As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people.
I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home.
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.
My choosing Islam was not a political statement; it was a spiritual statement.
Islam is about finding your own space.
I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.
I was latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Moslems.
When we went up against teams that were better, I just hoped that we could steal the victories.
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.
One man cannot make a team.
My English teacher, Dr. John Lindstrom, taught me an appreciation for the written word. Until his class, I'd dabbled in journalism and essay writing. But when he selected one of my essays as the best in the class, it gave me the confidence to see myself as a writer.
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.
I love basketball, but playing basketball doesn't fully define who I am. I was always a good student, too.
[Albert] Hoxie, my Western Civilization professor. I had him in my freshman year and he opened up an extraordinary world to me that I've never forgotten. He used his extensive knowledge of art history to illustrate the development of Western culture and politics.
I have always thought that writers come with any variety of attributes. Some are capable and some aren't.
High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American Dream.
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
We can learn from mistakes of others, whether they're kings or our parents. When we do learn those lessons, we're better equipped to make our own dreams come true.
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.
I feel like I've always been a full-time historian, but nobody knows it.
I think people that are, you know, voting in the blind are doing a disservice to America by not being better informed.
I think Kwame will be an asset to the Lakers.
I expect more people from China and Asia to end up in the NBA.
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.
Black people don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted.
