Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes

You can't win unless you learn how to lose.

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

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

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

I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.

My most memorable moment came in 1985 as we beat the Boston Celtics.

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

Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they are executed.

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

If ISIS represents Islam, then the KKK represents Christianity

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.

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

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

I think race has been a burden for black Americans. Being Muslim has also been a challenge because so many people do not understand Islam.

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

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.

Fundamental preparation is always effective. Work on those parts of your game that are fundamentally weak.

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.

One man cannot make a team.

The extra pass and the extra effort on defense always get the job done.

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.

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.

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.

My choosing Islam was not a political statement; it was a spiritual statement.

You can't win if you don't play as a unit.

Your mind is what makes everything else work.

I was latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Moslems.

I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.

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

Islam is about finding your own space.

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.

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.

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

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

I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind.

I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home.

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.

Center is a very tough position to play.

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

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

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

Common decency demands that [NCAA athletes] should be paid, but the only way it will happen is the same way workers got paid throughout American history, through a strong union.

What we need are positive, realistic goals and the willingness to work. Hard work and practical goals.

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

I love basketball, but playing basketball doesn't fully define who I am. I was always a good student, too.

My biggest resource is my mind.

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.

I expect more people from China and Asia to end up in the NBA.

Yoga is just good for you.

When the line started to blur between the fans and the players, sometimes things can get ugly.