10 Things We Learned From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Minority of One

NBA legend opens up in thrilling HBO doc.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Opens Up In Life Story -  A six-time NBA champion, the league's all-time leading scorer, a Hall of Famer and a player who wasn't afraid to speak his mind off the court. Those might be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's accomplishments and attributes that you're aware of. But his Minority of One documentary, which aired on HBO on Tuesday night and replaying November 7 (at 9:15 a.m.), exposed a lot of things that we didn't know about one of the greatest basketball players we ever seen. BET.com compiled 10 things we learned about Abdul-Jabbar. (Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images)

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Opens Up In Life Story -  A six-time NBA champion, the league's all-time leading scorer, a Hall of Famer and a player who wasn't afraid to speak his mind off the court. Those might be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's accomplishments and attributes that you're aware of. But his Minority of One documentary, which aired on HBO on Tuesday night and replaying November 7 (at 9:15 a.m.), exposed a lot of things that we didn't know about one of the greatest basketball players we ever seen. BET.com compiled 10 things we learned about Abdul-Jabbar. (Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images)

Grew Up Wanting to Play Football - Before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ever had hoop dreams, he had football fever. Imagine a 7-2 football player? Abdul-Jabbar's mother, Cora Alcindor, reveals in Minority of One that she had to talk her son out of any chance of gridiron glory."He wanted to play football, but he wasn't the football type," Alcindor says in the documentary. "He was too tall and stringy."(Photo: Don Hogan Charles/New York Times Co./Getty Images)

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Grew Up Wanting to Play Football - Before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ever had hoop dreams, he had football fever. Imagine a 7-2 football player? Abdul-Jabbar's mother, Cora Alcindor, reveals in Minority of One that she had to talk her son out of any chance of gridiron glory."He wanted to play football, but he wasn't the football type," Alcindor says in the documentary. "He was too tall and stringy."(Photo: Don Hogan Charles/New York Times Co./Getty Images)

Billy Crystal Was His Childhood Friend - Young Lew Alcindor generated an electric buzz throughout New York City, where another future star counted him as a childhood friend. His name was Billy Crystal. "He was this incredible young talent that we started hearing about literally when he was in eighth grade," Crystal says. "'There's this kid, there's this kid'...and that kid was Lew Alcindor."(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Billy Crystal Was His Childhood Friend - Young Lew Alcindor generated an electric buzz throughout New York City, where another future star counted him as a childhood friend. His name was Billy Crystal. "He was this incredible young talent that we started hearing about literally when he was in eighth grade," Crystal says. "'There's this kid, there's this kid'...and that kid was Lew Alcindor."(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

High School Coach Called Him The N-Word - Part of the documentary has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remembering the painful and stunning moment that his Power Memorial Academy high school coach Jack Donohue called him a "n*****" during a game for his lackluster effort. A young Lew Alcindor was crushed hearing the vile word from a coach he respected, but it opened his eyes to the harsh realities of the world. "He was the last person that I thought would ever use that word," Abdul-Jabbar said. "He didn't say what he said because he was a racist. He said what he said because I wasn't giving my best effort and he wanted to shock me out of it and he went too far."(Photo: New York Times Co./Getty Images)

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High School Coach Called Him The N-Word - Part of the documentary has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remembering the painful and stunning moment that his Power Memorial Academy high school coach Jack Donohue called him a "n*****" during a game for his lackluster effort. A young Lew Alcindor was crushed hearing the vile word from a coach he respected, but it opened his eyes to the harsh realities of the world. "He was the last person that I thought would ever use that word," Abdul-Jabbar said. "He didn't say what he said because he was a racist. He said what he said because I wasn't giving my best effort and he wanted to shock me out of it and he went too far."(Photo: New York Times Co./Getty Images)

Witnessed Harlem Race Riots - As an impressionable 17-year-old in 1964, something told Lew Alcindor to get off the train at the famed 125th Street stop in Harlem. When he did, he was exposed to what he described as a "whirlpool of violence" during the notorious Harlem race riots, an event which seen a 15-year-old Black boy killed by a police officer. "When you see people being murdered and beaten, it makes you angry," Abdul-Jabbar says. "It makes you want to affect change."(Photo: Dick DeMarsico/Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

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Witnessed Harlem Race Riots - As an impressionable 17-year-old in 1964, something told Lew Alcindor to get off the train at the famed 125th Street stop in Harlem. When he did, he was exposed to what he described as a "whirlpool of violence" during the notorious Harlem race riots, an event which seen a 15-year-old Black boy killed by a police officer. "When you see people being murdered and beaten, it makes you angry," Abdul-Jabbar says. "It makes you want to affect change."(Photo: Dick DeMarsico/Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

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Received Letter From Jackie Robinson - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remembers being the most sought-after recruit in the country and receiving a letter from baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, imploring the teenager to attend UCLA. "'Hey, UCLA is the place to go,'" Abdul-Jabbar says Robinson wrote to him in the letter. "'You'll get a great education and the basketball program is first rate.'"(Photos from left: AP Photo, Photo File/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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Received Letter From Jackie Robinson - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remembers being the most sought-after recruit in the country and receiving a letter from baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, imploring the teenager to attend UCLA. "'Hey, UCLA is the place to go,'" Abdul-Jabbar says Robinson wrote to him in the letter. "'You'll get a great education and the basketball program is first rate.'"(Photos from left: AP Photo, Photo File/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Still Not Sure if NCAA's Dunk Ban Was Racially Motivated - The 7-2 center was so dominant in the paint during his college career that the NCAA banned dunking in 1967, something to this day that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wonders was racially motivated against him or not. Abdul-Jabbar dominated anyway, leading the Bruins to three straight national titles and helping UCLA amass an 88-2 record from 1967-69.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

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Still Not Sure if NCAA's Dunk Ban Was Racially Motivated - The 7-2 center was so dominant in the paint during his college career that the NCAA banned dunking in 1967, something to this day that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wonders was racially motivated against him or not. Abdul-Jabbar dominated anyway, leading the Bruins to three straight national titles and helping UCLA amass an 88-2 record from 1967-69.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Icy Relationship With Wilt Chamberlain - The documentary has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talking about being a seven-foot eighth grader and meeting his then-hero Wilt Chamberlain at New York City's famed Rucker Park. There, Chamberlain took the impressionable teen under his wing. But with time there would prove to be no love lost. As Abdul-Jabbar became the center for the Los Angeles Lakers, leading them to NBA titles, he felt like Chamberlain was dogging him out in the press. All this years later, Abdul-Jabbar chalks it up to Chamberlain having a big ego.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images) 

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Icy Relationship With Wilt Chamberlain - The documentary has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talking about being a seven-foot eighth grader and meeting his then-hero Wilt Chamberlain at New York City's famed Rucker Park. There, Chamberlain took the impressionable teen under his wing. But with time there would prove to be no love lost. As Abdul-Jabbar became the center for the Los Angeles Lakers, leading them to NBA titles, he felt like Chamberlain was dogging him out in the press. All this years later, Abdul-Jabbar chalks it up to Chamberlain having a big ego.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images) 

Thought Magic Johnson Was Too Emotional Early On - A lighthearted moment of the documentary shows Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nailing a game-winning Sky Hook in Magic Johnson's first-ever NBA game back in October 1979. Johnson immediately jumps into the center's arms, hugging him with the scene cutting to a shot of then-Los Angeles Lakers coach Jerry West saying: "What the hell's he doing? We played one game. You only have 81 more to play." Although Johnson was more effusive of a personality than Abdul-Jabbar, the two learned to play together...well enough to lead to five NBA championships together. Abdul-Jabbar even credits Johnson for getting him to open up and be a bit more personable toward the end of his career.(Photo: Sporting News Archive/ Getty Images)

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Thought Magic Johnson Was Too Emotional Early On - A lighthearted moment of the documentary shows Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nailing a game-winning Sky Hook in Magic Johnson's first-ever NBA game back in October 1979. Johnson immediately jumps into the center's arms, hugging him with the scene cutting to a shot of then-Los Angeles Lakers coach Jerry West saying: "What the hell's he doing? We played one game. You only have 81 more to play." Although Johnson was more effusive of a personality than Abdul-Jabbar, the two learned to play together...well enough to lead to five NBA championships together. Abdul-Jabbar even credits Johnson for getting him to open up and be a bit more personable toward the end of his career.(Photo: Sporting News Archive/ Getty Images)

Notorious Hamaas Murders Happened in His House - After converting to Islam, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had purchased a home in Washington D.C. for the Hanafi Muslims, led by Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, to use. In 1973, that house was the scene of a gruesome mass murder, in which seven people—including five children—were killed. Abdul-Jabbar was in Milwaukee, playing for the Bucks at the time of the murders.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images) 

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Notorious Hamaas Murders Happened in His House - After converting to Islam, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had purchased a home in Washington D.C. for the Hanafi Muslims, led by Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, to use. In 1973, that house was the scene of a gruesome mass murder, in which seven people—including five children—were killed. Abdul-Jabbar was in Milwaukee, playing for the Bucks at the time of the murders.(Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images) 

Was Supposed to See Bruce Lee Day He Passed - In Los Angeles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar struck up a friendship with Bruce Lee. After several years of training with the martial arts star, Abdul-Jabbar even appeared as a villain in Lee's Game of Death film in 1973. That same year after studying abroad, Abdul-Jabbar planned on traveling to Hong Kong to visit his friend, but on the day he was set to fly out, he learned of the tragic news of Lee's passing. Abdul-Jabbar says that he and Lee were "kindred spirits" and that he really misses him.(Photo: AP Photo)

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Was Supposed to See Bruce Lee Day He Passed - In Los Angeles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar struck up a friendship with Bruce Lee. After several years of training with the martial arts star, Abdul-Jabbar even appeared as a villain in Lee's Game of Death film in 1973. That same year after studying abroad, Abdul-Jabbar planned on traveling to Hong Kong to visit his friend, but on the day he was set to fly out, he learned of the tragic news of Lee's passing. Abdul-Jabbar says that he and Lee were "kindred spirits" and that he really misses him.(Photo: AP Photo)