Basketball is a game of conditioning and fatigue. That's why I believe in practicing a team to train when it's exhausted.

I lick my fingers because I don't like when my hands get slick. Licking my fingers helps me keep a good grip on the ball.

You always have to give 100%,because if you don't someone, somewhere will give 100% and they will beat you when you meet.

You don't need great skill to be a tough rebounder; being a rebounder is all about effort, determination, and physicality

I'm playing against great players, playing against the best in the world. The competition-that's what I've always wanted.

If you can walk with your head in the clouds and keep your feet on the ground, you can make a million dollars in the NBA.

My father used to always give me a basketball, a skate board, and a bike every Christmas. That's all I wanted every year.

I think I'm the only player who looks at each and every center and says to myself, 'That's barbecued chicken down there.'

This is an award I couldn't have won on my own. I can't thank these guys enough. These are my guys, these are my brothers.

It all started when I got injured early in my second season. This turned out to be as difficult emotionally as physically.

Inferior guards play on the sidelines and great guards play in the middle. Isiah, Magic, Chris Paul, all get to the middle

The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.

If I get that thing down there in that area, that's 67% lifetime. If you don't believe me, Google it. I'm on the Internet.

I think that David Stern is probably the greatest commissioner that any sport has ever had in the history of this country.

I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me . . . Failure always made me try harder next time.

My biggest thrill came the night Elgin Baylor and I combined for 73 points at Madison Square Garden. Elgin had 71 of them.

Team spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player.

Selecting the right college to attend is an investment into a young man or woman's future, it's not just about basketball.

When you flop, that's just another message that you don't know how to play me. Stand up and take your medicine like a man.

I like to play basketball. Sometimes if someone takes that away from you, you've got to get in your feelings for a reason.

I'll never give up on a player regardless of his ability as long as he never gives up on himself. In time he will develop.

He fouled out in the fourth quarter, and that's when I really started getting points. He was no more at fault than anyone.

My first ballet class was on a basketball court. I'm in my gym clothes and my socks trying to do this thing called ballet.

I played basketball because I loved the game. I played because I was making a lot of friends around the world... It's fun.

Set higher standards for your own performance than anyone else around you, and your only competition will be with yourself

By itself, practice does not make perfect. Those of us with a ten-year-old son practicing the trumpet may understand that.

Bill Russell helped make my dream a better dream because when you play with the best, you know you have to play your best.

No one is bigger than the team. If you can't do things our way, you're not getting time here and we don't care who you are

You must have respect, which is a part of love, for those under your supervision. Then they will do what you ask and more.

I don't know their names. Their names have been erased from my memory banks. If I tried to bring 'em back, I'd get shocked.

I know a lot of people did a lot of heavy lifting to make me successful and I do everything in my power not to screw it up.

Michael Jordon may have been the best basketball player in history, but he couldn't have won six NBA titles without a team.

In 19 years Stockton never once lost a suicide drill in practice. Well, there was one day. He was sick. But he still ran it

It was a different sexual situation going on than it is in the '80s and '90s, and I did a very poor job of describing that.

I don't need too much. Glamour and all that stuff don't excite me. I am just glad I have the game of basketball in my life.

When I was young, we were taught not to dunk. We were taght not to stand out from the rest of the team. It's different now.

I was latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Moslems.

Regardless of what you do put in, every game boils down to doing the things you do best and doing them over and over again.

I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I've got a technique. It's called just go get the damn ball.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.

Besides P.E., geography was my best class in high school. I was in this gifted class when I was younger, and it was wicked!

Negative thoughts are contagious and they get passed around like a disease. I inoculate myself against the fear of failure.

If you go around the league, anybody with the last name 'vich' is a great shooter. Radmanovic, Vujacic... all those 'iches.

The Leftovers is a great basketball book that shines a light on what true competitors can overcome with a solid work ethic.

The great thing was my teammates really set some great screens to get me open. I just went out there and played basketball.

Don't let talent get in way of team performance. Great players do what's outstanding for team, not what makes them stand out

Kobe Bryant is my favorite basketball player. He takes risks. He goes for the shot. He isn't cautious with whatever he does.

Look, I think you should promote the game, but I think you should make it what it ought to be. Not some kind of a side-show.

Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.

Education is of no value and talent is worthless - unless you have an unwavering aim. Never find yourself without a compass.

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