“What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.”

If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.

Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.

Heart in champions has to do with the depth of our motivation and how well your mind and body react to pressure – that is, being able to do what you do best under maximum pain and stress.

We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch us-anything more than that would be too much for us to bear.

The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.

My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library.

Don’t knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands!

If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you’re doing becomes art.

To me, the most important part of winning is joy. You can win without joy, but winning that’s joyless is like eating in a four-star restaurant when you’re not hungry. Joy is a current of energy in your body, like chlorophyll or sunlight, that fills you up and makes you naturally want to do your best.

The only important statistic is the final score.

The last five or six days, I’ve been running. The last two days, I’ve been running pretty hard. Everybody’s got to be someplace.

Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.

Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.

What’s more important than who’s going to be the first black manager is who’s going to be the first black sports editor of the New York Times.

We overreached our decision power. Sometimes our decisions have to fit the reality of the outside world.

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.