NBA Finals History: Players with the most Finals appearances EVER

10 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Statue Unveiling At STAPLES Center

In terms of accomplishment in the game of basketball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is without a doubt the greatest to ever do it. He is one of the few players to dominate the country through high school, college and then as a pro basketball player.

Born in Harlem as Lew Alcindor, Kareem holds the longest winning streak in high school hoops with a 71-game streak. He went on to UCLA, foregoing the freshman year of his college career due to NCAA rules. He more than made up for it, however, with an 88-2 record for the Bruins through his next 3 years. He's the only player to ever win 3 MVP awards at the NCAA tournament, and UCLA emerged victorious in all 3 of those.

He entered the NBA in the 1969-70 season, and his excellence was there for everyone to see as he put up the most dominant scoring season ever by a rookie with 28.1 points, 14.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He was also a dominant shot-blocker right off the bat, though that stat was not made official till his 5th season when he averaged an outrageous 3.5 blocks per game.

Kareem dominated the '70s era of NBA basketball in the same manner as LeBron is today, winning 6 MVP awards during the regular season. The center had the most graceful decline of any superstar to ever play in the league, and he retired as the league's all-time leader in points scored with 38,387. With 18 All-Star game appearances, 15 All-NBA selections and 11 All-Defensive team selections, Jabbar is the most decorated player in league history, and it isn't particularly close.