The transition was difficult. It's hard to stop something that you've enjoyed and that has been very rewarding.

All the courage and competitiveness of Jackie Robinson affects me to this day. If I patterned my life after anyone it was him, not because he was the first black baseball player in the majors but because he was a hero.

The rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics endured for about eight years, and the interest grew each year.

If I hadn't become a professional basketball player, I would have become a history teacher. There's so much to learn from history.

I think people that are, you know, voting in the blind are doing a disservice to America by not being better informed.

I was especially impressed with Pauley Pavilion [at UCLA campus ]. The floors hadn't been laid down yet, when they gave me the tour, each new room got my heart thumping. They even had a surgical operating room in case an athlete was severely injured.

I feel like I've always been a full-time historian, but nobody knows it.