National Basketball Association

Alley-Oop

Updated Jul. 17, 2020 7:22 p.m. ET

With the NBA, NHL, NASCAR and other major sports leagues and sporting events suspended or canceled, professional athletes are using their platforms to facilitate financial support for arena workers and those affected by COVID-19 across the nation. Each day, we will feature a philanthropic effort taking place in the sports world.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's UCLA legend – if you can believe it – is still expanding.

On Tuesday, the legendary Bruin and Los Angeles Laker jumped into the fight against COVID-19 by making sure healthcare workers at UCLA Health had the necessary protective equipment.

Abdul-Jabbar donated 900 pairs of goggles to UCLA Health.

For you new school folks who might have never seen Abdul-Jabbar play, not only was he famous for his skyhook – he was known for his own eyewear:

In his message, 'Captain Skyhook' addresses the UCLA Health medical staff and thanks them for their bravery in the fight against COVID-19:

"I want to thank the doctors and nurses at UCLA for all that they are doing. You guys are awesome, risking your lives to help the public. I would like to do my part, so I'm going to use my influence and have my team source quality medical products, such as protective eyewear goggles ... You guys should have all the best equipment while you're on the front line. Thank you for all you do and good luck."

Dr. Eric Esrailian is UCLA's chief of the Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, director of the Melvin & Bren Simon Digestive Diseases Center and Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology at the David Geffen School of Medicine.

In a statement, he thanked Abdul-Jabbar for his donation:

“On behalf of UCLA Health, I am honored and grateful to accept the generous donation of protective goggles from our friend, the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. We are incredibly grateful for the recent outpouring of financial support and donations of supplies during this unprecedented time. #TeamLA is stronger than ever before thanks to all of you, and we will get through this together.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, known as Lew Alcindor during his college days, spent four years at UCLA from 1965-69 under legendary coach John Wooden. He helped lead the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA titles, from 1966-69.

Abdul-Jabbar has also partnered with UCLA Health to offer motivational words each Monday: