Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Reveals He Battled Prostate Cancer

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar disclosed Wednesday that he, at some point, had prostate cancer.

The NBA great revealed the news in an essay penned for the medical website WebMD.

It was the first time the 73-year-old has ever publicly disclosed that he had the disease. He did not elaborate on exactly when he battled the disease.

This doesn't mark the first time Abdul-Jabbar has fought cancer. He was also diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2008. In 2011, he disclosed that his leukemia was at an "absolute minimum."

"So far, in keeping with these statistical risks, I've had prostate cancer, leukemia, and heart bypass surgery," he wrote this week.

Abdul-Jabbar, a skilled writer who has written essays for several publications in the past, discussed Wednesday how the health threats faced by the Black community have been magnified by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Because Black lives are at risk," he wrote. "Serious risk. Not just from the diabetes, heart problems, obesity, and cancer that we as a group are prone to, but from a wide spectrum of health threats built into the foundation of American society as solidly as steel girders holding up a bridge."

Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons in the NBA, winning six titles, including five for the Lakers. He is the league's all-time leading scorer.