Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
My sporting hero was Drazen Petrovic, the NBA basketball player, who was killed in a car accident in 1993. He was a good friend, an unbelievable player, and I dedicated my Wimbledon win to him.
The NBA and NHL have different agendas: The NBA is much more protective of its players and its brand; the NHL has less to lose, and it's in their best interest to generate buzz any way they can.
I don't understand the NBA in that, each time they bring in a one-and-done kid, they have to release a veteran player on a roster. I don't understand why their players association condones that.
I have a half-court in my house. If you saw my house, you'd think I was an NBA player. I have no golf setup at all inside, just a half-court for me and a volleyball setup for my wife, who plays.
Knowledge is not enough to get desired results. You must have the more elusive ability to teach and to motivate. This defines a leader; if you can't teach and you can't motivate, you can't lead.
Going to Golden State, I really fine-tuned everything on defense, which is important because the NBA is moving away from standard bigs and going toward bigs that can switch and things like that.
Meditation is a practice that is considered mainstream: The NFL uses it, the NBA uses it, heart patients use it. It's very easy to consider yourself a meditator and not be too alternative-minded.
I got hooked up with the NBA Nation and the next thing I knew I was judging the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown. They needed somebody who can travel on the weekends and go up to eight different cities.
You know what's crazy about Yao? He speaks perfect English. A lot of people don't know that. Perfect English. When I was over there, I called him. He's like, 'Whassup big fella?' Perfect English!
Running out the tunnel and hearing my name called out for the first time, stepping out before the game. I just had a different type of feeling, it was amazing, like I actually made it to the NBA.
When the effort is in question, the ball goes in different directions and the ball doesn't always bounce your way. When you're playing in the home of the NBA champions, it isn't going to be easy.
The NBA definitely has some trendsetters that stay up on the latest fashion, but I think you're starting to see guys like myself and others get some much-deserved respect in the style department.
If they're out of high school, and they can go directly to the NBA and get drafted and get millions of dollars, I'm for it 100 percent. Just let's not devalue education. Let's just not devalue it.
I wanted to do two things when I was growing up, about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA, and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over, and that is what I am doing now.
Everybody dreams about getting to the NBA and everybody dreams about having their own shoe. But when you're the face of a brand, you've got to kind of back off and let it all soak in a little bit.
I just want to be in there at the end of the game to try to help the team win. The last six minutes of an NBA game is where you make your name, so hopefully I'm in there trying to help my guys win.
I knew I did not want to be a doctor; my parents kept talking to me about that. I wanted to be an NBA player, but around freshman and sophomore year, I stopped growing, so that was the end of that.
My observance as a practicing Muslim in the NBA is somewhat uncommon. Since joining the league in 2011, my dedication to my faith has aroused the curiosity of teammates, coaches, trainers and fans.
My first few years in the league, I was relying on my athleticism to get me by, because that's what got me to the NBA. The problem with that is, you end up getting really, really tired by February.
The key about playing internationally is the confidence that you gain. Not only do you train with some of the best players in the NBA, but you compete against some of the best players in the world.
I could never give up Mexican food. Nachos are usually my go-to if I'm courtside at an NBA game. I always, always get my picture taken with my mouth wide open and a tortilla chip sticking out of it!
When you see an article it always has 'disgraced NBA referee.' It's embarrassing and it's never going to be okay. Unfortunately, I have to move forward and just make things different moving forward.
I would like to say I do some pretty good impressions. I'm also one of the best basketball players in the world. I just chose not to go the NBA route, but people say I'm better than Kobe and LeBron.
The thing about the NBA, if you have a weakness, they are going to expose it on the first day of practice. You have to get rid of your weaknesses, and your strengths have to be as sharp as anything.
In the NBA, as in nowhere else in America, white people are utterly beholden to black people, and they're not about to let us off that easily. It's a kind of very mild payback for the last 500 years.
It's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame. So, for basketball, I played in Olympics; I played in the Junior Olympics. With what I've done and given to basketball is all Hall of Fame.
The originating sin of America is slavery, for which reparations should be paid and will never be paid; as a result, mini-reparations are paid daily, and the NBA remains, for me, reparations theater.
For men's college coaches through to the NBA, I think basketball people are basketball people. When you start talking the game, gender has gone out the window, and they just talk basketball with you.
You gotta fight all the karate guys, and once you kill them off, now you gotta get to the ninjas. Once you get through the ninjas, now you gotta get to the showmen. Now me, I'm the showman of big men.
You have a lot of great teams in the NBA. I watched San Antonio against Dallas, and they're two great teams, and there are great teams in the east, as well. So it takes time to gel, as we've all seen.
I was shooting over my head. With my long arms, it was like a slingshot. Coming from college to the NBA, I was only about 180 pounds, so I was trying to push the ball to the rim from the 3-point line.
My favorite Knicks moment was when we beat Indiana in Game 7 to reach the NBA Finals. We worked so hard as a team to reach that moment that it was very satisfying to beat Indiana and reach the Finals.
I match up with the best guys in the world. I'm not being cocky; it's just always how I felt. But I got into trouble as soon as I got into the NBA, and it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.
I never rushed the fact that I wanted to be in the NBA or rushed the fact, you know, they asked me about the NBA. I always (unintelligible) back to the fact that I just love playing with my teammates.
A lot of people look at playing overseas as a step down from the NBA. And, yes it is a step down from the NBA money-wise, but there is just as good of talent overseas as in the NBA. Not better talent.
I met wonderful people playing in the NBA. Whether it is the officials, the scorekeepers, all the people who work for the NBA, not just for the Lakers, but I'm talking about just for the league itself.
When I leave the NBA, I don't want my legacy to be, 'He won a championship ring.' I want my legacy to say: 'He played for the people. He gave everybody in the world hope that they can be just like him.'
It represents a Bible verse I wear on my shoe. Philippians 4:13. It says 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' It's also my mantra, how I get up for games and why I play the way I do.
When I leave the NBA, I don't want my legacy to be, 'He won a championship ring.' I want my legacy to say, 'He played for the people. He gave everybody in the world hope that they can be just like him.'
I didn't think reaching the NBA was a possibility when I coached Derby in 1990. I was right out of college when I went there and was more concerned about playing a bit and getting that out of my system.
I know people that was playing basketball better than me. If they were in the NBA, they could be All-Stars, those people. They just never had the opportunity to go play professional basketball in Europe.
Let the D-League be for players who have been in the NBA, who are on the fringe, and that want to fight like heck to get in the NBA. They should have a living wage, not $17,000 to $25,000. A living wage.
You hear all these stories about, 'There's one in a million guys that make it to the NBA and stay there.' To see people cheering for me and when they say my name, it's just crazy. It's still crazy to me.
The only thing wrong with the NBA - or any other professional sport, for that matter - is a wild epidemic of Dumbness and overweening Greed. There is no Mystery about it, and no need to change any rules.
If you're from Argentina, you don't dream about these things. You probably dream about being in an Olympic game, but winning it? Going there and beating the NBA stars' team... you don't dream about that.
Being from Flint, especially in the basketball community, is a big deal. Basketball in Flint, you're pretty much like a god there if you play college basketball or are lucky enough to make it to the NBA.
I played baseball too, and flag football, but basketball was the easiest for me. Then when I was 12, my dad asked me what I wanted to do, and I said 'Be an NBA player.' Since then, he started training me.
Sometimes you don't go straight from high school or college and get to the NBA from there. Sometimes you have to go when you're a little bit older and try that other route like Jeremy Lin. And he made it.
I'm not nearly as much of a fan of the NBA as I was maybe 10 or 15 years ago, or certainly as I was when I was a player. It's become more entertainment focused, and less focused on the purity of the game.
Sports - especially the NBA - function as a place where American society pretends to discuss and pretends to solve questions and historical agonies that can't possibly be solved within the realm of sports.