It's been a long time and a whole lot has happened, and it's really a pleasure and a great opportunity for me to be back with the Lakers and be given this opportunity to help them get back on the winning track,

High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American Dream.

The '80s made up for all the abuse I took during the '70s. I outlived all my critics. By the time I retired, everybody saw me as a venerable institution. Things do change.

I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing.

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers.

I'm not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court.