Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sat down with Tyus Edney to talk about everything from training with Bruce Lee in Bel-Air to the release of his new book, “Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court.”
The UCLA Black Alumni Association hosted a book-signing event for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
Abdul-Jabbar’s new book is his 12th release as an author and his first detailing the relationship he had with legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden.
Alumna Christine Simmons, who is president and chief operating officer of the WNBA-champion Los Angeles Sparks, had the opportunity to introduce Abdul-Jabbar to the audience.
“Kareem – what he continues to do and the voice that he is in the times that we have now – is just phenomenal,” Simmons said. “That advocacy and equity he has amongst all populations is what he has always stood for and it continues. Now we get to hear it through coach Wooden’s voice as well, and (about) that unique relationship that they had.”
Former guard and current assistant coach Edney, who made the unforgettable game-winning layup in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament en route to UCLA’s 11th national championship, hosted the Q&A session with Abdul-Jabbar.
“I always admired him and what he’s done for the game, our school and basketball in general,” Edney said. “He’s to me the greatest player of all time.”
During the event, Abdul-Jabbar offered the audience not only a glimpse of what his relationship with Wooden was like, but also the inspiration behind his book.
“I had such an incredible relationship with coach,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I had to decide how much of it I wanted to share. That was the problem. I decided to share everything, because people should know about it.”
The three-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American also shared why he chose UCLA over the competition during the spring of 1965.
“I could’ve gone to any school with a basketball program and I chose UCLA because of coach Wooden,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
Abdul-Jabbar continued to reminisce about some of his favorite memories while a member of the men’s basketball team, such as the time the Bruins’ freshman team beat the varsity squad that had won the NCAA championship just months prior.
“We beat the varsity by 15 points,” he said with a smile. “They were picked to be number one in the country, so they were number one in the country, but number two on campus.”
The Bruins went on to win 88 of the 90 games Abdul-Jabbar played in while at UCLA, including a perfect record in NCAA Tournament play.
After about an hour, Abdul-Jabbar had some final thoughts to share about Wooden, his former coach, mentor and friend.
“Coach Wooden was a very special human being,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “It’s about the life lessons coach Wooden taught us that we used throughout our entire lives, not about the things we learned on the court.”
Edney summed up the evening by saying a few words about the legacy that Wooden and Abdul-Jabbar left at UCLA.
“It’s to me one of the greatest legacies in the sport of basketball,” Edney said. “With Kareem and before Kareem and after. All the teams and the championships here, it’s just an unbelievable place to be a basketball player as a student-athlete and I’m just fortunate that I was able to come here and contribute a little bit too.”