Kareem Abdul-Jabbar underwent hip replacement surgery, the Basketball Hall of Famer wrote on Substack.
“You may have heard that Humpty Kareem had a great fall. It’s true,” he wrote in his column, published on Monday afternoon. ‘I was at The Manhattan Transfer’s final public concert at Disney Hall, ready to read a letter from (Vice President) Kamala Harris and provide some praise of my own for a group I love and admire. But I fell and was carted off to UCLA Hospital with a broken hip.
“I’d like to say I 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. 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.’
“I’m writing to you because…well because that’s what I do,” he continued. “However, after this week, I will be taking a week or so off over the holidays to fully recuperate and spend time with my family. When I return, it will be with a shiny new hip and a lot of shiny thoughts to share.”
In his Substack column, he posted a photo of himself in the hospital wrapped in a Los Angeles Dodgers blanket and addressed The Manhattan Transfer in his closing paragraphs:
“Goodbye, my friends. I’m sorry I was not able to join you onstage to read the letter and tell the audience how much your music has meant to me. I hope this makes up for it in some small way. On the plus side, my fall hit all the newspapers so I made your final show even more memorable. Come for the music, stay for the klutzy fall.
“All my best to you from my hospital bed. Me and my new hip will be dancing to your tunes again. Well, gently swaying.”
Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest basketball players in history – from his days as a prep star in New York City at Power Memorial Academy to his three NCAA championships and 88-2 record at UCLA and his six NBA championships and six MVPs with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers.