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Over the years, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — known as Lew Alcindor when he was a three-time Final Four MOP at UCLA in the late 1960s — has developed a reputation for being talented and highly intelligent yet also aloof and arrogant. Among those quick to call him out for the latter two characteristics is Abdul-Jabbar’s estranged son, Adam. Last weekend, he conducted an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) on Reddit to voice his frustrations. Lost Lettermen

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

“He met [my mother] after a basketball game in San Antonio where she used to live,” wrote Adam, who guest-starred with his father on an episode of “Full House” back in the day. “As for how he treated here, they dated for a while but were never married, and he has always talked bad about her to me even though she raised [me] by herself and I know exactly what kind of person she is. To quote my father, ‘Adam I always knew your mother wasn’t the kind of person to have children with… but here you are,’ which I thought was as insulting to me as it was to her.” Lost Lettermen

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

After getting a crash course in professional basketball from some of the WNBA's best players over the past week, Brittney Griner was given the lesson of a lifetime on Wednesday with a one-on-one session on the skyhook with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. FOXSports.com

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Brittney Griner 

Griner didn't look particularly comfortable with the shot at first, but seemed to be getting it down by the end of the 20-minute session, particularly after Abdul-Jabbar adjusted the way she was holding the ball. ''She did start to get it, how I used it,'' he said. ''Not everybody uses the same tool in the same way, so you've got to make adjustments to that. But I think with her potential and willingness to learn, she'll do well.'' FOXSports.com

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Brittney Griner 

Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson recently joined Cory & Nathan on 105.3 The Fan. Here are some highlights: On if the Mavs would rather have an elite point guard or center: “Look, I don’t think there is any question if you look at some of the challenges we had last year, point guards are very unique, and it’s really hard to find those guys. That’s why we pulled out all the stops to try to get Deron Williams to come back home. Obviously, he opted to stay in New York. I don’t think there is any position as important as point guard regardless of what level you’re playing on. But hey, if you’re talking about the next if not equal, you talk about the big guy in the middle. You look back at history with Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and you go right down the list, and it’s very difficult to go deep in the playoffs without an inside presence, defensively certainly so obviously, those are two key positions.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Deron Williams, Donnie Nelson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tells FOX Sports Fla. LeBron can break his record of 6 MVPs/doesn't know how would feel if does. "As long as LeBron stays healthy and keeps playing the game at a high level, he, of course, could break my record,’’ Abdul-Jabbar wrote in an email to FOX Sports Florida minutes after James had been awarded his fourth MVP trophy. “The challenges he faces are getting injured or losing interest.’’ Sulia

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Miami Heat star LeBron James is named Most Valuable Player for the fourth time, league sources confirmed Friday. James has been voted MVP for the second straight season and for the fourth time in the past five years. He'll join Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain with at least four MVP awards. ESPN.com

Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has expanded his reach beyond the basketball court, writing pop-culture essays on his blog at the Huffington Post. The six-time NBA champion takes on reality television in a thoughtful, critical analysis of the genre. "Those who refuse to watch, based on some misguided cultural snobbery, aren't just missing great entertainment, they are overlooking the best social insight into the American psyche since Huck Finn and Jim explored the soul of America on a raft of lost innocence," writes Abdul-Jabbar. The Hall-of-Fame center is a fan of Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, calling creator Andy Cohen "the Andy Warhol of the 21st century." Los Angeles Times

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn’t a big fan of HBO’s Girls, a “white ghetto” of a show filled with unappealing protagonists (“We’re supposed to find these girls somehow charming because of their flawed characters,” he wrote in February.) But in a new Huffington Post column, Abdul-Jabbar reveals that another group of (mostly) white, self-involved, fatally ignorant televised characters has indeed stolen his heart: The ladies of Bravo’s Real Housewives, a franchise the athlete lauds as “the best social insight into the American psyche since Huck Finn and Jim explored the soul of America on a raft of lost innocence.” Entertainment Weekly

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

ESPN Stats & Info: Via @EliasSports: Pau Gasol is 1st Laker since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1978 with at least 15 Pts, 20 Reb and 10 Ast in a single game. Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Nonetheless, Abdul-Jabbar has performed well enough through three episodes to stay among the seven remaining contestants out of the original 11-person field. More important, Abdul-Jabbar's participation provides further evidence he's significantly progressed since learning in November 2009 that he has a rare form of leukemia. "I'm doing really well. My health is good," the 65-year-old Abdul-Jabbar said. "It's a wonderful situation to be in because when I was diagnosed I was pretty far down. I thought it could've been the end of me. That's scary." Long Beach Press-Telegram

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Only four men have won four MVP awards, and some believe they are the four greatest players ever. They are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five) and Wilt Chamberlain (four). “Anytime I’m mentioned with the greatest players to play the game or people period, it is a wow factor because I grew up and studied those guys and watched those guys, and a few of those guys were my inspiration growing up,’’ James said. James returned after missing three games due to a hamstring strain. He was just as good as before he left, if not better. FOXSports Florida

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell 

One prominent former Laker sounds skeptical about the team's playoff chances. "It's going to be tough," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said in a phone interview. "If they do make it, I don't know how far they're going to go." The Lakers entered their game Friday against Memphis with a half-game lead over Utah for the eighth playoff spot. The Lakers would likely play against San Antonio or Oklahoma City in the first round. They've only gone 1-5 against those teams. "They had been trying to figure out a whole new system," Abdul-Jabbar said, referring to Mike D'Antoni replacing Mike Brown as head coach following a 1-4 start. "That just makes for confusion. They may have to wait until next year." Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Childhood in the city is pretty different now. There’s not a whole lot of ethnic neighborhoods anymore. They’ve taken all the people in New York and put them in a blender, and they land in chunks and puddles in various parts of the city. It’s a city of workaholics, where the successful really live well. You see that, and you want to join their ranks. I remember I saw a man get out of a Rolls-Royce—the man was Caucasian, and his driver was black. I said to the driver, “I’m gonna have a car like that one day.” New York Magazine

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, New York 

Apparently, that guy in the AT&T commercials is tired of speaking with children in order to highlight the company’s service offerings. The wireless provider went out and got Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell to appear in its most recent iteration of television spots, with the one in the video clip above featuring an emotionally sensitive Bird being reacting to Magic poking fun at his lack of speed on the court during his playing days. NBCSports.com

Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Commercials 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on How to develop a business Rolodex -- and implement it. I was never that interested in the practicalities of business or career. I thought that if I played exceptional basketball, all else would fall neatly into place. I wish I'd forced myself to pay more attention to the many business contacts and opportunities I had. If I'd started my pro career with that awareness, I might have accomplished much more, not just in terms of my own business gains, but in growing my Skyhook Foundation to do even more in the community. Huffington Post

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on How to become financially literate and aware of how investments work. Like many professional athletes, especially back in the late Sixties, I focused on my sport and trusted others to focus on my business. That did not always work out to my benefit. I wish I'd stepped up to the role of businessman more, learning about how investments work and what my financial options were. Huffington Post

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on How to approach young women in a mature and non-self-conscious way. My height was already an obstacle. I towered over most women by a foot and half to two feet. I felt like Darth Vader approaching a bunny. Plus, it's not a real turn-on for them to be staring up my nostrils. I wish I'd been able to ignore the physical differences as I can now and just sit down, preferably on a shorter chair than them, and just talk to them about movies and books and history -- anything but basketball. Huffington Post

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 

Jimmy Kimmel also asked Kareem about the UCLA opening for head coach, and if he would have any interest. Kareem responded that he “certainly would be interested in coaching the team.” Not to get wins, mind you, but to help get players their degrees and teach them basketball. Kareem’s coaching experience is limited to serving as a special assistant to Phil Jackson, and coaching the Oklahoma Storm of the USBL. He does, however, know what it is like to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes. The Big Lead

Coaching, NCAA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, UCLA 

March 20, 1990: #33 was officially retired. The Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s jersey one year after he announced the end of his NBA career. The storied sky-hooker left the game with more championship rings than fingers on his right hand, and remains the all-time leading NBA scorer (38,387 lifetime points). You might be saying to yourself, “Hey, I wonder what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is up to these days?”…and we have an update! 65-year-old, 7-foot-2 Kareem made a spectacular bellyflopping debut on ABC’s Splash last night. (Splash is a celebrity diving contest, in case you’re mercifully unaware of its existence). USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar