All About His Sons and Daughters

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s kids — Habiba Jr., Kareem Jr., Sultana, Amir and Adam — have helped carry on his legacy.

The Hall of Famer and his then-wife Habiba Sr. welcomed three children in the 1970s. Habiba Jr., Kareem Jr. and Sultana were still young when their father was at the height of his professional basketball career. Kareem Jr. later went on to follow in his dad’s footsteps, playing the sport in college.

After Kareem Sr. and Habiba Sr. divorced, he began a relationship with Cheryl Pistono and they welcomed a son, Amir. A few years after they broke up, Kareem Sr. dated Julye Olds, and the pair celebrated the arrival of their son Adam.

The basketball pro has opened up about the most important lessons he wanted to pass down to his children.

“Well, the very first thing [I told them] is be educated,” he told the Harvard Business Review in 2012. “My youngest is in college now, and the other four all have their degrees. And then I’ve just told them to follow their hearts, their instincts.”

Here’s everything to know about Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s kids: Habiba Jr., Kareem Jr., Sultana, Amir and Adam.

Habiba Alcindor, 51

Kareem Sr. and Habiba Sr. welcomed their first child, Habiba Jr., on May 15, 1972, and named her after her mother. According to the Bronx Times, Kareem Sr.’s elder daughter changed her last name from Abdul-Jabbar to Alcindor — her paternal grandparents’ surname — to reflect her heritage.

In an interview with Bjorn Pink in 2022, Habiba Jr. revealed that her father “was never there” when she was growing up, as he was focused on his basketball career. Although her dad is famous, Habiba Jr. shared that she doesn’t like telling people about him so she can make her own impression.

“I’m so used to downplaying who my dad is … I guess a lot of people will know me for a long time before knowing who my dad is,” she said. Habiba Jr. continued, saying that she and her siblings “inherited” their father’s “mysterious and enigmatic” personality.

According to her website, Habiba Jr. is a “writer, producer, dramatist, director and social justice activist.” As a writer, she has contributed to media outlets like the Huffington Post and The Nation.

In 2018, Habiba Jr. made her directing and producing debut with her short film Gold Rush, which is partially inspired by her family as it follows a fictional NBA player and his children. Her parents and siblings attended the Los Angeles premiere to support her.

“My mom planned the party, my aunt Phyl designed the step-and-repeat and my uncle Robert photographed everyone,” she wrote on her blog. “My dad showed up and gave the film a good review, so I’d call the event a success!”

In her interview with Pink, Habiba Jr. shared that she was working on developing Gold Rush into a series. Since April 2022, she has worked as an executive assistant at the nonprofit Children’s Aid, per her LinkedIn.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jr., 47

Kareem Sr. and Habiba Sr. welcomed Kareem Jr. on Aug. 23, 1976.

In the mid-1990s, Kareem Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and played college basketball at Valparaiso University and Western Kentucky University.

After college, Kareem Jr. was part of the American Basketball Association for the L.A. Stars. He also played in the L.A. Lakers’ Summer League in 2003.

Kareem Jr. later went into acting, appearing on shows like Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz and Half & Half. He even portrayed his father on a 2008 episode of The Sarah Silverman Program.

Sultana Abdul-Jabbar, 45

Kareem Sr. and Habiba Sr. welcomed their third child, Sultana, in April 1979.

Following her parent’s divorce, she lived with her mother and two older siblings. Sultana has kept out of the spotlight but has made rare appearances to support her father’s basketball career.

In 2014, she sat courtside at an L.A. Lakers game with her father and Zac Efron. She has also been featured on her sister’s blog.

Amir Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Sr. and his former girlfriend Pistono share one son, Amir Abdul-Jabbar.

In 2012, Amir received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. After completing his residency at Louisiana State University in 2017, he became an orthopedic and spinal surgeon in Issaquah, Washington, working with Swedish Health Services.

When Kareem Sr. was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008, his son was a third-year medical student, and Amir helped explain the treatment process to his father.

“He was a real great source for me, just that I can talk to him about it. Being a doctor, he understood what was happening, and gave me a realistic viewpoint on it,” Kareem Sr. told PEOPLE at the time. “That means a lot to me.”

When Amir isn’t working, he enjoys “cycling, yoga and camping,” according to his bio on Providence.org.

Adam Abdul-Jabbar, 32

Kareem Sr. and his then-girlfriend Olds welcomed Adam on Sept. 24, 1991.

According to the Los Angeles Times, his parents named him after Adam Clayton Powell, the first Black American elected to Congress in New York.

Kareem Sr.’s youngest child appeared alongside his father on Full House in 1995 and competed on Celebrity Family Feud with him in 2017.

Four years after their appearance on the reality competition show, Adam was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with the option to serve as house arrest after pleading guilty to stabbing his neighbor.

Prosecutors said the assault happened because of a fight over trash cans — the victim was reportedly left with a fractured skull and nearly bled to death on the way to the hospital. Adam’s formal charges were three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of carrying a dirk or dagger.