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.”

“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.”

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

“LeBron James can get a shot off under any and all circumstances and he makes them.”

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

“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.”

“I think a lot of people, if they get the opportunity to do some acting, they think, 'I might be a star.'”

“I hope to be involved in a successful movie script.”

“I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis. That's not normal, even for my age.”

“I think black Americans expect too much from individual black Americans in terms of changing the status quo.”

“I feel like I've always been a full-time historian, but nobody knows it.”

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

“I pitched and I played the outfield.”

“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.”

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

“Many of the people I write about were deliberately left out of the history books that we were forced to read in school. For me, that history was "written wrong" and needed to be corrected. My intention was to make them visible so they could be role models for others. To show how each, in his or her own way, dribbled gracefully around that obstacle in the narrow corridor.”

“I enjoy seeing new places.”

“This is what I would have done if I had to have a real job: I would have been a history teacher.”

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

“Jackie Robinson, as an athlete and as someone who was trying to make a stand for equality, he was exemplary.”