Kobe is amazing. He's extremely competitive.

I think coaches really do matter because they see the game, and we just play the game from a different point of view, so they're able to give us a lot of tips and a lot of pointers, and I think coaches are really, really important.

Nothing will distract me from my focus, my galactic mind.

Gluten-free pasta is not a focus, which I would rather have gluten-free pasta. Hey, if I have to have regular pasta... It is what it is.

I'm not a player; I'm an alien.

I'm not afraid to address anything ever.

I've had so much great teaching, and I'm one of the best defensive players to ever play the game on the wing.

Now, you can bring up the past, but anybody can bring up the past. Even my daughter brings up the past sometimes. She makes a lot of jokes about the things that I've done.

I'm from Queensbridge. It's the largest housing project in New York. And growing up in Queens, it was different because I wasn't really experienced in traveling to the City. I never really got used to the City.

I've learned a lot from my own kids. Actually, my son was the reason why I got involved in other things outside of basketball.

Now I will bop my head to gangsta music - I'm not going to lie.

I think, at the end of the game, guys gotta trust themselves more. I think sometimes - not myself, but sometimes, guys - they look to Kobe too much.

The Lakers, they did a lot for me, so I like it here.

I'm going to watch basketball regardless of whether I coach or watch it on TV.

I started to music when I was about 19 years old. Most people that do music, they get training, or they develop themselves before they let their music out. For myself, I was actually developing myself and putting my music out at the same time.

I'm too direct.

I don't feel bad about telling somebody I see a psychologist. I don't feel that you should feel bad about improving yourself.

I'm just happy that Jesus Christ, um, did not let me lose my teeth when I was 20 years old. 'Cause I was wondering, like, what if you kept your baby teeth until the age of 18 or 20, and then you lose 'em? That would look pretty bad.

A live feeder is somebody who is trying to eat everybody in the room.

I don't care who I align with. Things happen naturally.

I didn't know how to get along with others. I didn't even know how to be in the same room with other people. Then, after a while, you learn.

Honestly, for me, when the Pacers win a championship, I'll feel a little bit better.

When Kobe talks, I shut up and stay out of his way.

I'm a goofball. I'm always going to be that. I'm not going to change. If I got a head coaching job, I'm going to continue to laugh and have fun.

People can never question how hard I work. That's all I care about.

I had this ego that was unstable. If you said anything about me good or bad, it really went to my head.

I can play, it's not even a question, man. But, you know, sometimes you don't get in the game, man. What are you going to do? I'm not going to be upset; I'm going to support.

I coach a couple players. But it's not a thing where I'm going to hide and be that perfect mentor. I just give them the best advice I can and live my life accordingly.

What happened was, when I got into the brawl in Detroit, I was transitioning into a different type of person, that person that I've become, but that game had so many emotions involved.

Everybody has different issues, good or bad, that they carry with them on the court. It affects you. And for me, it affected me to where sometimes I would be overly aggressive and, in other ways, it would affect people to where they can't perform on the court.

I'm not afraid to improve myself spiritually, emotionally, economically. I'm not afraid to take on that challenge.

I have a street mind. My whole mindset when I first got to the NBA was, 'I'm bringing that street to the game,' and, 'I'm going to be the hardest guy on the court; I'm going to be the hardest guy on the planet.'

For me, I saw a psychologist because I wanted to connect more with people, with the earth, my environment. I want to connect more to my family.

I didn't realize Oklahoma had so many fine women.

I grew up in the 'hood, but it was like growing up in Beverly Hills because there were so many superstars around.

I'm not a 'real rapper'; I just like to talk about what I've been through. When I was younger, I just said random, stupid lyrics and censored myself because I was worried about what people would think. But now I've become more mature with my words and uncensored.

If you can be the best from Queensbridge and actually make it out, then you must be pretty good.

You can tell when somebody is chosen basketball-wise. You can tell.

I grew up playing basketball on the streets of New York City, and it was very, very rough, and I started playing in the NBA in the same way.

I always had the street mentality, but when you're older, you get more mature.

When you play angry, you can't focus.

I always wanted to play in Europe for a long time. They move the ball, and they move bodies, and that's what I like doing.

As a kid, New York was in my blood, and that was it. I got a chance to play for the Knicks, so it was cool, but it was towards the end of my career.

People who have followed my career still call me Ron, and that's OK; most of the young kids call me Metta, and then everyone in China calls me Panda. In the Middle East, they call me World Peace.

I don't want to play for any team. I prefer playing for a lower team and playing against the best. I don't like playing with them: I want to play against them... and beat them.

If it was up to me, I'd have everybody's jersey different. Each player would have their separate one. I think the game should be a joy, I think the game should be colorful.

I believe in order to coach, you've got to start at the ground level. The same way I learned how to play basketball.

It's weird, the evolution of a person. You understand yourself, you understand your surroundings. Then, when you understand who came before you, once you understand that about yourself and the energy that you came to this planet with, you understand more about yourself.

I continue to learn about myself, about my past, understanding energy between people, understanding my own energy, being healthy.

I remember I came into the NBA in 1999; the game was a little bit more rough. The game now is more for kids. It's not really a man's game anymore.