and young enough to still school you in trivia. Then go practice your shot. You’ve got time.