Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes

I was latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Moslems.

Alexander Hamilton realized that warfare was part and parcel of human nature, and it's something we had to prepare for.

The Sixties was a perfect storm of disaffection with political leaders trying to pass off the same old platitudes to maintain the status quo and an unexpected courageousness in the masses of youth. Nothing on this scale had ever happened before in U.S. history and it hasn't happened since.

I rooted for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn.

The '80s made up for all the abuse I took during the '70s. I outlived all my critics. By the time I retired, everybody saw me as a venerable institution. Things do change.

I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind.

I feel that Dennis Rodman has become a problem. He will be more of a problem than an asset. Of course, he can prove me wrong.

Fundamental preparation is always effective. Work on those parts of your game that are fundamentally weak.

People still cheat on their wives, that hasn't fallen out of fashion. We all speak of it badly, but it has not fallen out of fashion.

I'm not going to emphasize the sky-hook as much as work with the specific skills of the guys.

I have to say I have an incredible musical education because of my father.

A team will always appreciate a great individual if he's willing to sacrifice for the group.

In January of 1969, after a meeting to discuss the leadership of UCLA's new Afro-American Program, [Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John Huggins, Jr.] were murdered on campus by a rival black nationalist group, the United Slaves Organization. This shook up all the students, black and white, and made us all realize that what we were doing wasn't just an academic exercise, but had repercussions in the real world.

Practices were tough.

When a rap song glorifies violence, death and sadness and loss is inflicted because of the violence.

I just like seeing the world, and it doesn't matter where.

When we went up against teams that were better, I just hoped that we could steal the victories.

I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home.

Common decency demands that [NCAA athletes] should be paid, but the only way it will happen is the same way workers got paid throughout American history, through a strong union.

More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism.

I've always tried to stay out of the fray and not be an object of controversy.

[Coaching] is a difficult job which everyone who owns a TV thinks they can do better at.

A lot of young players don't really know much about the history of the game and a lot of them are missing out on what the game is all about, especially the whole concept of sportsmanship and teamwork.

If not shown appreciation, it gets to you.

I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available.

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

[Albert] Hoxie, my Western Civilization professor. I had him in my freshman year and he opened up an extraordinary world to me that I've never forgotten. He used his extensive knowledge of art history to illustrate the development of Western culture and politics.

You got guys now declaring they're ready to play pro ball in their second or third year of high school. It's crazy! They're missing so much.

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

But all was not sunshine and Marvin Gaye songs. [UCLA] also recruited black students as part of a High Potential Program that was meant to bring diversity to the campus. Two of the students that were part of that program were Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John Huggins, Jr., both members of the Black Panther Party's Southern California Chapter.

With 300 million people in America, you can fail to impress 299 million of them and still go platinum.

I don't get a big charge out of being the leading scorer. The object of competing is winning. I just try to do what has to be done for us to win. That might be anything at the time - defense, rebounding, passing. I get great satisfaction out of being a team player.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that the 761st was Patton's best tank unit and nobody knew about it.

Culture and politics were inseparable [in the Sixties], which gave a soundtrack to political awareness and activism.

I think I really benefited from going to college.

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 think the NBA will certainly survive without Michael Jordan.

Music is really something that makes people whole.

Michael Jordan and Magic and myself, all learned how to play the game in college programs that emphasized the team.

My English teacher, Dr. John Lindstrom, taught me an appreciation for the written word. Until his class, I'd dabbled in journalism and essay writing. But when he selected one of my essays as the best in the class, it gave me the confidence to see myself as a writer.

Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they are executed.

UCLA acknowledged this shift by bringing in Alex Haley (the co-author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X) and Eldridge Cleaver (Soul on Ice) as speakers.

If they took the idea that they could escape poverty through education, I think it would make a more basic and long-lasting change in the way things happen. What we need are positive, realistic goals and the willingness to work. Hard work and practical goals.

I'm not going to disappear.

Pride was his life force; for us it was a live nerve that he could teach us to brush. One stroke, a good practice, and we could tingle for days ... First, he found the pride in each of us, then he taught us how good it could feel. What he was ultimately after was for every one of us to learn to light our own fires and glow our brightest.

Yoga is just good for you.

The type of leukemia that I am dealing with is treatable. So if I do what my doctors tell me to do - get my blood checked regularly, take my meds and consult with my doctor and follow any additional instructions he might make - I will be able to maintain my good health and live my life with a minimum of disruptions to my lifestyle.

Cancer is a scary thing and you have to deal with it seriously.