I smoked my first cigar in 1991, when we won the championship. Up to that point, I had never smoked a cigar, never smoked anything.
Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.
My best skill was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.
My heroes are and were my parents. I can’t see having anyone else as my heroes.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.
You have to be un-compromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared. Commitment cannot be compromised by rewards.
You always have to focus in life on what you want to achieve.
I’m a firm believer in goal setting. Step by step. I can’t see any other way of accomplishing anything.
Obstacles don’t have to stop you.
If it turns out that my best wasn’t good enough, at least I won’t look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder.
If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.
If you don’t back it up with performance and hard work, talking doesn’t mean a thing.
I think the players win the championship, and the organization has something to do with it, don’t get me wrong. But don’t try to put the organization above the players.
If I had been playing for money I would have complained a long time ago that I was underpaid.
I would never play an extra year for money. I play the game because I love it. I just so happen to get paid. If I don’t feel I still enjoy the game, I can care less what a year is worth. I’m not going to play the game just because of money.
Drugs have been in the game for a long time. They were there when I was in college, and even in high school. It’s in life. It’s in business. It’s everywhere.
I realize that I’m black, but I like to be viewed as a person, and that’s everybody’s wish. I try to be a role model for black kids, white kids, yellow kids, green kids. This is what I felt was good about my personality.
When I play against someone that’s new in the league, I make him respect me. They may have heard about me, but now you get to see me actually in front of you. That drives me.
I basically expect anything. Isn’t that wild? I used to surprise myself a lot: certain moves, how I’d get out of trouble. But at some point, you accept the talent that you have, you accept your creativity.
Failure I can accept, what I can not accept is not trying.
Why would I think about missing a shot that I haven’t taken yet?