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Sports and entertainment are the only places where inner-city kids see themselves being able to succeed. Their intellectual development is something they don't relate to.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Age: 77
Born: 1947
Born: April 16
Actor
Author
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
Film Producer
Screenwriter
Television Actor
New York City
New York
Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor
Jr.
Lew Alcindor
Sports
Entertainment
Kids
Inner
Able
Places
Something
Intellectual
Succeed
City
Development
Cities
Relate

More quotes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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The type of leukemia that I am dealing with is treatable. So if I do what my doctors tell me to do - get my blood checked regularly, take my meds and consult with my doctor and follow any additional instructions he might make - I will be able to maintain my good health and live my life with a minimum of disruptions to my lifestyle.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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The first time I shot the hook, I was in fourth grade, and I was about five feet eight inches tall. I put the ball up and felt totally at ease with the shot. I was completely confident it would go in. I've been shooting it ever since.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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People still cheat on their wives, that hasn't fallen out of fashion. We all speak of it badly, but it has not fallen out of fashion.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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When we went up against teams that were better, I just hoped that we could steal the victories.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Culture and politics were inseparable [in the Sixties], which gave a soundtrack to political awareness and activism.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I don't get a big charge out of being the leading scorer. The object of competing is winning. I just try to do what has to be done for us to win. That might be anything at the time - defense, rebounding, passing. I get great satisfaction out of being a team player.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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[Coaching] is a difficult job which everyone who owns a TV thinks they can do better at.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath that's the essence of yoga, too. So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it's unequaled.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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There are rap groups that have a positive outlook in their art. These groups should be shown as an alternative to gangsta rap.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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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
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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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Some stuff can be fixed, some stuff can’t be. Deciding which is which is part of maturing.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I've kept in touch with many of my former teammates: Bob Marcucci was our team manager and we bonded over our passion for baseball.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Yoga is just good for you.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I felt that a number of people might have questioned my loyalty, but I continue to be a patriotic American.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Either because I was an athlete or because I was black - probably both - there seemed to be a clear assumption that I wouldn't be up to the work.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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I've never been a person to share my private life, but I can help save lives.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar