Basketball Quotes - Page 49

That's how we like to play basketball, is be physical down there in the paint and force teams to the perimeter.

Mama wanted me to be a preacher. I told her coachin' and preachin' were a lot alike.

So after 11 years you're just picking up all this information. I'm a basketball junky, so I watch old players. The '90s was a great era of basketball. I watched so much of that. That just helped me be a student of the game and pick up any moment. It's the 10,000 hour rule. You're just trying to master your craft.

If that many people recognize how hard I go every night and what I put into my game, to make myself and my team better, it means a lot to mean. I'm fortunate; I'm blessed to be in the situation that I'm in right now.

The next time I will cry is when I die. My life has been that beautiful.

Evidence is conclusive that your self-talk has a direct bearing on your performance.

Everybody is improving but I am improving slowly, which seemingly widens our distance.

I think I'll stick to what I'm used to, my principles, and that is team Number 1 and individual Number 2.

But the point of using the number was to show that sex was a great part of my life as basketball was a great part of my life. That's the reason why I was single.

When you go out there and do the things you're supposed to do, people view you as selfish.

Experience is everything. It means so much because it enabled me to learn the game even faster. Playing in the playoffs is the best basketball in the world, and if you can learn under that pressure, succeed under that pressure, it gives you more confidence the next year.

You have to have a mentality. This is a business. This ain't hanging out having a good time

The rule was "no autopsy, no foul".

Whatever I lack in size and strength and speed, I kind of make up for in being grittier. When it comes to something like basketball I'm definitely not the best guy on the court, but I love elbowing and pushing people out or boxing them out.

Don't get me wrong - I love Jason Kidd. He's a great point guard (But) how am I comparing myself to him when I think I'm the best point guard to play basketball? That doesn't make any sense. I mean, how can I sit here and compare myself to somebody if I already think I'm the best?I'm telling you what it is: I know I'm the best point guard in the NBA. I don't need anybody else to tell me that. When I go on the basketball court, if I think about what you're all saying, I'll lose my mind.

A writer from ESPN magazine once described me as the world's largest eleven-year-old. That's true. I ride my Sea-Doo jet ski, play putt-putt golf, go to water parks, and act silly. On the bottom floor of my house in Beverly Hills, I have video games, a pool table, a Pepsi machine, and all the things they have in arcades. I drive go-karts, at least the ones I can fit in. I karate-chop my friends when they come over, like the Kato dude in the Pink Panther movies.

I would like to be referred to as 'The Big Aristotle'.

Before I became the 'Great Test of the West," I was the 'Beast of the East.'

As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If you cannot command, you must learn to listen.' I'm not the hierarchy here. I am a worker bee.

He's very knowledgeable. That's the one advantage that I see in Kobe Bryant's career compared to Michael Jordan. Ten years into Kobe Bryant's career, we're seeing a very polished 27-year-old player who's probably got another seven or eight great years ahead of him.

I have a certain taste, and I might be like, 'I like this,' when other people are like, 'I can't wear that.' And in basketball, I might be able to do things other guys might not.

Sports like baseball, basketball, and hockey develop muscles. That's why Americans have the strongest eyes in the world.

I don't recruit players who are nasty to their parents. I look for players who realize the world doesn't revolve around them.

In a team sport like basketball, every time you help somebody else, you help yourself.

A lot of kids just want to go play basketball, but they don't know to play and they don't have the skills to play. I think just the skill development right off and then play all you can, but don't sacrifice your skill development by just playing and not working on the specifics of the game.