Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA legend, broke his hip in a fall at a concert on Friday night and was taken to a hospital in Los Angeles, his representative said on Saturday.
His longtime business partner Deborah Morales posted a statement on Abdul-Jabbar’s X account, saying that the 76-year-old injured himself in an “unfortunate fall” at the concert and would have surgery on Saturday.
“We are very grateful for all the support for Kareem, especially from the Los Angeles Fire Department who helped Kareem on the spot and the wonderful medical staff and doctors at UCLA Hospital who are taking good care of Kareem now,” Morales wrote.
The incident was not explained further.
Abdul-Jabbar announced in December 2020 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point and had overcome it. He also had chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2008. He said in 2011 that his leukemia was at a “very low level.”
Abdul-Jabbar, whose birth name was Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr, is one of the NBA’s bests, winning six NBA championships and six MVP awards. The 7-foot-2 former center is second only to LeBron James in the most regular season points scored in NBA history.
He retired from the game in 1989 at 42 years old with many records to his credit. He is still the all-time leader in minutes and field goals made.