The recent events in the NBA have put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar under the spotlight again. However, the Hall of Fame center wasn’t always the best at dealing with the press and the public. For most of his career and retirement, the Los Angeles Lakers legend has kept an arm’s length between himself and the media and has seldom shed light upon his personal life. But the captain never hesitated in revealing the deepest secrets of his life in his autobiographies. Likewise, his eminent piece, Giant Steps, written in 1983, covered his eventful life in detail. 

Similarly, amid all the revelations, Abdul-Jabbar also divulged his private life. Interestingly, or rather, unfortunately, Abdul-Jabbar’s first and only marriage was far from conventional. In fact, he had tied the knot despite not loving his wife. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar married someone he didn’t love

Despite having a legendary career in the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar couldn’t escape the harsh realities of life. Over the years, the 7’2” Hall of Famer has come a long way, both intellectually and spiritually, from the naive basketball phenom in the streets of Harlem. But reportedly, for most of his life, he had little to no control over his life due to the involvement of external forces dictating his choices. Similarly, like most of Abdul-Jabbar’s decisions in his youth, his choice of a wife was also dictated by someone else. 

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After converting to Islam at 24, a young Abdul-Jabbar was torn between two women to choose as his life partner. Consequently, he approached Hamaas Abdul-Khaalis, his Islamic mentor, to guide him in the right direction. Interestingly, the then-Milwaukee Bucks superstar had outright allowed his mentor to choose his wife for him. 

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However, his mentor’s choice did not align with Abdul-Jabbar’s. According to a report by Sports Illustrated from 1983, his mentor’s choice for his wife was not the person he really loved, “When he was torn between marrying one of two women, he allowed Hamaas Abdul-Khaalis, his Muslim mentor, to all but choose his wife for him; she was not the one he really loved.“

Kareem’s messy divorce

However, family life was not the 6x NBA champion’s cup of tea. The former All-time leading scorer divorced his wife, Habiba Abdul-Jabbar, only after seven years of marriage.  Moreover, the two had a rocky relationship for most of their marriage and they eventually split up in 1973. But their divorce was finalized in 1978.

However, the former couple had welcomed three children in their brief stint together, Habiba Alcindor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jr, and Sultana Abdul-Jabbar. Consequently, in the years after, despite the ugly divorce, the two shared an amicable relationship as co-parents. 

Watch the story – NBA stars that have honored their wives with tattoos 

Incidentally, apart from internal complications, Abdul-Jabbar divorced Habiba under the influence of his then-mistress Cheryl Pistono, who convinced him to get out of an estranged marriage.