/ KCAL News
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was taken to an Los Angeles hospital after he fell and broke his hip at a concert Friday night, a representative for Abdul-Jabbar said Saturday.
In a statement posted to Abdul-Jabbar's X account, the 76-year-old's longtime business partner Deborah Morales said he suffered the injury in an "accidental fall" at the concert and will undergo surgery Saturday.
"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," Morales wrote.
No further details on the incident were immediately provided.
In December 2020, Abdul-Jabbar revealed that he at some point had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and beaten it. He was also diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2008. In 2011, he disclosed that his leukemia was at an "absolute minimum."
Abdul-Jabbar, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr, is one of the NBA's greats, winning six NBA titles and six MVP awards. The 7-foot-2 former center is behind only LeBron James for most regular season points scored in NBA history.
He retired from the sport in 1989 at the age of 42 with a multitude of records to his name. He remains the all-time leader in minutes and field goals made.
Julie Sharp is a digital producer at kcalnews.com. Julie has written for The Beach Reporter covering the city of Manhattan Beach and community-based articles for the Palos Verdes Post. She is a South Bay native and majored in print journalism at Cal State University Long Beach. Julie covers breaking news, crime, and community events with a niche in civic news and feature pieces. Julie also previously worked for CBS in the Los Angeles market as a video journalist.
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