L.A. Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar underwent a quadruple coronary bypass surgery on Thursday after being admitted to UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles with cardiovascular disease earlier this week.
A statement released by the hospital on Friday said the former basketball star’s surgery was successfully performed by UCLA’s chief of cardiac surgery Richard Shemin. Abdul-Jabbar is expected to make a full recovery.
The UCLA alum thanked his surgical team and medical staff, and asked fans to support members of their community with health issues in lieu of sending well wishes.
The 68-year-old Abdul-Jabbar, who recently appeared in the new web series “The HuffPost Show,” became one of the greatest NBA players of all time over the course of his 20 seasons in the league.
Before his professional career, Abdul-Jabbar led the UCLA Bruins to three NCAA Men’s Basketball national championships.