Abdul Jabbar Quotes & Sayings

Music rhythms are mathematical patterns. When you hear a song and your body starts moving with it, your body is doing math. The kids in their parents' garage practicing to be a band may not realize it, but they're also practicing math. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

So what does all this mean if you desperately want to persuade someone who doesn't want to be persuaded?

The first step is to appreciate that your opponent's opinion is likely based less on fact and logic than on ideology and herd thinking. If you were to suggest this to his face, he would of course deny it. He is operating from a set of biases he cannot even see. As the behavioral sage Daniel Kahneman has written: "We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness." Few of us are immune to this blind spot. That goes for you, and that goes for the two of us as well. And so, as the basketball legend-cum-philosopher Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once put it, "It's easier to jump out of a plane - hopefully with a parachute - than it is to change your mind about an opinion. — Steven D. Levitt

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Some stuff can be fixed, some stuff can't be. Deciding which is which is part of maturing. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I'm not going to disappear. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. That's a terrible burden. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In the Western standards of modesty, there are different guidelines. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also. I don't think there's any comparison. Elgin did it without three-point lines. His game was attacking the hoop and hitting jumpers inside 20 feet. Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Each story, novel, poem and play presents a vision of the world that illuminates the dark cave of life we stumble through. We can see better where we're going, what sudden drop to avoid, where the cool water is running. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think the NBA players have to be held accountable in a reasonable way, just like any other professionals. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think Kwame will be an asset to the Lakers. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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

High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American Dream. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think I did very well against everyone who tried to defend me. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I rooted for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think black Americans expect too much from individual black Americans in terms of changing the status quo. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I don't really care who's doing drugs in the NBA as long as the scene isn't adversely affecting my team and teammates. I've known enough drug users-going as far back as grade school and the streets of New York-not to view them as pariahs or lost souls. I've certainly smoked more than my quota of weed. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When the line started to blur between the fans and the players, sometimes things can get ugly. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I feel that there has been progress made since I was a boy on matters of race, but we have a long way to go. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I listen to jazz mainly. Mainstream jazz. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I've never been a person to share my private life, but I can help save lives. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think I really benefited from going to college. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism, — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think the NBA will certainly survive without Michael Jordan. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When we went up against teams that were better, I just hoped that we could steal the victories. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

What I have is P.H. positive chronic myeloid leukemia, which is an aberration in your white blood cells. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

But people don't know if I can teach the game. I know I can. My experience in Oklahoma was positive. It opened my eyes to how the game is played - the interaction among players, fans and media, how all that works. You have to know about the business of the game and how the actions of players and coaches affect the business. I think I have it down now. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

What I learned in my time isn't necessarily being taught now, and I'd like to help impart that knowledge to a new generation of players. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Practices were tough. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Today's youth are told to get rich or die trying and they really shouldn't take that attitude forward with them. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I was a baseball fan myself, I wanted to play baseball. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The Lakers fans have been great, even folks in the supermarket are welcoming me back! — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The disconnect lasted too long. I think people got the idea I was sullen and couldn't communicate, which wasn't true. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I try to do the right thing at the ... — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I need about three seats lengthwise to sleep on a plane. It's not easy for me to curl up. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

It's hard for young players to see the big picture. They just see three or four years down the road. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Yoga is just good for you. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

Many people are born into their religion. For them it is mostly a matter of legacy and convenience. Their belief is based on faith, not just in the teachings of the religion but also in the acceptance of that religion from their family and culture. For the person who converts, it is a matter of fierce conviction and defiance. Our belief is based on a combination of faith and logic because we need a powerful reason to abandon the traditions of our families and community to embrace beliefs foreign to both. Conversion is a risky business because it can result in losing family, friends and community support. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

A lot of players think the game is all about individual performances when it's really all about a team game. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I've had enough success for two lifetimes, My success is talent put together with hard work and luck. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

If ISIS represents Islam, then the KKK represents Christianity — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

My health is fine. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

If not for the success that medicine has made, I might be part of a much different story right now. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis. That's not normal, even for my age. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I have always thought that writers come with any variety of attributes. Some are capable and some aren't. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I needed to go to class; I needed to go to practice; I needed to have a life away from basketball. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

LeBron James can get a shot off under any and all circumstances and he makes them. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When the doctor told me I had cancer, I was scared. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

He had breath in him once," he declared. "He is to be treated with respect, no matter the cost." "Now is not the time for empty ritual," Holmes thundered. "Now is precisely the time!" Douglas thundered back. "When we ourselves are empty, it is the ritual that turns us human again. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Cancer is a scary thing and you have to deal with it seriously. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

If there is moral insanity," he said in a conspiratorial whisper, "then there may be the reverse, immoral sanity, if you will, that comes upon one suddenly, like a fever. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Douglas wondered if his friend would make it out of this alive. He realized, not for the first time, that life or death was not the most important thing. The most important thing was the mission, their own small attempt to "proclaim liberty to the captives," as the Book of Isaiah had commanded nearly three thousand years before. To engage in a war where there would be no material benefit for the victor other than the liberation of oppressed and victimized human beings. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

After practice, I would have to go back to the dorm and take a nap. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I wanted to play baseball! — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

I've had a desire to coach for years. This was something I felt I should do. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

During 1866 and 1922, Native Americans and black soldiers often intermingled in the American west, on the frontier. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I have to say I have an incredible musical education because of my father. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

You cant win unless you learn how to lose. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

This is what I would have done if I had to have a real job: I would have been a history teacher. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics endured for about eight years, and the interest grew each year. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

My mother had to send me to the movies with my birth certificate, so that I wouldn't have to pay the extra fifty cents that the adults had to pay. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I totally alienated some reporters as I retreated. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Center is a very tough position to play. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Few players have cast a spell across the game like Yao Ming, before or since. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Going into a game against Lew Alcindor [later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] is like going into a knife fight and finding there's no blade in your handle. — Bill Fitch

Black people don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Well, I'm a professional. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I felt that a number of people might have questioned my loyalty, but I continue to be a patriotic American. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they are executed. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

A team will always appreciate a great individual if he's willing to sacrifice for the group. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When a rap song glorifies violence, death and sadness and loss is inflicted because of the violence. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

Without question, no hesitation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best player I ever played against. — Bill Walton

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

One man cannot make a team. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think the greatest player I've ever played against was Magic Johnson. Next, was Larry Bird. Then, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. — John Salley