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 need about three seats lengthwise to sleep on a plane. It's not easy for me to curl up.

— 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

I'm still my parent's child, I'm still me, but I made a choice. I evolved into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I think it has…

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I've never been a person to share my private life, but I can help save lives.

— 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…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Actor Mike Warren [was my former teammate], who was in Hill Street Blues. There are more, but it's starting to sound like…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“The intellects of the Harlem Renaissance realized that before whites would see blacks as equals, first blacks had to see themselves that…

— 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…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Either because I was an athlete or because I was black - probably both - there seemed to be a clear assumption…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Lakers were able to maintain a certain level of talent and success and so were the Celtics. So after awhile it became…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

For me, the bold jazz of John Coltrane and Miles Davis reflected the bold attitude in African-Americans finding their political identity and…

— 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

High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American Dream.

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— 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 think race has been a burden for black Americans. Being Muslim has also been a challenge because so many people do…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“The person who has some awareness of the past knows how to fashion a rudder and which direction land is.”

— 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…

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— 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

Video games just can't compare with the variety and intensity of reading.

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— 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

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

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

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I want to do as little as possible when I finish playing ball - just spend a lot more time with my…

— 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

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar