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 The shy, cerebral 7-foot-2 (2.18 m) Abdul-Jabbar, a prolific
winner from New York's Power Memorial High School to UCLA, from
the Milwaukee Bucks to the Los Angeles Lakers, is now thriving
as the kind of Renaissance Man he always thought he could be.
A writer, actor, filmmaker, political essayist and U.S. cultural
ambassador, Abdul-Jabbar, 67, also put in years as an NBA
assistant coach with an eye on becoming a head coach.
"I pursued it for a while, but the doors didn't open and I moved
on," Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion told Reuters during a
telephone interview to promote his latest young adult novel,
"Stealing the Game."
"Where I am now, I can do a lot more than I could have as an NBA
coach. So I'm very pleased with the opportunities that I've
gotten and was able to take advantage of."
The six-time NBA Most Valuable Player is not embittered at never
landing a head coaching job, but conceded there might be a bias
against big men calling the shots on court.
"Certainly they think the point guards know more because on the
court, the ball starts with them. They get to initiate
everything," the 19-time NBA All-Star said.
"People think they're the only ones that understand that," he
said, debunking that notion with a nod to successful coaching
'big men' including Phil Jackson, Bill Russell and Kevin McHale.
Jabbar's first book in his Streetball Crew series, penned with
collaborator Raymond Obstfeld, landed on the New York Times
bestseller list. He has also authored a book on the Harlem
Renaissance Big Five basketball team of the 1930s.
He co-wrote the screenplay for a documentary based on the Harlem
Rens and recently amplified on one of his regular Time Magazine
columns on the NBC news program, "Meet the Press."
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"That was something I always had my eye set on, that maybe I could
do a number of things well," he said.
Learning to spread his wings after an awkward adolescence is
something Abdul-Jabbar wanted to share with middle-school aged
readers in his witty, engaging series.
"I was always shy," said Jabbar, who drew attention for his height
and accomplishments as a High School All-American as a 10th grader.
"You’re shy, but you stick out and have all that attention focused
on you because you have a talent. It changes everything in your
life. It can be overwhelming.
"I use my own experience when I was that age," he said about his
books' themes. "Just tried to convey what it’s like to be different
at a time of your life where you want to be just like everyone
else."
Abdul-Jabbar, whose virtually unblockable skyhook was one of the
game's greatest offensive weapons, remains a keen observer of the
sport and suggested the league reconsider its policy that allows
players to enter the NBA Draft after one year of college.
"A lot of the guys that are trying to jump into the NBA are immature
and don’t understand the game and it’s having a negative effect on
the college game and on the pro game," said Abdul-Jabbar, who won
three successive NCAA titles at UCLA.
"Maybe they should do something about that such as raising the age
to 21. Something should be done about the one-and-done phenomenon."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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