“The only time I’d played organized basketball was my sophomore year in high school, when I barely made the junior varsity team.”

Music soothes my savage beast. I got a beast in me running wild.

In jail I was just like everybody else, I was sitting there praying, feeling caged.

There’s one thing everyone should understand: I like my character.

Wilt Chamberlain lied when he said he had 20,000 women.

When a high-profile personality lives like I do, everybody thinks that person is fated to die young.

When they gave me that trophy, bro, I cried.

At least 50 times. I’ve jumped off a building, jumped off a cliff in a car. I’ve been in bedrooms when women came in with knives and guns.

I go out there and get my eyes gouged, my nose busted, my body slammed. I love the pain of the game.

I’m starting to see players copy what I do. I’m flattered.

If Lebron was playing in the late 80’s and early 90’s, just an average player

As long as I play ball, I can get any woman I want.

I don’t fit into the mold of the NBA man, and I think I’ve been punished financially for it.

My feet are like gnarled old tree branches.

It’s amazing that Bill Clinton could do one thing and have sex with his secretary and really get away with it and still be powerful.

Larry Bird is overrated in a lot of areas. … Why does he get so much publicity? Because he’s white. You never hear about a black player being the greatest.

For years the league has thought I’ve been on drugs. I would have burned out a long time ago if that was true.

When i’m wasted, i can almost forget who i am,” he said, his smile fading slightly. “i know i’m still there, but only barely. It’s a good place to be.” he tipped back the thermos, eyes on the dark sea straight ahead

We are so much the victims of abstraction that with the Earth in flames we can barely rouse ourselves to wander across the room and look at the thermostat.

Mirroring, softly, barely audibly, just under the membrane of consciousness.

Sometimes the lights all shining on me, other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me what a long strange trip it’s been.

All God’s children are not beautiful. Most of God’s children are, in fact, barely presentable.

Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.

At that precise moment, several countries were still colonised or had barely overcome colonisation. This was the case in practically all of Africa. We supported them.

I love a sandwich that you can barely fit in your mouth because there’s so much stuff on it.