Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes On Teamwork, Success, Life, and Basketball

motivational quotes Dec 24, 2023

Best quotes from "The Captain"

Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a retired professional basketball player who is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

He played in the NBA for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Abdul-Jabbar has a lengthy list of career achievements. At UCLA, he won 3 NCAA National Championships under Coach John Wooden.

He is the NBA's second all-time leading scorer, with a total of 38,387 points, a record he held for 38 years before LeBron James passed him in 2023.

He won six NBA championships, earning five with the Lakers and one with the Bucks. Kareem was also a 19-time NBA All-Star and a six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Kareem is known for his signature skyhook shot, which was virtually impossible to block due to his height (7'2").

Abdul-Jabbar's dominance on the court, longevity, and consistent success solidify him as one of the greatest basketball players in history.

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Best Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes About Teamwork

"Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals."

"I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice."

"A team will always appreciate a great individual if he's willing to sacrifice for the group."

"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."

"Michael Jordan and Magic and myself all learned how to play the game in college programs that emphasized the team."

"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team."

"You can't win if you don't play as a unit."

"Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody."

"A lot of players think the game is all about individual performances when it's really all about a team game."

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

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Kareem Quotes About Success

"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."

"You can't win unless you learn how to lose."

"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."

"Your mind is what makes everything else work."

"We can learn from the 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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

Work Ethic and Preparation Quotes From Kareem

"What we need are positive, realistic goals and the willingness to work. Hard work and practical goals."

"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams unless they are executed."

"Don’t hope. Hope is for people who aren’t prepared."

"Fundamental preparation is always effective. Work on those parts of your game that are fundamentally weak."

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Basketball Quotes By 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."

"The game has basically not changed since I ended my career."

"The extra pass and the extra effort on defense always get the job done."

"I think the NBA will certainly survive without Michael Jordan."

"Center is a very tough position to play."

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

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

"I think the NBA players have to be held accountable in a reasonable way, just like any other professionals."

"I think I did very well against everyone who tried to defend me."

"I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind."

"When we went up against teams that were better, I just hoped that we could steal the victories."

"The 3-point shot has created a situation in the game akin to 'Lotto' fever."

"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."

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes About Life Outside Of Basketball

"I always thought I could do a good job coaching, but the opportunities have not presented themselves."

"I want to do as little as possible when I finish playing ball - just spend a lot more time with my family."

"I just like seeing the world, and it doesn't matter where."

"My choosing Islam was not a political statement; it was a spiritual statement."

"My biggest accomplishment has been making a transition from athlete to author."

"I'm still my parent's child, I'm still me, but I made a choice. I evolved into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I think it has to do with evolution."

"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."

"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."

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Leadership Quotes From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

"As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people."

"I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream."

"It's hard for young players to see the big picture. They just see three or four years down the road."

"I think someone should explain to the child that it’s ok to make mistakes."

"Some stuff can be fixed, some stuff can’t be. Deciding which is which is part of maturing."

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Other Inspirational Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Quotes

"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."

"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."

"I didn't really seek attention. I just wanted to play the game well and go home."

"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."

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

"Even when there are adverse circumstances, I try to do my job. And I usually do."

"Music is really something that makes people whole."

"Music rhythms are mathematical patterns."

"I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify."

"If not shown appreciation, it gets to you."

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success."

"I could have skated by as an athlete, but the world is so much bigger and more interesting than any one thing."

"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."

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