“Even when I’m old and gray, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.”

“I’d like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it’s never going to be completely normal.”

“Every time I feel tired while I am exercising and training, I close my eyes to see that picture, to see that list with my name. This usually motivates me to work again.”

“When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.”

“For a competitive junkie like me, golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you’ve accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball.”

“I will not quit this game because of what the media has done to me.”

“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.”

“I’ve never been afraid to fail.”

“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”

“It is easy to choose a path of anonymity and lead an empty life. But to strive hard and lead an impactful life, one needs a burning desire to realize dreams. ”

”I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.”

“Winning isn’t always championships.”

“Live the moment for the moment.”

“To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.”

“I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it.”

“My heroes are and were my parents. I can’t see having anyone else as my heroes.”

“Playing sick. That is so hard to do. It has to be a total mental challenge, as well as the physical challenge.”

“I like control.”

“I want to play for years.”

“Not every flying hero has a cape.”

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”

“Heart is what separates the good from the great.”

“Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life.”

“Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.”

“If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.”

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.”

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”

“The good part about being famous is being able to help people. The hard part is every day you have to be in a good mood, because that is what people expect. You learn to get good at it.”

“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.”

“There is no ‘i’ in team but there is in win.”

“Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.”

“Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you’re in a fight.”

“I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else’s talent.”

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.