Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
This city, all they want us to be is ourselves. You love us how we are. We’re all a work in progress as men and you still love us and I thank you so much for embracing us.
When people ask me where I'm from, I say I'm from the Sudan. But when they ask what my hometown is, I say London. It's where I lived, and it's where my whole family lived.
Not one Argentinian in history had made it to the NBA. So why was it going to be me? There was no way me or anyone that was near me could ever envision a career like this.
To be a part of a championship team, I'm excited... This is the closest I've ever been to a championship. I'm looking forward to the challenge of helping this team repeat.
We're beating a lot of poor teams. So what? We won a lot of games last year, too. Will Horace and Bill still be playing at this level in the playoffs...Can Pip keep it up?
You remember the [remarks] you made in 1994 about, 'I think I can guard you, I can shut you down, I would love to play against you?' Well, you're about to get your chance.
I'm not a person or a selfish player, but we have to move the ball more, and we have to look further the team game, because we have enough talent to use different players.
The minimum I run each day is 2 1/2 miles. I'll get to the weekend, and sometimes I'll run 10 miles. I've gotten up to 16 miles on the weekend. Running keeps me locked in.
When I played, you had a lot of enforcers. You would go to the hole, get knocked down, and the referee would look at you and say, 'Get stronger, get up, and keep playing.'
I'm not worried about facing the Sacramento Queens. Write it down. Take a picture. I'm not going to talk about this all year. When I get back, there's going to be trouble.
There is nothing for me to be sour about. What you got to understand is that I'm a military man. We usually do my shift for four or five years and then you got to move on.
Sometimes people make it seem like you have to have certain prerequisites or a crazy life story in order to be successful in this world. But the truth is you really don't.
In some crazy sort of way, if I died helping a teammate or a friend or someone that I love, I think I could live with it. My family probably couldn't, but I think I could.
The crowd gives us so much energy and we are able to really feed off of it. Hitting those shots and having the crowd go crazy helps boost our confidence. We love our fans.
There's been so many stories throughout the league where teams have started off poorly and ended up in the Finals. Or teams starting out great and not making the playoffs.
People and what they say don't bother me like they used to. When I was younger, I really couldn't take it because I couldn't understand where the criticism was coming from.
We've got babies raising babies, and it's important for us as responsible adults to go out and do what we can to make sure that our kids are steered in the right direction.
I think basketball becomes an outlet for it, an opportunity to get that frustration out and forget about all the problems and things you have going on in your life outside.
I don't worry about playing basketball; that comes natural. I just want to have fun. David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan: this is like spring break in the ghetto.
If you're out after 6 o'clock, have a jacket on, because you might go somewhere. People say, 'Oh, I ain't dressed for it.' But if you have a jacket on, you can go anywhere.
I think a lot of people don't understand that when I sit out it's not because of this year. I'm thinking about long term. I'm thinking about after I'm done with basketball.
Not every effort at loving difficult people will have a positive ending... We don't love people in hopes of a happy ending. We love them because it's the right thing to do.
You see the guys sign the big contract, you see everybody on TV, but you don't see all the work that goes into that. It's a grind. And a lot of people don't see that grind.
People say you don't need a father to be successful. I take offense to that. I had an argument with my mom about Father's Day and why it's not celebrated like Mother's Day.
You play a certain way for so long, and change is good. So I look forward to change, and I look forward to playing with the proper talent that we were able to put together.
My mother worked in fashion design and she used to show me all of these looks. She tried to get me to wear fitted jeans in high school. This is when big jeans were popping.
I'm a culture guy. I sort of know all the familiar ingredients to get something going. Once everyone starts to buy in collectively, then that culture can start being built.
The biggest thing is winning. No matter what percentage, no matter what my numbers say in the sense of points, assists, rebounds and steals, it's always been about winning.
I struggle with pride every day, but the one thing that I try to remind myself everyday is that I'm still a sinner no matter how many points/assists/win I get on the court.
I think basketball harnessed and built my toughness and competitiveness. I grew up in a tough neighborhood, and you were either going to cry and moan about it or get tough.
I've worked countless hours in the gym, so I feel like I'm already prepared for the game. So when I'm listening to music pregame, it's really just about personal enjoyment.
And for the first time in a long time, I'm playing along somebody that has that same energy and fire and plays pretty much the same way I do. So, that was just nice to say.
It is not about surpassing the masters who preceded us but more about opening new artistic vistas. It is about doing the things they didn't have a chance or the time to do.
If it was up to me, I'd have everybody's jersey different. Each player would have their separate one. I think the game should be a joy, I think the game should be colorful.
Never think of the consequences of failing for you will always think of a negative result. Think only positive thoughts and your mind will gravitate towards those thoughts!
I won't forget the hood. I won't forget the days of catching a bullet on the way to the mailbox or bricks with death threats that somehow made their way through the window.
What makes me a selfish player? Because I shoot the ball? I'm supposed to shoot the ball. That's how you score points. Those points go on the scoreboard for the whole team.
If we played Boston four-on-four, without Russell, we probably would have won every series. That guy killed us. He's the one who prevented us from achieving true greatness.
Obviously, in the NBA, there's a lot of different decisions that people make. The whole thing in the NBA is that people sometimes have an opportunity to go where they want.
Basketball did not save my life. God saved my life. It's not basketball. But God saved my life because he blessed me through basketball. He opened the door from basketball.
I learned that people everywhere are basically the same and have similar goals that we do. They want health and happiness and the opportunity to provide for their families.
My approach has been that a player with determination and a willingness to work harder than anyone else can accomplish anything. It's a simple formula. I've found it works.
I used to collect hockey cards. It was like Vegas at my school. You'd go to school with your box of cards, and at recess and lunchtime there were all these games we'd play.
Because I play in NBA, I am like ambassador of Yugoslavia. Los Angeles before, nobody hear of Yugoslavia. Now I think much people who look at basketball hear of Yugoslavia.
You gotta do what you gotta do. And I had to figure that out, and I used to - I couldn't stand the media, but I realized they have a job. They gotta do what they have to do.
It was kind of good to get my feet wet with my first NBA game. I felt comfortable out there, let the game come to me. I played within myself and I thought I did pretty good.
Jordan had phenomenal talent. He had phenomenal understanding. But he also had a mentality that I haven't seen. He had a sense of urgency every time he stepped on the floor.
You know when grandparents get older and they can't do things for themselves anymore? I'm gonna struggle with that. Because I hate depending on people to do anything for me.
That's one thing I pride myself a lot more now, playing defense, I do what the team needs me to do. If we need a stop, I'll do it. That's a major, major part of my game now.
The deeper you get into the playoffs, obviously the better the opponent is. Which means they'll be better defensively, they'll rebound better, they don't turn the ball over.