He retired from basketball 22 years ago, but life has been rich for NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He has written multiple best-sellers, coached on an Indian reservation and has become a filmmaker. Abdul-Jabbar was in Atlanta last week and talked with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his critically acclaimed documentary, "On the Shoulders of Giants," which chronicles the Harlem Rens, a dominating all-black basketball team from the 1920s through the '40s.
The documentary is based on Abdul-Jabbar's best-selling book by the same name and includes interviews with Maya Angelou, John Wooden and Samuel L. Jackson. The documentary is available on video on demand on Time Warner, Cox and Comcast cable through March 31. More information is available at kareemabduljabbar.com. Questions and answers were edited for brevity.
Q: In your research, what are a few things that surprised you?
A: I had no idea that my college coach, John Wooden, had played against the Rens. I had no idea about that. Interesting stuff. Just the things they went through on the road when they traveled. I had no idea that Cab Calloway had the opportunity to play professional basketball.
Cab Calloway, in 1928, tried out and made the Globetrotters and he had to make a decision at that point if he was going to play professional basketball or be the vocalist in his sister's band.
Q: Who are players in basketball history that have been forgotten?
A: I would say there are a whole lot of players from the early years of the NBA. The NBA opened up in 1947. Players that played in the first 15 years, we don't know very much about them. We know who George Mikan is, that the Lakers had a dominant team and George Mikan was a dominant player, but there aren't many people who can name another dominant player from that era. I can't. We don't really have a very accurate backwards view of that era of basketball.
Q: Is there a college coach today who approaches the model set by John Wooden?
A: Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski. I think he does a great job, and he coaches at a school that somehow manages to keep guys there and they graduate pretty highly. I've got a lot of respect for what's going on at a consistent basis at his school.
Q: What are three jazz albums every music lover should own?
A: OK, this is difficult. [Long pause] "Birth of the Cool," Miles Davis. [Long pause] "My Favorite Things," John Coltrane. [Long pause] "April in Paris," Count Basie.
Q: Who are players you enjoy watching?
A: I enjoy watching Dwyane Wade, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, just because they're really savvy about how to play the game. Include Steve Nash in there, also. They really understand what the game is about, ball movement and playing to help their team in terms of winning basketball games. I think they are very consistent about passing and playing defense, all the things that seem to have been forgotten by today's NBA players.
Q: Is there a young center you'd like an opportunity to show a few things to?
A: Dwight Howard. I think I could have shown him a few things that would have helped his game a lot. Such an incredible athlete. There are a few blind spots in his game just because he didn't stay in school long enough to get all of that down, but just really an incredible athlete.
Q: Do you still want to coach?
A: That starts to wane now. I'm 63. I'll be 64 next month. I haven't gotten an opportunity at this point. I'd hoped that maybe I could have gotten into a college program, but it wasn't there for me. The opportunities that I'm getting now as a filmmaker are appealing, and I intend to pursue those.
Q: What was it like to be the best in the world at what you did?
A: It was really a great thrill and a source of pride for me to be the best at what I did. It's rare that you have the opportunity to work in a profession where that can be determined, but because of the statistics and everything, you have a pretty accurate idea of what is done in sports. That's one reason people enjoy it.
Q: What are some things that annoy you?
A: Noise, traffic, middle age.
Q: The NCAA tournament is a different animal than when you played. What do you think of it?
A: I think it's great that they are able to get the really good teams that have improved since the beginning of the season. There are a number of teams that at the beginning of the season, they're no good and they get to be really good, but by that time they can't win the conference or they wouldn't have made it to the tournament when I played. There were only 16 teams when I was playing. There's 68 now. I think that's a big improvement, and it makes a lot of sense.
Q: Do you think your team's run might have been different competing in a field this size?
A: No, I don't. I think we would have still dominated. We had that good a team.
Q: How do you want to be remembered?
A: I hope I can be remembered for more than just being an athlete. Just the other things I've done in my life have enabled me to impact people as more than an athlete.
