“As an athlete, I understood the value of my health insurance. I knew that in my profession, injuries were common and could happen at any time.”

On the best tactic when playing alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- Just give him the ball.

You either have to be great or you have to be bad to get a good pick.

Just celebrate the life you had, not the life you could’ve had.

The looks, the stares, the giggles . . . I wanted to show everybody that I could do better and also that I could read.

Standing on that platform, I said a silent prayer. I thanked God for giving me the strength and the opportunity to come back, to play basketball again, and to be part of that whole magnificent Olympic experience. It’s a memory I will always cherish.

I am a businessman. This is what I do each and every day. I love it. I love coming to work. I never have a bad day.

A woman always remembers. Remember that.

For me, it always goes back to something I learned in basketball.

And we knew that all of the other leagues were at home and millions of people were watching. So it made it a special day to play on Christmas.

When I’m under the gun and I’ve got pressure on me, I don’t panic. I look for the right solution, and then I go for it.

Larry, you only told me one lie. You said there will be another Larry Bird. Larry, there will never, ever be another Larry Bird.

Magic is who I am on the basketball court. Earvin is who I am.

I strive on pressure.

I want to be here for a long time, so I am going to do everything I have to do to be here. And I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and give her away to somebody some day.

If you come to me and say, ‘Hey look I’m a racist,’ or ‘I discriminate against blacks,’ or ‘I don’t like you because you’re African American.

I guess when people ask what is the biggest transition to the NBA from college, it is definitely defense and the mental part.

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.

Any time you can degrade or take away the top leadership of an organization, it’s a positive step forward.

Any country that makes U.S. service members get on their knees will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America.

I don’t have any feeling of accomplishment about anything unless there’s a lot of risk to it.

For any sin, we all suffer. That is why our suffering is endless.

Any commodity that sees its price going higher will see new mines opening up.

It’s nice to know there’s a big world with many perspectives. I tend to get so stuck in my own small world easily, and going out into the world reminds me that I’m not the center of the world – in a good way.

I’d be a conservative if I’d never met any. They’re selfish, mean-spirited, egocentric, reactionary, and boring.