Kareem Abdul-Jabbar jokes about fall in update following hip surgery

At least Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was able to poke fun at himself. 

The legendary NBAer is on the injured list for a little while after taking a tumble last week, breaking his hip at a concert.

But he was in good spirits and recovering after breaking his hip.

Abdul-Jabbar provided an update on his status on his Substack page and revealed that he had been headed to give a speech at the Manhattan Transfer concert at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. 

He joked that he wished that he “fell while trying to save a child from plunging over a balcony.” 

“But I just tripped. Hard for me to accept that a once world-class athlete just stumbled,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “But age is the great equalizer and humbles us all. Now, I’m a world-class patient in a bed convalescing from a hip replacement like 450,000 other Americans every year.”


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all smiles, laying down in his hospital bed.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all smiles, laying down in his hospital bed. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Substack

Abdul-Jabbar also shared a pair of photos of himself in the post, one a shot of him being transported into an LAFD ambulance and the other of him in his hospital bed smiling covered by a Los Angeles Dodgers blanket. 

The 76-year-old thanked the first responders who assisted him following his fall and ended his long post by again making fun of himself. 

“Come for the music, stay for the klutzy fall,” he wrote in the post, which also included him paying tribute to the Manhattan Transfer. “All my best to you from my hospital bed. Me and my new hip will be dancing to your tunes again. 

“Well, gently swaying.”


Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets loaded into an ambulance after breaking his hip in a big fall at a concert.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets loaded into an ambulance after breaking his hip in a big fall at a concert.

Abdul-Jabbar is one of the NBA’s greats having led the Lakers to five NBA championships, is the league’s only six-time MVP and was a 19-time NBA All-Star. He also won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.

He had also held the record for most career points in NBA history until LeBron James broke that record in February.

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