There is a goodness about Yao that is unique, that never left him through all the pain and injuries and disappointments that accompanied his unprecedented accomplishments and successes.

Among the hardest-working players I've ever been associated, Yao stands at the very top of the list. Beyond that, though, here's what truly separated him from everyone else: His ability to enjoy other people's successes.

I love Joe Ingles. I think Joe Ingles is a tremendous glue player, terrific shooter, passer, defender.

Life sort of works out the way it works out.

All the fascination with numbers conspires to make you forget the beauty of the game sometimes.

The beauty of growing up in a coaching family, particularly one that isn't at the very highest level, is that you get to be in the gym - that's where you grow up.

There have been people who said I was a Pat Riley clone. But I don't think that's true. While I did learn a lot from him, I could never be him. I mean, we even dress so differently.

I think the beautiful part about Yao is that his main legacy won't be about the game. His legacy will be about helping people. His legacy will be taking on important world causes to better his world.

People talk about Kobe's 81-point game, the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. I saw the game. I don't care if it was 79, 81 - I just remember the game. I remember the moves. I remember the shots. I remember the beauty of it. The numbers? What he shot from the field? I don't care.

My intensity is my greatest strength. It's also my greatest weakness.

I'm not a positive guy.

One of my college roommates was into The Police, and I got to like them. But I hear one of the guys left the band.

My one suggestion going forward is, any felony committed against a woman should be a full-season suspension.

I quit the Knicks, so I know what quitting is. I did. I quit. And it's something I regret to this day. I live with it every day, and I regret it. And I let my emotions come into it. And I was just emotionally spent. I made a bad decision, and I quit.

I had a great job with the Knicks.

There are a lot of young teams that all they are is young. That doesn't mean they have a chance to be good.

You don't know a player until you coach him.

Are you playing for your teammates and coaches? That's how it should be.

I think everyone talks about talent. It's really one of the most overused terms. It comes down to, do you play, and do you win? Talent is one factor, but certainly not the only one.

Only once did someone talking about my appearance bother me.

It can get good quickly in this league, and it can get bad quickly.

Goaltending was brought in because of Mikan and Chamberlain. So rules do change for specific players, in concert with a need to stay up to date on how coaches are taking advantage of the rules.

Whenever you are coaching, you are trying to get the most balanced team that you can: balance between defense, offense, and rebounding.

I like to watch anyone who has great competitive spirit and will: passionate teams.

Manu Ginobili - I like to watch him. I would pay to watch him play the game. He will try things that will drive a coach crazy, like a full-court bounce pass, but he has such a flair for the game. I love his energy and his spirit and his unpredictability.

I enjoy watching Gregg Popovich-coached teams.

If your best offensive players go down, all you can do is hang on.

You can't hold up in a FIBA game if you don't have great competitive spirit.

If you coach, and coach every day, you should be getting better if you're self-evaluating and you've got people around you telling you the truth.

There are certain aspects that I miss of coaching. But you can't just pick out the good parts. You've got to be all-in and understand there's some negatives, too.

It's hard enough to coach in this league when you're doing what you believe in. But when you have to try to coach something you may not be sold on, it becomes even more of a challenge. It's really hard.

To me, it doesn't matter who's out there: NBA basketball is great - if teams are putting out their best players and they're competing to win.

You have to be careful as a news organization that you don't fall into voluntary censorship, that you worry about offending your 'league partner.' I never worried about that. I worry about fans listening.

Everyone's system in the NBA makes sense. It all comes down to the quality of player and the quality of execution.

D'Antoni can be successful playing slow or fast because he is a bright guy who has very creative ideas.

When I'd watch myself coaching, I'd say, 'Man, I look bad,' but I never felt I didn't have a sense of humor with the team. Maybe I was too over-the-top serious.

Kobe Bryant is a terrific offensive rebounder.

At first, you can play into the naivete that people think you have because you don't dress well. They almost give you the benefit of the doubt. But when success comes, that's no longer a good angle, so now you're 'a political animal.'

I want to control everything that goes into winning or losing.

Losing has an unbelievably negative impact on me.

I read somewhere that failure is an event, not a person, but I never feel that way. It's who I am.

Most elite big men are high maintenance.

There's always been conflict, inherent conflict between players and coaches.

I always said 'strength in stars.'

Chicken parm is hard to beat.

You would never find a coach in any sport more giving of his time than Coach Parcells to other New York coaches.

It's hard to change a roster around. You've got to hit your draft picks right, you've gotta hit free agency right, and a team's got to fit together.

When Jordan was averaging over 30 and shooting over 50 percent, he was doing it with less shooting on the floor for himself. He had less spacing to work with. He was going against defenses that were allowed a lot more liberties as far as physical contact, how hard they fouled, and all those things.

Often, organizations don't know how good they have it with a player or coach.

The NBA is a crazy place.