Playboy Interview: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

June, 1986

At the advanced age of 39, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar---a dinosaur by professional basketball standards---continues to act less like a lion in winter than like a stallion in spring. The National Basketball Association's only active player to have graduated from college before the start of the Seventies, Abdul-Jabbar, a graceful, 7'2" scoring machine, has virtually rewritten the league's record books. Now nearing the end of his 17th pro season (the only N.B.A. player ever to reach that milestone),...