Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes about Basketball - Page 3

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

The disconnect lasted too long. I think people got the idea I was sullen and couldn't communicate, which wasn't true.

The Lakers fans have been great, even folks in the supermarket are welcoming me back.

Lakers were able to maintain a certain level of talent and success and so were the Celtics. So after awhile it became part of people's sports lore...

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

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

But people don't know if I can teach the game. I know I can. My experience in Oklahoma was positive. It opened my eyes to how the game is played - the interaction among players, fans and media, how all that works. You have to know about the business of the game and how the actions of players and coaches affect the business. I think I have it down now.

The constant expansion has diluted the talent. Other than that, it's still the same game.

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

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.

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

I listen to jazz mainly. Mainstream jazz.

I think the NBA will certainly survive without Michael Jordan.

The transition was difficult. It's hard to stop something that you've enjoyed and that has been very rewarding.

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.

As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit.

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

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.

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

I'm not going to disappear.

Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also. I don't think there's any comparison. Elgin did it without three-point lines. His game was attacking the hoop and hitting jumpers inside 20 feet. Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way.

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.

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

When a rap song glorifies violence, death and sadness and loss is inflicted because of the violence.

What I learned in my time isn't necessarily being taught now, and I'd like to help impart that knowledge to a new generation of players.