“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'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.

There's been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that's simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we've won when I score 10.

I'm not the most patient of people.

If I panic, everyone else panics.

I love going one-on-one with someone. That's what I do. I've never lost. It's a whole different game, just to have them right in front of you and be able to do whatever you want.

I've got four dogs, and I just don't do dog doo. I'm a diva when it comes to that.

In an individual sport, yes, you have to win titles. Baseball's different. But basketball, hockey? One person can control the tempo of a game, can completely alter the momentum of a series. There's a lot of great individual talent.

I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.

My parents are my backbone. Still are. They're the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.

I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place.

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it.

Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they've taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.

Winning takes precedence over all. There's no gray area. No almosts.

I focus on one thing and one thing only - that's trying to win as many championships as I can.

I'm chasing perfection.

These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.

It's different from being 21 and you think there's endless amount of opportunities. At 33, the ending is much, much closer.

I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. No matter what the injury - unless it's completely debilitating - I'm going to be the same player I've always been. I'll figure it out. I'll make some tweaks, some changes, but I'm still coming.

I like playing for the purple and gold. This is where I want to finish up.

The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don't have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven't had that fear.

"Dedication sees dreams come true."

"I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot."

"The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win"

"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do." 

"I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place."

"The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class. I was an orange belt and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s--less. I mean, I was terrified and he kicked my ass. But then I realized he didn't kick my ass as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of. That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn't really exist if you're in the right frame of mind." 

"I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it."

"Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success."

"When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself, 'You are a failure,' I think that is almost worse than dying."

I'm reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.

This is the moment I accept the most challenging times will always be behind me and in front of me.

Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.

The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.

Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.

Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.

I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.

I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.

I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. It’s not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.