Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, and you can't do it by loafing around.

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

I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses intro strengths.

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

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.

Don't let winning make you soft. Don't let losing make you quit. Don't let your teammates down in any situation.

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

When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.

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.

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've always been interested in jobs in the NBA. But I've been in this for 20 years and it might be time to do something else.

Coaches can talk and talk and talk about something, but if you get it on tape and show it to them, it is so much more effective.

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.

In the closing seconds of every game, I want the ball in my hands for the last shot - not in anybody else's, not in anybody else's in the world.

I don't know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody - somewhere - was practicing more than me.

I wasn't real quick, and I wasn't real strong. Some guys will just take off and it's like, whoa. So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals.

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.

As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me - red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game.

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.

A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.

When I was a kid, like 14 or 15, I played with the waiters from the hotel, 'cause that was the best game. And these guys, they'd let me play. And they were black guys.

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.

I think you have to work very hard and dedicate yourself and have the respect of your teammates before you're about to go out and just try to take a game over by yourself.

Eminem. My son was listening to that and I was like, “What is that junk?” Then I started listening and I thought, You know, that kid is pretty good. It's the storytelling.