Solo: Jazz and Basketball

Excerpted from On The Shoulders of Giants by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Excerpted from On The Shoulders of Giants by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

There can be no doubt that jazz has made me a better person than I would have been without it. The music inspires my passion to participate fully and richly in life. And the jazz greats I’ve known, from Miles Davis to John Coltrane to Louis Armstrong to my dad, have inspired me to be disciplined, ambitious, caring and dedicated to my community.

But jazz has also made me a better basketball player.