Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes

We can learn from mistakes of others, whether they're kings or our parents. When we do learn those lessons, we're better equipped to make our own dreams come true.

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.

I was just starting out acting [doing "Airplane"] and wanted to be taken as a professional, not as an athlete doing a cameo.

Ignorance is not something that lends itself to a meaningful discussion.

When I was at UCLA, the Harlem Globetrotters offered me a million dollars to come play for them. I turned it down because my education was just as important as playing ball.

I'm not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court.

Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath; that's the essence of yoga, too. So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it's unequaled.

Either because I was an athlete or because I was black - probably both - there seemed to be a clear assumption that I wouldn't be up to the work.

The first time I shot the hook, I was in fourth grade, and I was about five feet eight inches tall. I put the ball up and felt totally at ease with the shot. I was completely confident it would go in. I've been shooting it ever since.

I could have skated by as an athlete, but the world is so much bigger and more interesting than any one thing. I didn't want to be pigeonholed as just a jock. I'm also an author, a student of history, and I collect memorabilia from the Wild West. I'm also a son, a father, and a friend.

Some stuff can be fixed, some stuff can’t be. Deciding which is which is part of maturing.

After practice, I would have to go back to the dorm and take a nap.

I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream.

If ISIS represents Islam, then the KKK represents Christianity

Islam is about finding your own space.

My grandfather and my uncle both died from colorectal cancer, my dad almost died from it and I have the gene for it.

The saying, "Those that don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it" doesn't just apply to politicians and world leaders, it applies to all of us on a daily basis.

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.

When the doctor told me I had cancer, I was scared.

The 3-point shot has created a situation in the game akin to 'Lotto' fever.

I always thought I could do a good job coaching, but the opportunities have not presented themselves.

Yoga is somewhat hard to quantify in terms of benefits because you see them in all the injuries you don't get.

Your mind is what makes everything else work.

In athletics there's always been a willingness to cheat if it looks like you're not cheating. I think that's just a quirk of human nature.

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

Justice should be blind especially color-blind and able to fairly deal with the very real need for honest law enforcement.

Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.

You play with your soul as well as your body.

There are a lot of authors in the world, so it's difficult to find a unique niche to present your take on things. That is always a challenge for any author.

My biggest accomplishment has been making a transition from athlete to author.

The word 'leukemia' is a very frightening word. In many instances, it's a killer and it's something that you have to deal with in a very serious and determined way if you're going to beat it.

I think someone should explain to the child that it's OK to make mistakes. That's how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes.

Few players have cast a spell across the game like Yao Ming, before or since.

I've had a desire to coach for years. This was something I felt I should do.

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers.