“I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.”
Great
“Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.”
EqualityAll Quotes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success.”
Success“I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing.”
Time“Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.”
Equality“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.”
Change“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.”
History“I want to do as little as possible when I finish playing ball - just spend a lot more time with my family.”
Family“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.”
Music“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.”
History“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.”
Nature“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.”
Movies“Today's youth are told to get rich or die trying and they really shouldn't take that attitude forward with them.”
Attitude“When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. That's a terrible burden.”
Positive“I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available.”
Hope“I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis. That's not normal, even for my age.”
Age“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.”
History“This is what I would have done if I had to have a real job: I would have been a history teacher.”
History“I have to say I have an incredible musical education because of my father.”
Education“I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home.”
Home“Black people don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted.”
History