A panther is quick and smart and always alert to everything. He's sitting on top of a mountain, with the sun and the clouds. That's where I want to see myself.
Stephon Marbury
I'm a black kid from the ghetto of Coney Island, Brooklyn, who only ever dreamed of playing in the NBA. So to have that dream come true but then go on this second journey in China... it's so far beyond anything that kid could have imagined.
Consistency is always the best teacher.
My heart is filled with love for my new extended family - the billion-plus people in China who have shown me nothing but unconditional love.
I was born in church. I was raised in church.
I always watched Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, and I said I could be playing on the court with them.
You have to have a lot of good players to win a championship.
I drink life's happy water, which is bottled at the divine source.
I learned to treat everybody with respect. I've learned to be focused, be a professional person, the kind who is always an honor to be around.
I've been defending myself since I left Minnesota. Because I didn't comply to what they wanted, then it was like, 'Oh, I'm selfish. I'm this. I'm that.' I'm like, 'How can that be? You were just about to give me $71 million! Who gives someone $71 million, and they're selfish, and they're jealous of Kevin Garnett and all of this stupid stuff?'
China is the best. Since I moved there, my life has been amazing. The best time of my life. Not even close. I guess this was how it was all supposed to go down.
The name of the game is put the ball in the hole.
For me, my Beijing jersey will be the jersey that I will retire here in China.
I'm going to set up a foundation for the world. I'm going to take the money and start building cities all over the world. I'm a comet.
New York is a Show Me state. We're like Missouri.
I got so used to using chopsticks that using a fork and knife is weird.
From what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors.
Coaching - get a guy like Phil Jackson, you expect the coaching to change right away and things to change right away. Ultimately, it takes a lot of time.
With Starbury, we are trying to do something for the community and make a product that everyone can afford.
I want to make sure that people can always have affordable shoes to wear.
I had to deal with so many haters.
Nothing can compare to my experience in China. My situation is fortunate because I actually love it there, and I love it because of the people. For what they did to me, I'm forever invested into that country. Living there has been great for me and great for my life.
My favorite point guard, growing up, was Magic Johnson. The reason why I say that is he was a winner, and he did everything in his power to make his teammates better. That's what the game is all about as a point guard.
When you look at organizations that work, everyone is on the same page as far as what they are doing.
Going to a foreign country, winning championships, having a statue, getting a green card, the key to the city, a museum - that's not something I can say I could ever see happening.
Losing exposes character, and winning breeds it.
Playing basketball at MSG is a lot of fun when you are winning, but when you are not, it's not fun.
The 'New York Daily News' called me the most reviled athlete ever in sports history in New York. I don't listen to them.
You've just got to win in China - that's it. Winning is like good deodorant. When you don't win, it's like you stink; you smell.
I would say my hardest opponent that I have to face has to be probably Rod Strickland. He's very strong. He's a guy who gets to the basket, and when his jump shot is on, it's really hard to stop him.
I give everybody respect. There's nobody in the NBA who I disrespect because on any given night, you're liable to get lit up.
Everyone starts the playoffs with the same record. It doesn't matter who won 70 games or whatever.
Playing basketball is second nature to me; acting I found far more challenging.
I look at a guy like The Rock - how he started with his natural ability in sports but gravitated into Hollywood - as a model for what's possible.
China is home now.
I go on the court to win, and that is it.
I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up, and then we break him down. I think he's one of the superb athletes, and he's a good human being.
When I get on the basketball court, there's not too many things I can't do.
When I was younger, I had a different disposition as far as how I wanted to live life.
Basketball's always been something that I loved.
It was a steppingstone. The NBA, for me, was preparation for me to do something someplace else.
People don't even know how hard it is to play in China. People think it is easy for the foreign players, but it is really not. It's difficult.
I have three championships in a country where I don't speak the language.
My numbers are Hall of Fame.
Whenever you've got an inside presence, it makes the game extremely easy.
I love Coney Island. I saw all different kinds of people - Russian, Italian, black, Puerto Rican, rich people in Sea Gate and in the co-ops. You'd see people in the co-ops or in the houses, and it was like, Man, I wish I could have this. I wish my mother and father could buy me this. Me being an independent thinker, I was like, I'm gonna get that.
College players make money for the colleges. You think they spend all that recruiting money to get the best students? Come on.
I learned more in that first year in the NBA than I could have in four years of college.
Rucker is love.
I love the Chinese people.
