Kareem Abdul-Jabbar undergoes coronary bypass surgery

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery on Thursday.

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery on Thursday.

UCLA Health issued a statement on Friday saying Abdul-Jabbar was admitted to the school's medical center this week with cardiovascular disease.

Richard Shemin, UCLA's chief of cardiac surgery, performed the operation and said he expects Abdul-Jabbar, 68, to make a full recovery.

In the statement, Abdul-Jabbar asks that "you keep him in your thoughts and, most importantly, cherish and live each day to its fullest."

Over 20 seasons with the Bucks and Lakers, the Hall of Fame center earned six NBA Most Valuable Player awards and holds the all-time record of 38,387 points scored. He was also a three-time National Player of the Year and NCAA champion with the Bruins.

GALLERY: CLASSIC PHOTOS OF KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

Classic Photos of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1965

Neil Leifer/SI

1966

Neil Leifer/SI

1967

Neil Leifer/SI

1967

Neil Leifer/SI

with John Wooden

1967

Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images

with Bill Russell and Muhammad Ali

1969

Neil Leifer/SI

1969

Neil Leifer/SI

with parents Cora and Ferdinand

1969

Neil Leifer/SI

1971

Walter Iooss Jr./SI

1972

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

with Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.

1973

Walter Iooss Jr./SI

1973

Walter Iooss Jr./SI

with Wilt Chamberlain

1974

Walter Iooss Jr./SI

1974

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

with Bill Walton

1974

John Iacono/SI

1975

John G. Zimmerman/SI

1979

AP

with actors Rossie Harris (Joey) and Peter Graves (Captain Oveur) in the movie "Airplane!"

1980

Peter Read Miller/SI

1980

Manny Millan/SI

with Caldwell Jones

1980

NBC/AP

with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show"

1981

Andy Hayt/SI

with Moses Malone

1981

Lane Stewart/SI

with (from left) Michael Cooper, Norm Nixon, Mitch Kupchak, Paul Westhead, Jamaal Wilkes and Magic Johnson

1982

Manny Millan/SI

1982

Manny Millan/SI

with Julius Erving

1982

NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via AP Images

with Gary Coleman on "Diff'rent Strokes"

1985

Andy Hayt/SI

with Magic Johnson

1985

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

with President Ronald Reagan

1986

John W. McDonough/SI

with Hakeem Olajuwon

1987

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

with Charles Barkley

1988

Lane Stewart/SI

with Pat Riley and Lakers teammates

1988

V.J. Lovero/SI

1988

Manny Millan/SI

with Patrick Ewing

1989

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

with Michael Jordan

1990

Peter Read Miller/SI

1994

Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

with Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show"

1994

Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

with Will Smith on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"

1995

Mark J. Terrill/AP

with Muggsy Bogues

1996

Peter Read Miller/SI

with Shaquille O'Neal and George Mikan

1997

Chuck Solomon/SI

with Walter Payton, Gordie Howe, Bobby Allison and Reggie Jackson

1998

Gregory Heisler/SI

with his horse Peaches

1998

John W. McDonough/SI

with the men's varsity team at White Mountain Apache Reservation

1999

Peter Gregoire/SI

2000

Matt Campbell/AFP/Getty Images

with Tyrone Nesby

2005

Imaginechina/Icon SMI

2012

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

2012

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

2013

John W. McDonough/SI

with Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Bill Walton, Patrick Ewing and Danny Manning

2014

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

with President Barack Obama

2014

Robert Beck/SI

2015

Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images