Abdul Kareem Jabbar Quotes & Sayings

He doesn't necessarily have to learn the sky hook. He just has to learn how to be an effective post player. I think I can help him do that. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I hope to be involved in a successful movie script. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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

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

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

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've always tried to stay out of the fray and not be an object of controversy. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The constant expansion has diluted the talent. Other than that, it's still the same game. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think Kwame will be an asset to the Lakers. — 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

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

You can't win if you don't play as a unit. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

My parents wanted to name me Karim Hill. My aunt always liked the name Dule, from this actor Keir Dullea, who was in '2001: Space Odyssey.' That's how I got the name Karim Dule Hill. Growing up, I never liked the name Karim because people would ask me, 'Could you dunk like Kareem Abdul Jabbar?' — Dule Hill

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

I expect more people from China and Asia to end up in the NBA. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

We want to show how hip-hop, which kind of fuels today's basketball stars, is directly related to jazz. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

More whites believe in ghosts than believe in racism, — 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

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

OK, I'll put it like this: I doubt if we will see another All-American basketball athlete who is a Rhodes Scholar. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go. Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people. — 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

I'm the baddest among the bad guys. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Your best athletes might give basketball a try just when they think, geez, this might be something that pays off for me in the end. — 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

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

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

There are rap groups that have a positive outlook in their art. These groups should be shown as an alternative to gangsta rap. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think a lot of people, if they get the opportunity to do some acting, they think, 'I might be a star.' — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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

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

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

I got all A's and was hated for it; I spoke correctly and was called a punk. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

Reporters used to ask me the same inane questions year-in and year-out, city-to-city, and it would drive me crazy. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Your mind is what makes everything else work. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Even when there are adverse circumstances, I try to do my job. And I usually do. — 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

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

Fundamental preparation is always effective. Work on those parts of your game that are fundamentally weak. — 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 want to do as little as possible when I finish playing ball - just spend a lot more time with my family. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When you're a coach you've got to go up the ladder, you've got to be ready to travel. That's the nature of coaching — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify. — 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

We don't have selfish guys here, which sometimes leads to problems. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

There's a ball. There's a hoop. You put the ball through the hoop. That's success. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

If not shown appreciation, it gets to you. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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

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

My health is fine. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Music is really something that makes people whole. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Islam is about finding your own space. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I had a moment like that with Wilt (Chamberlain). He knocked me out of bounds, I came back and faked him, came across the middle and dunked on him. — 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

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

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

As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit. — 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 want people to understand that I intend to continue living and doing all the things that I love to do up until the end. And the end is by no means rushing up on me. — 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

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