Inspiring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes to Elevate Your Mindset

As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was - Kareem Abdul Jabbar quotes

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn’t just a basketball legend; he’s also a profound thinker whose words resonate far beyond the court. With a career that spanned two decades and an impressive collection of accolades, Kareem’s insights on life, success, and perseverance offer timeless wisdom for anyone seeking motivation. Whether you’re facing challenges or striving to achieve your dreams, the powerful Kareem Abdul-Jabbar quotes in this list are sure to inspire and uplift you. Dive in and discover the profound lessons he has to share!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes:

As brilliant an individual that Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I expect more people from China and Asia to end up in the NBA. My choosing Islam was not a political statement; it was a spiritual statement. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My most memorable moment came in 1985 as we beat the Boston Celtics. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Some stuff can be fixed, some stuff can’t be. Deciding which is which is part of maturing. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Reporters used to ask me the same inane questions year-in and year-out, city-to-city, and it would drive me crazy. – 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
I’m the baddest among the bad guys. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kobe’s an incredibly talented athlete, and there are many more like him among today’s players. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
At times when I am feeling low, I hear from a friend and then, My worries start to go away, and I am on the mend. No matter what the doctors say, and their studies never end, The best cure of all, when spirits fall, is a kind word from a friend. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I always thought I could do a good job coaching, but the opportunities have not presented themselves. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
A team will always appreciate a great individual if he’s willing to sacrifice for the group. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I just like seeing the world, and it doesn’t matter where. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You’re never really cancer-free and I should have known that. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The ’80s made up for all the abuse I took during the ’70s. I outlived all my critics. By the time I retired, everybody saw me as a venerable institution. Things do change. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Yoga is just good for you. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
What we need are positive, realistic goals and the willingness to work. Hard work and practical goals. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
A lot of players think the game is all about individual performances when it’s really all about a team game. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My biggest accomplishment has been making a transition from athlete to author. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Michael Jordan and Magic and myself all learned how to play the game in college programs that emphasized the team. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The 3-point shot has created a situation in the game akin to ‘Lotto’ fever. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The constant expansion has diluted the talent. Other than that, it’s still the same game. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My opponent now is myself, my inclination toward laziness. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’m still my parent’s child, I’m still me, but I made a choice. I evolved into . – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Music is really something that makes people whole. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
If not for the success that medicine has made, I might be part of a much different story right now. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’m not going to emphasize the sky-hook as much as work with the specific skills of the guys. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’ve always tried to stay out of the fray and not be an object of controversy. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’m not going to disappear. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
He had breath in him once, he declared. He is to be treated with respect, no matter the cost. Now is not the time for empty ritual, Holmes thundered. Now is precisely the time!
Douglas thundered back. When we ourselves are empty, it is the ritual that turns us human again. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I wanted to play baseball! – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Fundamental preparation is always effective. Work on those parts of your game that are fundamentally weak. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
There are a lot of authors in the world, so it’s difficult to find a unique niche to present your take on things. That is always a challenge for any author. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
During 1866 and 1922, Native Americans and black soldiers often intermingled in the American west, on the frontier. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Initially when I stopped playing, I had accumulated some burnout. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics endured for about eight years, and the interest grew each year. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My biggest resource is my mind. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
When we went up against teams that were better, I just hoped that we could steal the victories. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I listen to jazz mainly. Mainstream jazz. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think it has to do with evolution. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
One man cannot make a team. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – 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
The foolish will tread where the wise will not, Holmes replied. If we waited for the wisdom of this venture, Douglas and I would still be in London. To fools, then! Little Huan exclaimed. To fools! the others declared. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
I feel that there has been progress made since I was a boy on matters of race, but we have a long way to go. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My health is fine. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Cancer is a scary thing and you have to deal with it seriously. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I felt that a number of people might have questioned my loyalty, but I continue to be a patriotic American. – 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
Music rhythms are mathematical patterns. When you hear a song and your body starts moving with it, your body is doing math. The kids in their parents’ garage practicing to be a band may not realize it, but they’re also practicing math. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I don’t know if I was the baddest. People kind of saw me in that light. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
My grandfather and my uncle both died from colorectal cancer, my dad almost died from it and I have the gene for it. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Lakers fans have been great, even folks in the supermarket are welcoming me back! – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
When a rap song glorifies violence, death and sadness and loss is inflicted because of the violence. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
I think the NBA will certainly survive without Michael Jordan. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The person unaware of history is like a rudderless boat just floating out in the middle of the ocean, hostages to the waves and currents. – 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
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
Few players have cast a spell across the game like Yao Ming, before or since. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Black people don’t have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted. 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
Islam is about finding your own space. Your mind is what makes everything else work. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think the NBA players have to be held accountable in a reasonable way, just like any other professionals. – 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
I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Yoga is somewhat hard to quantify in terms of benefits because you see them in all the injuries you don’t get. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You play with your soul as well as your body. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Each story, novel, poem and play presents a vision of the world that illuminates the dark cave of life we stumble through. We can see better where we’re going, what sudden drop to avoid, where the cool water is running. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You got guys now declaring they’re ready to play pro ball in their second or third year of high school. It’s crazy! They’re missing so much. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Practices were tough. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I pitched and I played the outfield. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
After practice, I would have to go back to the dorm and take a nap. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Alexander Hamilton realized that warfare was part and parcel of human nature, and it’s something we had to prepare for. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’ve never been a person to share my private life, but I can help save lives. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Even when there are adverse circumstances, I try to do my job. And I usually do. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think I did very well against everyone who tried to defend me. I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
If you get yourself too engrossed in things over which you have no control, it’s going to adversely affect the things over which you have control. His. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You won’t win until you learn how to lose. I don’t like to do it, to lose, but I can stand it. Along with everything else, you have to acquire the ability to accept defeat. No one makes it without stumbling. – 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
When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. That’s a terrible burden. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’ve never been a person to share my private life, but I can help save lives. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Your mind is what makes everything else work. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve the community. That’s when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when
African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
You’re never really cancer-free and I should have known that. Well, I’m a professional. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
With 300 million people in America, you can fail to impress 299 million of them and still go platinum. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Center is a very tough position to play. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’m not exaggerating when I say that the 761st was Patton’s best tank unit and nobody knew about it. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The extra pass and the extra effort on defense always get the job done. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
This is what I would have done if I had to have a real job: I would have been a history teacher. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I have always thought that writers come with any variety of attributes. Some are capable and some aren’t. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I enjoy seeing new places. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
A lot of young players don’t really know much about the history of the game and a lot of them are missing out on what the game is all about, especially the whole concept of sportsmanship and teamwork. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The disconnect lasted too long. I think people got the idea I was sullen and couldn’t communicate, which wasn’t true. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American Dream. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think a lot of people, if they get the opportunity to do some acting, they think, ‘I might be a star.’ – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Pride goeth before destruction, he quoted, and a haughty spirit before a fall. – 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
You can’t win if you don’t play as a unit. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I hope to be involved in a successful movie script. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I didn’t really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
We don’t have selfish guys here, which sometimes leads to problems. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The transition was difficult. It’s hard to stop something that you’ve enjoyed and that has been very rewarding. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they are executed. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I needed to go to class; I needed to go to practice; I needed to have a life away from basketball. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I feel like I’ve always been a full-time historian, but nobody knows it. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I rooted for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I have to say I have an incredible musical education because of my father. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
It’s hard for young players to see the big picture. They just see three or four years down the road. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Well, I’m a professional. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
Islam is about finding your own space. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success. I think I really benefited from going to college. Today’s youth are told to get rich or die trying and they really shouldn’t take that attitude forward with them. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Lakers were able to maintain a certain level of talent and success, and so were the Celtics. It became part of people’s sports lore. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The game has basically not changed since I ended my career. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’m the baddest among the bad guys. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
When the line started to blur between the fans and the players, sometimes things can get ugly. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
If not shown appreciation, it gets to you. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I was latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Moslems. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
What I have is P.H. positive chronic myeloid leukemia, which is an aberration in your white blood cells. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I got all A’s and was hated for it; I spoke correctly and was called a punk. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I need about three seats lengthwise to sleep on a plane. It’s not easy for me to curl up. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In the Western standards of modesty, there are different guidelines. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I like to think about that story sometimes because it reminds me that, although we like to think of our heroes as perfect, the harsh truth is that they became heroes by making
mistakes and learning from them. To me, that makes them even more heroic. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
If ISIS represents Islam, then the KKK represents Christianity. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
I want to do as little as possible when I finish playing ball – just spend a lot more time with my family. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Racists often take their cues on how to act from the way the government behaves. If the government is actively campaigning against racism, they hide their feelings and do nothing. If the government is indifferent to racism by not prosecuting it, then they feel it’s okay to come out of hiding and attack. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Today’s youth are told to get rich or die trying and they really shouldn’t take that attitude forward with them. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
We want to show how hip-hop, which kind of fuels today’s basketball stars, is directly related to jazz. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Justice should be blind especially color-blind and able to fairly deal with the very real need for honest law enforcement. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
I feel that Dennis Rodman has become a problem. He will be more of a problem than an asset. Of course, he can prove me wrong. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
There’s a ball. There’s a hoop. You put the ball through the hoop. That’s success. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis. That’s not normal, even for my age. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
When the doctor told me I had cancer, I was scared. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I totally alienated some reporters as I retreated. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’ve always tried to stay out of the fray and not be an object of controversy. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’m still my parent’s child, I’m still me, but I made a choice. I evolved into . I think it has to do with evolution. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I was a baseball fan myself, I wanted to play baseball. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
Learn from others and never cease trying to be the best you can possibly be… If you get yourself too engrossed in things over which you have no control, it’s going to adversely affect the things over which you have control. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I try to do the right thing at the… – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think Kwame will be an asset to the Lakers. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think I really benefited from going to college. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I’ve had a desire to coach for years. This was something I felt I should do. – 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
I’m not exaggerating when I say that the 761st was Patton’s best tank unit and nobody knew about it. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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
LeBron James can get a shot off under any and all circumstances and he makes them. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
I think black Americans expect too much from individual black Americans in terms of changing the status quo. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

As we reflect on the powerful lessons found in these Kareem Abdul-Jabbar quotes, it’s important to recognize the man behind the words. Beyond his legendary status as a basketball player, Kareem has dedicated his life to advocacy, education, and inspiring future generations. His commitment to social justice and personal growth demonstrates that true greatness extends beyond athletic achievement.

Whether you’re looking for motivation, wisdom, or simply a different perspective on life, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar quotes provide valuable insights that resonate deeply. Embrace these lessons, and let them guide you on your journey to success and fulfillment.

Related Posts