I've played more park games than NBA games, and I had a 10-year NBA career.
Kenny Smith
I'm always the neutral guy, man. I'm able to bring people together.
You can dribble on carpet. I grew up in Queens, and we had carpet in our living room. And actually, even in some of these gymnasiums where we're playing the game, we're on carpet. If you're 12 or 13 years old, you've dribbled on the carpet in your mom's house.
We all want to let fans behind the scenes. We just don't want them following us around.
NCAA is looking at how to do a better job enforcing their rules instead of looking at why the predatorial environment is created. There's a predatorial environment that their rules have created, which makes people feel undervalued.
It's not always the result. It's the journey to get to the result.
Something that my teammates always thought was going to be a punishment for me - sitting next to Coach Russell on the team bus - actually turned out to be the best moment of my life.
When you're in the slam dunk contest, you try to do the things the average person would have trouble doing on a Nerf basket.
I like to dribble to Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust.'
In Texas, it's football. In Georgia, football. There's an appreciation from the average person about football more than anywhere else. And we have that for basketball in New York. And we'll always have that in New York.
As African Americans, we always have to fight for inclusion, despite your moral background: Christian, Muslim, Jewish - it doesn't matter.
There's hasn't been a day in my life since I was 9 years old that I haven't touched a basketball or done something connected with basketball.
I think it's right not to 'give' but to create opportunities and invest a percentage into those communities that you come from.
My high school coach used to tell me there's no correct way to shoot, that the only correct way was to get the ball into the basket.
I've been an NBA player, and a black man, for a long time, and I know how to take a loss.
I want people to know that it's all right to come back to New Orleans. You can drink the water. The only way that the city can come back is if you come back. Tourism is a big part of it.
Mark Jackson played 19, 20 years in the NBA. Shouldn't even have probably been in the league, and he's the third-ranked assist guy in the NBA. But you describe his game: Can he jump? No, not really. How's his outside shot? Eh, it's inconsistent. Can he defend? Nah, he can't stay in front of guys. And he played 19 years!
One thing is a pro is supposed to make certain plays, while a college player is learning to make plays.
What it takes to win on the road, it's all mental focus. You have to believe that you can win.
I think that for me, as a UNC graduate, I value my education - I think everyone who's gone to that university values education.
I don't know about bullying and all of that stuff. That doesn't work in basketball.
I was overwhelmed meeting him. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know whether to call him 'Coach Russell,' 'Bill,' or 'Mr. Russell.'
I remember when I was 11 playing against guys who were as old as 22. I just stayed outside and shot from there.
I'm blessed that I'm able to provide the vehicle for my daughter to follow her dreams.
What made it so special was the city of Houston had never won a sports championship. I think the championship changed people's thinking about their own city. It made them feel like their city had some significance that it hadn't had before.
I want to study law.
There's no representation. That's why the NBA Players Association was formed, players' unions were formed. That's why those unions were formed - to have representation before you make rules for me that I have to abide by. How can I participate and how can it be fair if there's no representation?
Great players, they start becoming immune to what the defense does to them.
I'm not a boxer, I'm a basketball player.
By the time I turned 16, I'd played more than 300 games outside high school.
Dunk, and people anywhere will ooh and aah. But you can wow a crowd in New York with ball handling and passing.
Image overshadows reality in our league, and there are people who get to believe they are better than they really are.
This league has great players, and it has great images. Sometimes those two things get confused.
My situation in Houston is like night and day compared to Atlanta. This system fits my game, and the team has confidence in me to get the job done.
Timing is everything in this league, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I never lost my confidence. Atlanta was changing coaches and systems. I knew they'd make personnel changes.
You really don't believe that winning at home or winning on the road makes a difference. The Lakers have that mind-set. They don't look at it as 'We're at home, we're on the road.'
When someone is in 'the struggle,' which many of our black communities are in, they are living with a lack of educational facilities, high unemployment, and poor recreational facilities.
There are a lot more famous fathers out there than me with daughters who wouldn't mind singing careers... but the talent and the work ethic have to be on point. Kayla's blessed to have all that.
Kobe Bryant should know how to defend a pick and roll.
Guys pay extra attention to detail. They are looking at every little thing on the scouting report.
You don't get the accolades unless you win. It took me a while to understand. No one will remember how Kenny Smith played in Game 1 unless we win the series. The thrill is in winning.
The Rockets have a philosophy of what they think their coach should be.
When you're from New York, people take a second look at you. In Virginia, the other players always asked about the fast life we live. They want to know about the crime. As a player, they expect you to be able to do things that excite a crowd. And they always want to beat you. You're the New Yorker.
That's all my brother and I do, talk basketball, and I'd like to think I bring some of that casual quality with me on the air.
From the outside looking in, I would say the franchise that has had the most stories that are unrelated to basketball are the Knicks.
The one thing in most communities, the staple is the basketball court. And when that looks good, I think the community feels good about itself, knowing that people care and have an opportunity to not only play there, but it's also a social meeting place.
We win together as a team, and we lose together as a team.
The expectation levels aren't as high because a team is expected to win on its home court. That takes a little of the pressure off us on the road.
I don't think the Lakers could control Tony Parker's ability to get into the paint, so his health is the key for San Antonio.
When you play, you get an opportunity to hone your craft.
