On 1 May 1980, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the sixth time. It was the most in league history, a record that still stands. No player has since matched it.
Written off at thirty-two, then a career season
He entered the 1979–80 campaign in his eleventh season, and many believed his best years were behind him. Instead he averaged 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists across all 82 games. He also led the league with 3.4 blocks a night while shooting over 60 percent from the field.
The dominance carried into the playoffs. Abdul-Jabbar led all scorers that postseason with 479 points, averaging 32 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks a game. Then he turned an ankle in Game 5 of the Finals against Philadelphia.
With their centre sidelined, the Lakers handed the position to rookie Magic Johnson for the decisive Game 6. Johnson answered with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, closing out the 76ers and taking Finals MVP. It was the season's second championship, won without its best player on the floor.
Six MVPs, a mark no one has reached
The award set Abdul-Jabbar apart from every peer. Bill Russell and, later, Michael Jordan each won the honour five times; only he has ever won a sixth. His first had come back in 1971, in his second NBA year with the Milwaukee Bucks.
This would be his last MVP, but far from his last landmark. The scoring record he built over those years stood for 34 seasons, and the game still remembers the skyhook that made it possible.