The former Los Angeles Lakers star, 68, was admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles earlier this week (beg13Apr14) with cardiovascular disease. The heart surgery on Thursday (16Apr15) was successful and Abdul-Jabbar is expected to make a full recovery.

A spokesman for the hospital says, "He is looking forward to getting back to his normal activities soon."

The Basketball Hall of Famer retired from the game in 1989.

He has since become a film and TV star, appearing in projects like Airplane! and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.