nba legend kareem abdul-jabbar is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing .
the successful surgery , which was performed by cardiac surgery chief dr richard shemin , cleared a major blockage from the hall of famer 's heart .
after retiring from the nba , the 19-time all star and six-time mvp starred in game of death with bruce lee , wrote nine new york times best-sellers and was appointed to be the us cultural ambassador by hillary rodham clinton in 2012 .