Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

All the courage and competitiveness of Jackie Robinson affects me to this day. If I patterned my life after anyone it was him, not because he was the first black baseball player in the majors but because he was a hero.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Your mind is what makes everything else work.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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

You can't win unless you learn how to lose.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I've had enough success for two lifetimes, my success is talent put together with hard work and luck.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

You can't win if you don't play as a unit.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar