Los Angeles Lakers Rise

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar rejoins the Lakers organization for his first season as a Special Assistant Coach on Phil Jackson's staff. In his position, Abdul-Jabbar will work with Lakers players throughout the season at all home practices and help tutor and develop the team's young big men.
Originally joining the Lakers back in 1975, when Abdul-Jabbar left the game in 1989 at age 42, no NBA player had ever scored more points, blocked more shots, won more Most Valuable Player Awards, played in more All-Star Games or logged more seasons. His list of personal and team accomplishments is perhaps the most awesome in league history: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1995); NBA champion (1971, '80, '82, '85, '87, '88); NBA MVP (1971, '72, '74, '76, '77, '80); 10-time All-NBA First Team; Five-time All-NBA Second Team; Five-time All-Defensive First Team; Six-time All-Defensive Second Team; Rookie of the Year; 19-time All-Star; One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996). Known in Los Angeles simply as "The Captain," he was at the center of the Lakers' 1980's Showtime dynasty. Playing 14 of his 20 NBA seasons with the Lakers, the franchise retired his jersey on March 20, 1989.

Outside of basketball, Abdul-Jabbar has penned best selling books including "Black Profiles in Courage" while also appearing in feature films such as "Airplane" and "Fletch." He currently resides in Los Angeles and has three sons, Kareem Jr., Amir and Adam and two daughters, Sultana and Habiba.

Kareem dropped by Lakers.com on Wednesday to chat live with fans. Check out what he had to say about this year's Lakers team, his favorite three accomplishments and much more.

Othello, Wa.: Kareem, I am so happy to see you back in the purple and gold you made famous. My question is. What exactly will be your involvment with the players(both young and old)? I hope that with you in the mix, will improve our chances to make it further in the post season. Congrats on your new job.

-- The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on forward/center Corie Blount, it was announced Monday.
Blount, signed during the off-season as a free-agent, missed each of the Lakers eight preseason games after suffering a sprained left foot during the Lakers training camp in Hawaii.

The 11-year NBA veteran most recently played for the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls during the 2003-04 season, averaging 4.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 62 combined games including three starts.

Selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 25th pick in the first round of the 1993 NBA Draft, Blount was originally acquired by the Lakers in 1995 and in 199 games with Los Angeles from 1995-1999, averaged 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14.6 minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers celebrated "Chick Hearn Night" on Sunday, November 27th, which would have been the legendary Hall of Fame sports broadcaster¡¯s 89th birthday. All fans attending the game received an I Love Chick bear and Mark Haas, winner of the 2005 Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship, was recognized at halftime.
Marge Hearn, widow of Chick Hearn, her great-granddaughter, Kayla, and USC Journalism Professor Joe Salzman participated in the special presentation to honor Mark, a senior at USC from Fort Collins, Colorado, who was named the third recipient of the scholarship. Mark serves as sports director for Annenberg TV news and assistant producer for MattReggieTV.com. The award also includes an internship with Fox Sports Net, where Mark will assist with the production of live pre-game programming and game telecasts.

Awarded annually to a deserving Broadcast Journalism major at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship is funded by an endowment established by the Los Angeles Lakers in memory of Hearn, who passed away in 2002. In addition to a major gift from the Lakers, hundreds of fans contributed to the scholarship fund, which now totals more than $100,000. At halftime, Marge Hearn announced a campaign to expand the scholarship to benefit two students annually. She has made a lead gift of $100,000 and the public is invited to contribute to the fund.