Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Becoming Kareem, the Skyhook, and the Search for a Self [From the Archive]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins James Altucher for an archive conversation about basketball and identity. He describes how the three-point shot, rule changes, and modern spacing transformed the NBA. The conversation focuses on his memoir Becoming Kareem, his rejection of identities imposed on Black Americans, and mentors like John Wooden and Bruce Lee. Kareem explains how knowledge became power in building his own path, from fundamentals and the skyhook to writing Sherlock Holmes fiction and converting to Islam. He closes with the idea that everyone is a minority of one and must define their own path.