“I hate to lose more than I like to win.”

Leadership is getting players to believe in you. 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..

I used to love the feeling of running, of running too far. It made my skin tingle.

I was always making decisions and they were easier decisions because I had control of the game.

When it gets down to it, basketball is basketball.

You’ve got to have them down before you can even think about playing.

I’ve been around a while. I kinda know these things.

My coach told me, “Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there’s always someone out there who’s working just a little harder – if you take 150 practice shots, he’s taking 200.” And that drove me.

Strength is not nearly as important as desire. I don’t think you can teach anyone desire. I think it’s a gift. I don’t know why I have it, but I do.

It makes me sick when I see a guy just stare at a loose ball and watch it go out of bounds.

The best player I ever played with was Dennis Johnson.

There are many times when you are better off practicing than playing; but most people just don’t understand that

I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.

The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.

I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.

You can make all the excuses you want, but if you’re not mentally tough and you’re not prepared to play every night, you’re not going to win.

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.

I’m not trying to be like what I thought an NBA player is supposed to be growing up.

I like being by myself.

In this league, experience means a lot.

The clothes are not making me If I like it, that’s all that mattersIt’s not about the clothes. It’s about how I am as a person and how confident I am.

Guys like Larry Bird — he played so hard, he wants everybody else to play hard. That’s not unreasonable. Any coach would want that and demand that.

Guys like Josh Gordon need to stay in his sport and mind his own business.

I prayed like a man walking in a forest at night, feeling his way with his hands, at each step fearing to fall into pure bottomlessness forever.

I would describe my style as off the wall. I like stuff that doesn’t match. I just like to stand out.