Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an NBA Hall of Famer, shattered his hip in a fall on Friday night and was admitted to the hospital. According to Deborah Morales, Abdul-Jabbar’s longstanding business partner, the event occurred at a Los Angeles performance the 76-year-old was attending, as reported by NPR.
“Kareem had an accidental fall and broke his hip,” Morales said in a statement on the Los Angeles Lakers legend’s X (formerly Twitter) account. “He will have surgery today. We are all deeply appreciative of all the support for Kareem, especially from the Los Angeles Fire Department who assisted Kareem on site and the amazing medical team and doctors at UCLA Hospital who are taking great care of Kareem now.”
Additionally, Morales said to CNN on Sunday that the 76-year-old was “recovering just fine” following the procedure.
Before LeBron James shattered the mark in February, Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion who also played for the Boston Celtics, was the league’s all-time top scorer. For 39 years, Abdul-Jabbar has maintained that record.
In 1970, Abdul-Jabbar was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks and went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. After being moved to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975, he went on to win five NBA titles while playing for the team.