NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pokes fun after surgery: "Humpty Kareem had a great fall"

Los Angeles, California – NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said he's recovering from hip replacement surgery after falling at a concert, but his Substack account of the incident showed his sense of humor is intact.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shared a photo on his Substack thanking the LA Fire Department "for their quick service and excellent care" when he broke his hip at an LA concert last week.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shared a photo on his Substack thanking the LA Fire Department "for their quick service and excellent care" when he broke his hip at an LA concert last week.  © Collage: Screenshot/Substack/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & MARK SAGLIOCCO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

"Humpty Kareem had a great fall," Abdul-Jabbar quipped in the first sentence of his Substack post on Monday that described his fall at a Manhattan Transfer concert in Los Angeles on Friday.

"I'd like to say I fell while trying to save a child from plunging over a balcony, but I just tripped," the six-time NBA champion wrote. "Hard for me to accept that a once world-class athlete just stumbled. But age is the great equalizer and humbles us all.

"Now, I'm a world-class patient in a bed convalescing from a hip replacement like 450,000 other Americans every year."

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The 76-year-old said he was scheduled to speak at the concert, which was the vocal quartet's final performance in a decades-long career.

"But I fell and was carted off to UCLA Hospital with a broken hip," he said.

Deborah Morales, Abdul-Jabbar's business partner and spokesperson, had issued a statement on Saturday saying he had suffered a broken hip and would undergo surgery.

She told CNN on Sunday that he was "recovering just fine" and on Monday Abdul-Jabbar posted on Substack, where he regularly writes about sports, politics, and culture.

"I will be taking a week or so off over the holidays to fully recuperate and spend time with my family," Abdul-Jabbar wrote. "When I return, it will be with a shiny new hip and a lot of shiny thoughts to share."

Why is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a legend?

(From l to r) Karl Malone, LeBron James, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being honored at the 2023 NBA All Star Game in February.
(From l to r) Karl Malone, LeBron James, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being honored at the 2023 NBA All Star Game in February.  © Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The iconic 7-foot-2 superstar center made his NBA debut with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969 and in 1971 led the Bucks to their first NBA crown.

Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975 and together with playmaker Magic Johnson combined for a "Showtime" era to bring the Lakers five titles in the 1980s before retiring in 1989.

The 19-time NBA All-Star big man, known for his trademark "Skyhook" shot, broke the NBA all-time scoring record in 1984 and held the NBA career points mark until it was broken by the newest Lakers star, LeBron James, in February.

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Abdul-Jabbar has also embraced a role as a social activist, speaking on numerous social justice causes. The author of more than a dozen books, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 by former president Barack Obama.

Abdul-Jabbar has dealt with other serious health issues, revealing in 2009 he had been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

In 2015, he underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery and in 2020 revealed in a magazine article that he had been treated for prostate cancer.

He seems to be on the mend once again.

Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/Substack/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & MARK SAGLIOCCO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

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