Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
All winners are edgy. Guys that are pushing themselves are edgy. It's the old saying we have in Kentucky: I'd rather have a guy I have to say whoa to, than giddyup.
Tonight was a disappointing effort. I thought we competed the last three quarters but in the first quarter we did not compete, we participated, and that's not acceptable.
It's a different animal when you're in the NBA. You come in this league and you've got 7-footers who play 7 foot who are going to protect that rim come hell or high water.
Fifty-four years ago, I was an 8-year-old boy living in rural Kentucky when the schools were desegregated. I walked into a white school where I was not wanted nor welcomed.
I think the basketball gods will get you every time if you start trying to mess with the game. You've got to take what the schedule gives you, or who the standings give you.
Fred VanVleet's story - here's a kid who's not very fast, not very tall, undrafted, had every excuse to not make it big and here he is and he's gonna be one of the top free agents.
I understand the outrage because it seems the list continues to grow: Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. The injustices continue to mount and nothing seems to be changing.
To me, there's no honor to say, 'I'm going to start.' As long as you're getting minutes, you're closing games, that shows more of the value to the team than to say you're a starter.
I talk to a lot of European coaches. I got friends over there that I steal stuff from, talk to, maybe have them look at what we're doing and say, 'Hey, what would you do differently?'
I thought we came out with too much respect at the beginning of the game and were on our heels instead of coming out attacking the way we did the last few games without Ricky and Kevin.
I remember going with my grandmother to the houses she cleaned when I was little, and I would have to stay down in the basement while she cleaned, and then we walked back home together.
Watching a guy go from not having ever played an NBA game before to growing up and developing into an All-Star player, that's probably the most rewarding thing that you can do as a coach.
Freedom of movement, which is a great rule, doesn't mean freedom to go to the rim for a layup or freedom to take any shot you want to take or me going in there and not playing through contact.
Black, white and brown people have to work together to find new answers. The only way we can stop the systemic problems that people of color have faced all our lives is through honesty and transparency.
I knew I was going to have to work my way back to coaching in the States, and I had a job offer here before I went to Japan, but I thought it was the right thing to get away. I had some friends over there.
My grandfather Urey was my hero. He worked three jobs. He had a dry cleaner's factory job in the day and a dry cleaner's factory job at night and when that was done with that, he mopped floors in a restaurant.
I hope I can stand up and be an example that helps change the narrative: 'He understands the game from a technical standpoint. He can teach the game. He can change an offense. He can put in a zone. He can do more than recruit.'
I've been blessed over the years and I want to help guys to feel good about themselves when they're going for job interviews. You walk in for a job interview, you feel good about yourself, you look the part, you get that confidence going.
As you get older, as a father, you hope your kids can make that kind of impression on somebody who will say, 'Hey, here's a guy that you want, a guy of character, got his head tied on right, a good student, a good basketball player,' whatever it is.
A team like Brooklyn has seen everything, they've experienced everything, they've had every atmosphere you can have in the playoffs and some of them have won championships. That's the advantage you have as an experienced team and the disadvantage you have as a young team.
In Minnesota, we were caught between rebuilding or trying to continue to build around Kevin Garnett. I got caught right in the middle of that. KG was at an age where he was a good player, but he couldn't carry a team anymore. I think my inexperience as far as being a head coach hurt me there.
Now you've been in the playoffs once, you know what it tastes like, you know what it feels like. You know, going through the season when Coach is preaching physicality, how hard you gotta play, how you gotta take care of the ball, why he's saying that. Because all that comes into play in playoff basketball.
I totally can relate to guys going in for job interviews, and not having a tie, not having a white shirt, and that type of thing to wear. That's why I think as coaches we can do things to help. We have plenty, we as NBA coaches and players are all very blessed to be in a profession so that we can provide for.
To be honored by your peers is incredibly gratifying and I am so thankful to my colleagues across the league for this recognition. I'm also grateful to the talented and dedicated coaching staff I work with every day in Toronto. To be recognized with an award that bears Michael H. Goldberg's name is very special.
Outside the Raptors' organization, I definitely think guys like LeBron James, James Harden and Derrick Rose will show off some great looks. On our team, Kyle Lowry has amazing style. But we have a lot of fashionable guys: Patrick Patterson, Bismack Biyombo and Jonas Valanciunas are all really into fashion as well.
When I was coaching at Kentucky - I was a grad assistant and I just got through playing and we won the NCAA Championship in 1978, so I stayed after I got through playing - we had Japan's national team coach Mototaka Kohama come to Lexington to spend the year and study basketball. He and I became great friends, so we hung out together.