FanHouse Kareem Abdul Jabbar

During an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed that he is being treated for a rare form of leukemia.

Kareem apparently learned of the diagnosis nearly a year ago, but held off on making the news public until now.

"The word 'leukemia' is a very frightening word," he said in a phone interview from New York. "In many instances, it's a killer and it's something that you have to deal with in a very serious and determined way if you're going to beat it."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been on camera a lot in his life: from the basketball court on over to the Airplane movies, he's not camera shy. Of course, despite his talents and high standing on the hardwood, he typically plays a "less than brilliant" character in other genres of "film." Perhaps this clip from Jeopardy, via In Game Now, explains why that is. Or perhaps it just points to his ego. Or id. Or whatever.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Friday, there are 18 days remaining.

Most current players don't last as long as the stars of the 1970s and 80s did. As the game becomes faster and stronger, players who reach their 30s have a tougher time keeping up (with some obvious exceptions). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had no such problem.

KAJ was selected for all but one NBA All-Star Game between 1970 and 1989, and he played in an NBA record 18 of them. By my count, there's only two current stars who can catch him.

There was a time when you couldn't ever find a photo of Andrew Bynum on a practice court with that hulking icon of Lakers lore, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right behind him. When the Lakers drafted Bynum in the lottery in 2005, they attached KAJ to his hip, to be a mentor and basketball sensai.

Bynum has otherworldly talent, and a dominating physique. He has shown glimpses of pending stardom. But it never seemed like his spirit or head were fully on board with the Kareem Sessions, at least from the armchair vantage point. Bynum has always seemed preoccupied with proving he doesn't need help than with actually accepting it.

This is why it's not particularly surprising to see the Los Angeles Daily News's Ramona Shelburne report that Kareem and Bynum have effectively broken up.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Saturday, there are 38 days remaining.

Before Jerry Rice made shambles of NFL marks and before Wayne Gretzky was done tearing up the NHL, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was doing a skyhook on the NBA record book.

The big fellow scored an NBA-record 38,387 points in a 20-year career that spanned from 1969-89.

The number 38 figures prominently in a few other Abdul-Jabbar accomplishments. It was 38 years ago he won his first of six NBA titles, and the 7-foot-2 center was 38 when he won his second of two NBA Finals Most Valuable Player awards.

During the NBA's slow days of summer, Mirror Mirror examines the connections between hoops stars and similarly-named figures of historical note.

No NBA center broke more barriers than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. (Well, except for Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Scot Pollard.) Similarly, no '80s female pop singer broke more barriers than Paula Abdul. (Well, except for Madonna, Whitney Houston and that lady from Lipps, Inc.)

Eh, let's cut the crap: this Mirror Mirror is based on Google Trends. (It was this or a Rick Bayless/Jerryd Bayless Top Chef mash-up.) Andy Warhol would have done it, too. (Well, probably not, but whatever.) Paula Abdul and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, after the jump.

Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made news Wednesday by complaining via Twitter that he's not being given a fair shake by NBA decision-makers. He wants to become a head coach, and he not only doesn't get interviewed for openings, but rarely even gets mentioned as a candidate by the quick-to-speculate media. Kareem has never been suggested a head coach candidate for any job in our vast considerations here on FanHouse, and a long ESPN.com story by J.A. Adande on Phil Jackson's potential successors eliminated Kareem from the outset.

The tone of Kareem's comments make it sound as if he's owed an opportunity based on his status (top scorer of all-time, legendary player, smart-as-a-whip man). Is he? Does the NBA owe anyone a job?

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Wednesday, there are 69 days remaining.

It's been 40 years since Phoenix Suns executive Jerry Colangelo last called "heads" in a coin flip. And it still haunts the franchise today.

When that Kennedy half-dollar landed on "tails" in the NBA office that spring day, it meant that the Milwaukee Bucks – and not the Suns – would get the No. 1 pick in the 1969 NBA Draft.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Friday, there are 74 days remaining.

The Milwaukee Bucks were once the envy of – and the beacon for -- every expansion team in any professional sport, winning a championship in just the third year of existence. They returned to the NBA Finals in Year 6, losing this time but still making it all look so easy.

That was 1974, the end of their incredible start -- and the beginning of an incredibly long dry spell that continues today. Yes, they have had some success since -- three more trips to the conference finals -- but everything has paled in comparison to the standard they set in those formative years.

Dwight Howard is on the verge of making history and no one seems to notice. He's averaging 2.9 blocks and 14.0 rebounds a game, putting him on pace to become not only the youngest player to lead the league in blocked shots (beating out Marcus Camby by nearly a year) but also only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season.