“If there were camera phones back in the day, the biggest athletes in the world would have had a lot of explaining to do.”

The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear.

I never tried to prove anything to someone else. I wanted to prove something to myself.

Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.

I enjoy playing at the heart of it is just a kid who really loves playing the game of basketball.

Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.

Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.

We all know what flopping is when we see it. The stuff that you see is where guys aren’t really getting hit at all and are just flailing around like a fish out of water.

Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.

Everyting negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.

The people who truly know me know what I’m like. There have been people who try to say things that aren’t fair, and I check them. And then they don’t like me because I checked them.

As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don’t know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.

I don’t have to hear that criticism, that idotic criticism anymore.

I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success.

These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.

Dear Basketball, From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks and shooting imaginary game-winning shots. I fell in love with you.

I don’t set out to make a really hot shoe, I set out to make a product that is true to where I am.

Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they’re afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive.

Most athletes get intimidated once they see how many fans are out there, but it almost calms me down in a way because I think of it as a fun way to show off what I’ve been working on.

I’m a high-performance athlete: I’m running, I’m sprinting, I’m sliding, I’m doing pretty much everything and the last thing I want to worry about is my chest. I want to just worry about playing the sport at the highest level that I can.

I’m an athlete and I’m black, and a lot of black athletes go broke. I do not want to become a statistic, so maybe I overcompensate. But I’m paranoid. Oprah told me a long time ago, ‘You sign every check. Never let anyone sign any checks.’

I’m not used to crying. It’s a little difficult. All my life I’ve had to fight. It’s just another fight I’m going to have to learn how to win, that’s all. I’m just going to have to keep smiling.

I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn’t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I’d learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.

I have a big-picture outlook, I am willing to fall, and I understand it’s ok to fall, but I am going to get back up, I may take a step back, but in the end, I am going to take a giant leap forward.

Don’t walk through life just playing football. Don’t walk through life just being an athlete. Athletics will fade. Character and integrity and really making an impact on someone’s life, that’s the ultimate vision, that’s the ultimate goal – bottom line.