“The nature of competition is such that any number of people invariably have their eyes on the same prize you do. Recognize your assets and employ them to the best of your ability.”

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.

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.

My opinion about basketball, the way I was taught, was when you step on the court, you play to win.

I don’t want to be like Spider-man or Batman, the do-gooder kind of thing.

If I do feel scared I deliberately challenge myself not to feel scared.

I believe the way to write a good play is to convince yourself it is easy to do, then go ahead and do it with ease.

Poor people will do almost anything to avoid problems. They see a challenge and they run…the secret to success, my friends, is not to try to avoid or get rid of or shrink from your problems; the secret is to grow yourself so that you are bigger than your problems.

I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow. I just know for sure I’m going to keep playing basketball.

Morning is when I do all my best work.

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.

All I do is sit at home and watch Netflix.