Imagination has a great deal to do with winning.
I was always in the gym. People would look at me crazy because I spent so much time there. But that's what it was about. I'm glad I did it.
I don't think the world focuses on the positive things enough.
The function of football, soccer, basketball and other passion-sports in modern industrial society is the transference of boredom, frustration, anger and rage into socially acceptable forms of combat. A temporary substitute for war; for nationalism; identification with something bigger than the self.
You can run a lot of plays when your X is twice as big as the other guys' O. It makes your X's and O's pretty good.
I'm no innovator. If anything I'm a stealer, or borrower. I've stolen or borrowed from more people than you can shake a stick at.
I have to give credit to the NBA, because they've done an unbelievable job of taking our game global and putting us in a position to be able to come here and other places in the world and see how big the game of basketball is. If you have never been here, you might not really understand how amazing and how big basketball is. These fans in China love the sport, and they have more players playing than we have people living in the US.
Basketball used to be my top priority.
I was in Chicago in 1994 and at this time I had no thoughts of coming back and playing the game of basketball, Bryon Russell came over to me and said, "Why'd you quit? You know I could guard you. " When I did come back in 1995 and we played Utah in '96, I'm at the center circle and Bryon Russell is standing next to me. I said, "You remember what you said in 1994 about, 'I think I can guard you, I can shut you down, I would love to play against you?' Well, you're about to get your chance.
There's so many young peoople who start to play basketball and never learn the fundamentals.
I have a lot left. There's only four or five good centers in the league and I'm in that number. . . . I've been in it for 17 years but I've missed three years because of injury. If you do the math, I've still got three years left. You got that?
Leadership does not mean getting people to do their job. It means getting people to do their best.
I'm not a young jitterbug anymore. When I was a young jitterbug, I never won. I didn't start winning until I got older. The older I get, the wiser I get. You just have to play it smart.
You can't let nobody run your train.
I hope I can help guys coming out of high school, if they need advice. I know the ins and outs of everything.
You should always want your coach to be critical. It gives you an opportunity to learn and to overcome adversity
They don't pay you a million dollars for two-hand chest passes.
Always have your players go and pick-up the guy who draws the charge.
There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning.
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. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you're not giving it all you've got.