Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I'm upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.
Reading what a good shot is, based on time and score of the game, based on the shot clock, based on my position - there's a lot of things that go into it. It's a lot of things that you think about based on when to shoot it or when not to.
We took pride in representing where we came from, took pride in being from small places, and places all around the world and being able to come together and make ourselves into a team, into a group of guys with one goal and get that done.
When I was growing up, there wasn't too much technology. There weren't so many channels that we were glued to on TV. We had to go outside and create our games. Kids had the habit of being active and exercising, just enjoying the fresh air.
I've been shooting the ball and running a little bit. It's just going out here now and forgetting that I've been out and try to get back in and make sure I know what's going on out there on the floor and that we're just not lost as a team.
We put out a certain energy and we are a certain type of guy. I think the way we played out there for instance, we were down with a few minutes left and instead of everybody breaking apart or being selfish, I think we just pulled together.
A lot of people kind of... conform. I don't want it to sound like I'm saying don't care about championships. That's not my point. But what I'm saying is a lot of people give in to the pressure of, 'I didn't have this; I didn't have rings.'
I've decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel it's the best place for me and I am excited about joining the Rockets and I'm looking forward to a great season. I want to thank the fans in Los Angeles and wish them the best.
We go through life so fast and we never really get to enjoy moments. It seems like they go past us...Tonight I just wanted to take a minute, a moment and soak it in and be a kid from Robbins Illinois and be a kid from Marquette University.
But the judge would have to be people in the fashion world and a bunch of random girls. Because guys in the league aren't trying to impress guys in the league. They're trying to impress people who have clout in the fashion world and women.
It was tough [to move to the Golden State Warriors] because of my success level in New York. To leave this city and go out west and move my family was tough, but this is part of the business. Something as a player that might happen to you.
Before success comes patience... when we add to our accomplishments the element of hard work over a long period of time, we'll place a far greater value on the outcome. When we are patient, we'll have a greater appreciation of our success.
It's three disparate elements: the stop sign, the stage paintings, and the skeleton paintings. Those are three sharp ideas, although none of them are necessarily good ideas. Tons of artists have made whole careers out of those three ideas.
I was the second-best player in high school. I was the second pick in the draft. I've been second in the MVP voting three times. I came in second in the Finals. I'm tired of being second. I'm not going to settle for that. I'm done with it.
Once people start making comparisons to a player of the past, they want you to be that player. I try to go out there and create my own image, my own style, my own type of game. Right now I can't even think of one guy I've been compared to.
In life it wasn't what you know, but who you know. I had people who were trying to buy teams and had they bought the teams, I would have gotten to coach because they wanted me to coach. But the people who have the teams hire their friends.
I'm really passionate about things I enjoy, and I like to be out there doing things, and learning and challenging myself. So it's just more fun that way, just to get out and try and do and learn and meet people and try to do something new.
I think people are going to like my new shoes. I like them. I had a lot of success with the one last year, but this year's shoe is going to be a little different, but at the same time it's going to be a little spin-off on last year's shoe.
I don't know what position Scottie was; he was just a basketball player. He could dribble, shoot, pass and rebound. Defensively, he was excellent. He had quick hands and quick feet with a great understanding of the game. He could do it all.
I would venture to guess that if I was a construction worker... who requested a transfer to another department for the betterment of his family, I would be commended for it. But because it's sports, there's just so much passion added to it.
I hate tenure. Tenure allows teachers to put their feet up on the desk and possibly have a job forever. That's why I got turned on to charter schools. It's a business model. Every employee and every teacher will be monitored by performance.
My dream was to be in the NBA. I wasn't really focused on being a star player on a team. I just wanted to make it to the NBA. I've been blessed for the opportunities to be in the Finals, been in the playoffs ever since I've been in the NBA.
I'd go fishing and always pretend I would catch the biggest fish. I'd stay out there for hours after everybody else left until I caught something. When I shot baskets, I was always the coach and star player and always made the winning shot.
[Spike Lee ] went to a game six playoff game at Indiana which was a hostile environment believing we could bring it back to New York for a game seven. That's just the kind of person he is. Also his commitment to the team and our friendship.
There is no substitute for hard work. If you're looking for the easy way, if you're looking for the trick, you might get by for a while, but you will not be developing the talents that lie within you. There is simply no substitute for work.
There are little details in everything you do, and if you get away from any one of the little details, you're not teaching the thing as a whole. For it is little things which, together, make the whole. This, I think, is extremely important.
Goals should be difficult to achieve because those achieved with little effort are seldom appreciated, give little personal satisfaction, and are often not very worthwhile. There is a price to be paid for achieving anything of significance.
My role models in the business were the older guys on my team when I first got there: Gray Scott, Adrian Smith, Roland Taylor. These were the guys who took me under their wing, and really schooled me in terms of what the business was about.
What made it so special was the city of Houston had never won a sports championship. I think the championship changed people's thinking about their own city. It made them feel like their city had some significance that it hadn't had before.
I like something simple and traditional, like dinner and a movie. The best way to get to know someone is to have a conversation over dinner. And steak houses have a nice atmosphere - the lights are dim, and they usually have a band playing.
Once Michael gets up there he says, 'Well, maybe I'll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.' Then all of a sudden, he says, 'Well, maybe I'll 360. No I changed my mind. I'll go up on the other side.' He's just incredible.
I would never play an extra year for money. I play the game because I love it. I just so happen to get paid. If I don't feel I still enjoy the game, I can care less what a year is worth. I'm not going to play the game just because of money.
What people don't understand is the summertime is motivation - how willing you're willing to work for the upcoming season - and I think, as older players, once you see that drive fall off in the summer, then I think it's time to hang it up.
It's hard to put it in perspective right now. I'm starting to feel a little emotional about what's going to happen Friday night. Getting your number put in the rafters is always something that as a kid ... you dream of seeing happen to you.
I'm a black kid from the ghetto of Coney Island, Brooklyn, who only ever dreamed of playing in the NBA. So to have that dream come true but then go on this second journey in China... it's so far beyond anything that kid could have imagined.
When I was a little kid I used to go on the playground and say: today I will shoot like Bird, pass like Magic, jump like Mike, be quick like Zeke. I am thankful to them, since without seeing them do things they did, I wouldn't be in the NBA.
That's where I'll get the love in my heart: from, the fact that little young guys can look at the obstacles that I had to go through to become a Hall of Famer and know it's not so bad when it comes to them trying to accomplish the same goal.
My whole life, I've felt like I can do anything on the basketball court, from playing point guard in high school to having to play center one year in high school, doing everything in college and going through different roles in Philadelphia.
I actually think some of the rappers can help our image, because the thing I'm concerned about is the NBA's image. I always want our image to be on the rise, and if the rappers can help young players get business-minded, then I'm all for it.
For me this was never a money issue, it was about being rich in your heart. To come home, and to be in the place where your dream first started, 15 minutes away from where my grandfather built my first basketball court, is a dream come true.
People say it was the greatest individual rivalry they've ever seen. I agree with that. Let me assure you that if either Wilt's or Russ' coach had ever told one of them he couldn't guard the other guy, he would have lost that player forever.
This era is like, 'Oh, I want to win championships, and how many rings do you have?' I've said that's what I play for: to win. But I'm not as overly consumed by that as how I treat people around me. And how I care about the people around me.
Basketball gave me a lot, which is why I want to stay connected with this sport later on, maybe working with young people. But it would be more in the background. Being in the spotlight was never really my thing. I never wanted to be famous.
We can become great in the eyes of others, but we'll never become successful when we compromise our character and show disloyalty toward friends or teammates. The reverse is also true: No individual or team will become great without loyalty.
I have a streak in myself, like, I'm an exhibi- tionist. There's a side of me that really wants to show off and share parts of myself with others. I mean, that's why I live in New York, and that's why I'm an artist who shows 10 times a year.
I think that any time you get into an area where it requires humility, and accountability, it's gonna get touchy. And so I understand the reality of when someone says something that requires you to look at yourself and change, it's not easy.
Something that is unique to coaching young people is there is such a range of talent, skill development and personality. And it's important to coach age-appropriately. You want to instill the fundamentals, always. But the right fundamentals.
I've been learning about defunding our investment in police force mentality, and reinvesting in, what do young people need? What do people who get involved in drugs need, what do families need outside of money to take care of their families?
I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.
I would love an extension, who wouldn't? If they offer me a $35 million-a-year extension, I'll sign it right now. I won't even read the contract. I'm just here to take care of business and I know can help give the city what it's looking for.