Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 'Dumbing down' hurts basketball

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer and a Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks legend, has become an avid writer since retiring from the league. He just finished his second book for young adults (Stealing the Game) in his "Streetball Crew" trilogy. Abdul-Jabbar also writes on various social issues in a column for Time.

Abdul-Jabbar spoke with USA TODAY Sports about the book, the changing NBA and issues of race and class in America.

Q: What inspired you to write Stealing the Game?

A: It is a part of a trilogy of books, and I felt that my transition from adolescence to adulthood would create a good template for young readers. I had my growth spurt from seventh grade to ninth grade. It's an awkward time in an adolescent's life. It's a time where you are wondering if you're going to be a person who excels in athletics or someone who does academics. How do you balance that? What is getting along with your teammates all about? How do you deal with that stranger called the opposite sex? These are issues that all teenagers go through, so I figured I would try my hand in it.

Q: How closely is the book based on your life?

A: It is closely based. The character Theo is kind of based on me; he is the tallest one, his dad is the police officer. It's just about how the various characters get along and how they deal with teammates and staying out of trouble and how they balance athletics and academics.

Q: Is there a message that you want to send to young kids through the book?

A: What they are experiencing is not unique to them, everyone goes through it at this stage of their life and they will get through it.

Q: How has the growing influence and importance of the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) affected youth basketball?

A: I don't really know, I think it's a mixed bag. It gives kids an opportunity to play organized basketball at a young age, which I think is a good thing, but some of them (begin) to look at it very cynical, and the game becomes just about money and endorsements. So it doesn't always have a positive impact on kids.

Q: What is one change you would like to see in how we train our young basketball players in America?

A: I think the emphasis on academics is a good thing. I think players that have to go to college and fight for playing time and develop some skills and understanding of the game along with taking care of things that have nothing to do with basketball is good for creating maturity and competence in them. That allows them to make a transition into being a professional athlete. I think college has a very positive effect on the game, both college and pro, and by not supporting that I think we have created some problems.

Q: Your thoughts on the "one-and-done" system and the NBA age limit?

A: I think maybe the NBA should raise the age to 21 instead of 19, or I saw recently the NCAA (considering) the freshmen ineligible rule, just because they need to make the kids make a commitment there. They are messing up a lot of college programs. They just come one year and leave, and it creates a lot of confusion.

Q: What was it like to play against Wilt Chamberlain?

A: Wilt was an imposing guy physically, but Wilt had a lot of bad habits. I was able to take advantage of them. He wasn't a good defensive player when it comes to being mobile. If I kept moving, I was able to score on him. I scored at will against him; it wasn't that difficult. He was a great athlete, just this huge and powerfully built guy. But he didn't want to box out; he had difficulty playing against a guy who constantly moved around like myself. I could shoot that hook shot from a lot of different angles, and he just couldn't keep up with me.

Q: How do you think the modern game would affect Wilt's game today?

A: Jeez, I don't think anything. Wilt could do a number of different things. He could just do anything on the court once he put his mind to it.

For example when he was at the University of Kansas, not only was he on the basketball team, he ran the quarter mile, (did the) high jump and shot put. He wasn't just a lark; he was competitive in that stuff.

Q: Several former players have spoken about the rule changes and how the game has been made easier for the offensive player. Why do you think that many former players think there is less defense being played now when scoring has gone down dramatically since you came into the NBA?

A: Well, I think by dumbing the game down it's made it easier to play defense. I don't know if you watched the All-Star Game, but both Karl Malone and I were sitting next to each other and wondering if one of the teams were going to score 200 points. You can't play defense, not the way we played it, where you can touch people. It's changed the game negatively, I think. Most people that come up to me say the thing that bothers them the most is that it seems like it's two guys against another two guys. The team play and the movement of the ball have gone out the game, and it's not as interesting as say the '80's.

I think the three-point shot has changed people's mentality on the game. ... Let's go for three! They end up shooting 15 or 20 shots a game, and the three-point percentage is a lot lower than working the ball inside or taking midrange jump shots; those shots go in a lot more regularly.

Q: In a Time column, you speak on the fragmented relationship between poor whites and poor blacks. Have you seen progress in this relationship since you were a kid growing up in New York City? And what changes are necessary to achieve greater financial opportunity to all classes of people in America?

A: Oh geez that's a tough question because you have to involve supporting families and allowing young people to get a educational opportunity. I think that's the key. I think poor people white or black will benefit from those things.

Q: Why do you believe there is a divide?

A: There is an old saying, divide and rule. So I think that has a lot to do with it.

Q: Do you think this relationship has evolved between poor whites and poor blacks?

A: I am not sure. I think most people have an understanding that democracy has to work for everybody. Everybody has to be given the same opportunities for education and things of that sort to cause an improvement.