I believe the only muscles you need in basketball are the ones in your brain.
Nikola Jokic
A point makes you happy; an assist makes you and your teammate happy. An assist makes two people happy.
Every different horse has a different personality, like a human.
A win in November is as important as a win in May.
I loved playing every sport. Soccer, water polo, horses. Whatever. I just loved it - especially competing against my brothers.
For me, every game is a pickup game in front of my house.
Every teacher in elementary school loved me because I was always goofing around. I was taller than most of the guys and girls, and fattest, too.
Winning is really fun.
Oh man, I am so happy when I get to dribble the ball.
This is not the job. We are just playing the game here. I am enjoying the game. I am playing every game as a game of pickup basketball in my hometown.
My teams in Serbia always had really good point guards. But I have always loved to dribble the ball. Even when I was outside, just walking by myself, I would always love to dribble and imagine my defender there in front of me - what I would try to do.
Maybe water polo and volleyball really help me on the court. Water polo with my one-handed passes, volleyball too, maybe when I tap passes.
I loved some classes - math, history, that's pretty much it. I didn't love physical activities.
Kobe is probably an idol for so many players. He was such a great player so you wanted to be like Kobe. He's a legend that never dies.
This is the league of the stats, the numbers.
I don't want to say something just to be a leader.
In high school, I couldn't do one pushup.
I think I brought something different to the NBA. I brought that I can do pretty much everything on the floor.
We cannot make our sole goal the eighth spot, the eighth seed.
If you don't try something, you never know.
I like horse racing but I'm not an All-Star in horse racing. I'm an All-Star fan in horse racing.
The rookie game, those guys are going to be All-Stars one day.
There's always going to be some guys not satisfied with the minutes or how they're playing or what their role is. That's normal.
When everybody is sharing the ball, everybody makes everybody happy.
You need to go with that mentality and play the game. No pressure. Yes, you need to do something. But it's just a game.
When you think about Kobe it's, 'No excuse. Nothing can put your mind off what you love to do.' It's the Mamba mentality, for sure.
I know my teammates better than opponents know them. If I can see my teammate in one moment, I know where he'll be in the next moment. I don't need to see him again.
When you first come to practice, you learn the guys. You're going to play with them for the next couple seasons. You just need to know what shots they like, how they run, how good a lead they are. You need to know your personnel.
To be honest, I don't really care if I'm starting or coming off the bench.
I'm just trying to win the games.
I think the coach, the owner, the GM, the players want to win the game. That's the bottom line.
I lead the league in scratches. I'm always bleeding - I'm used to it.
I enjoy animals. Their nature.
Someone said, 'He's not even in shape.' I am playing in 80 games and he said that I'm not even in shape.
I met Kobe during my first year, before a game.
Pressure is just bad things for you.
My dad is not really a relaxed guy. He's nervous. He wants to do everything. But I am completely opposite to him. I am calm.
I'm just playing basketball, the same way I have always played, from juniors and even back to middle school, I'm just doing it the same way. Nothing different. Just a team game, playing and having fun and trying to play the right way.
That's crazy when a guy scores 27 and it's bad.
I watched Magic because of his passing, and Hakeem because of his post moves.
I just play the game. If that means I need to joke around, or whatever I need to do, that's what I'll do.
You need to be a fan of your own team.
When I was young, basketball wasn't my No. 1 priority.
There must be one guy open and I want to find him.
I don't feel pressure.
There's no point in playing with pressure.
I just want to play hard and do the things coach asks me to do.
As center you can push the ball. If you're a big man and you can push the ball, or you can run fast, you can make a difference in the game.
When I was younger I always liked to pass.
When I get the rebound - push the ball. That couple of seconds when you're trying to find the point guard, you're losing in transition. You rebound, push the ball and the whole game is faster.
