“Who in their right mind wouldn’t listen to what Larry Bird tells them? He knows what it takes to be a successful player, and he’s letting us do the things to have the success.”

Whether it’s a tie game or down by 1 or up by five, it was always the same shot. So I always felt comfortable with the ball in my hands because it was in there a million times before.

I don’t think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You’ve got to keep pushing.

I’m a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.

I wanted to compete at the highest level again – and that’s the NBA.

I didn’t play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals.

You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you’ll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.

Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.

Basketball was always a game to me. One of the greatest things in life for me was to be able to play what I loved dearly and get paid for it. So it was always a game to me and that’s how I perceived everything.

The best players will play. That’s the way it will always be.

I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American.

Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around.

I like being by myself.

When I was a player, I didn’t expect my teammates to play the way I did. I did expect them to work hard every day and get better. And I never learned anything by losing.

Maybe it’s God disguised as Michael Jordan.

I think it’s good for a fan base because as we all know the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited.

If you tell a teammate you’re ready to play as tough as you’re able to, you’d better go out there and do it.

By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.

All I can do is try to create my own brand and have people appreciate me for that.

It seemed like whenever I got a bona fide offer from Ferrari, I couldn’t do it. And vice versa – when I was ready, their seats were taken.

You do the best you can with what’s thrown at you, then you try again.

I don’t want to go out there and do something 3,000 other people can do.

Everything we do in life is based on fear, especially love.

How do you know what it’s like to be stupid if you’ve never been smart?

All I know is that if we play well, we control our own destiny in terms of what we do.