To be successful in anything, you have to have a passion for it, and that leads to being enthusiastic and demanding. I didn’t have it for history. So I wouldn’t have been a good teacher in that area. But I had it for basketball. And that’s what coaching is at every level: it’s about teaching.
It’s not always about getting better on the basketball court. This game teaches you how to become a better person as well. It pushes you into the team concept.
Baseball is like cricket, and I grew up in a country where they had cricket. So I understand cricket, soccer and basketball. I played basketball at the club level and a little bit in college, so that’s why I’m a basketball fanatic.
The height of my athletic achievement was in 8th grade when I was the point guard for my Jewish day school basketball team. We played in a public school league and, amazingly, went undefeated. I say ‘amazingly’ because our power forward was 5 ft. 6 in.
I was a basketball player. And my mother even wanted me to quit because I hurt my leg. But I didn’t know anything about football – from Pee-Wee on up, my friends would play, and I would never go with them.
College was a very necessary step along the way to my professional career. As I look back, I realize how much of an eye opener it was for me in terms of moving forward and developing as a basketball player.
And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight – I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub – there were things that I liked about it.
I love all sports! I’m always impressed by athletes. I also love watching the Olympic Games. In high school, I played co-ed soccer and basketball. I really enjoyed both of those sports, but I have to admit basketball wasn’t my calling.
I love basketball.
The Black Mamba collection of watches is me: It is my alter ego, so to speak. As I mentioned before, it is sharp, cutting edge and sleek which are characteristics I try to apply when I’m out there on the basketball court.
As failures go, attempting to recall the past is like claiming to grasp the meaning of existence. Both make one feel like a baby clutching at a basketball: one’s palms keep sliding off.
I don’t think people can watch University of Texas basketball or football games with me – really, anything Texas is playing – without wanting to punch me in the face. I’m as big a Longhorn fan as you’ll find.
On an awards-show day, I can play basketball, go in, take a shower and put on a tux – it takes me three minutes to put on a tux – and be out the door in 15 minutes.
I know that I love the whole game of basketball, and that’s what I’ve always believed in.
I think it’s a travesty that the NBA can’t just tell these guys to play basketball two days in a row. It’s just a joke to me. We flew commercial, and we were able to play back-to-back.
Growing up, I always thought of Detroit as a basketball town because of the Pistons, but everyone says it’s really, at its core, a football town.
I wanted to do two things when I was growing up, about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA, and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over, and that is what I am doing now.
I started out as a football player. I liked to inflict pain. In basketball, it was the same thing.
I was a better basketball player growing up in high school than I was a swimmer. Basketball to this day is my favorite sport.
I always wanted to be a basketball player. Nothing more, nothing less.
In an individual sport, yes, you have to win titles. Baseball’s different. But basketball, hockey? One person can control the tempo of a game, can completely alter the momentum of a series. There’s a lot of great individual talent.
A football player is often bigger than a basketball player – more massive, that is. The basketball player is taller and more slender. So it is with redwoods. The tallest redwoods are often slender, and so they aren’t the largest ones.
Like basketball, fashion is hard work.
I was about 14, and my friend’s stepdad asked me to do a 10K with him because his son – who was more into basketball – didn’t want to. It was amazing, and I still remember the time I got: 48:23.
Seattle deserves a team. They got robbed of their basketball team.
Honestly, with me, as long as I have a park to play basketball in, I’m pretty cool.
The only reason I went to college was to play basketball. I injured my knee and couldn’t play.
The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I’ve always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It’s been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It’s a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.
I want my son to never know the mommy who would rather watch him play basketball than play with him.
Throughout my journey in basketball, I always have someone to talk to in my father. I know how hard he had to work as an athlete.
Not only is Rip Hamilton an outstanding basketball player, he is also known for giving back to his community.
My dad was the one who really loved basketball, and he was the one that put the basketball in my hands, and my mom was ‘Team Mom’ of all my teams. I used to play for three or four teams at once and she would just spend her entire afternoon driving me from practice to practice to practice.
My dad told me, ‘If you’re going to go out there and play baseball, or you’re going to play basketball or football, work hard at it no matter what. I want you to have fun with your buddies, but you have to put in the time because this is your craft.’ He didn’t just want me to be good. He pushed me to that next level.
If you’re a basketball player, you’ve got to shoot.
The man that got me into collecting sneakers in the first place was the man they call Michael Jordan. He was the one who kind of exposed me to the sneaker world – he was my favorite basketball player, and he had the best shoes.
After I got done playing basketball, I needed a competitive outlet.
Chris Paul is one of the brightest stars in the National Basketball Association, a must-see player with the New Orleans Hornets whose deft ball skills and eye-popping speed have attracted admirers all over the world.
Spend time with your family and try to spend time doing things that you enjoy doing other than basketball.
The first year was kind of hard for me. There was just too much attention, too much going on, and I really just wanted to focus on basketball.
I want to play basketball so bad.
I’m just here to play basketball and have fun and try to win another championship.
Basketball is my favorite sport, and I’m also a very passionate football fan.
When I was coming up in high school, if you wanted to be in the musical it was during the winter, so I had to choose between playing basketball or being in the musical. And I ended up playing basketball.
I wanted to emulate my parents – Mum captained India in basketball, and Dad won a bronze in hockey in 1972 Olympics. My focus has always been to achieve excellence whether in the field of tennis, in the corporate field, in the art of acting or in motivating youngsters.
My focus is basketball, and that’s it.
To be named as one of the finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 on Friday was a special moment for me. As a player, it’s something that you dream about. It’s an honor that you have to earn based on your career and the respect from your peers around you.
If you’re a basketball player and you don’t stop and take pictures with your fans, you can have an amazing game and everyone still loves you.
I remember standing on a medal podium at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, imbued with a sense that if you won enough basketball games, there was no such thing as poor, backward, country, female, or inferior.
I’ve accomplished everything I tried to accomplish in basketball.
When I came out in the draft, people kept asking me, ‘So are you a small forward or a power forward?’ and I was like, ‘I’m a basketball player.’ Period.
I was taught by teachers, and if it’s one thing I have it’s a basketball mind and I try to pass it on and pay it forward.
From my standpoint, I would make it very difficult on the NBA to even have any association with college basketball. I think it’s ludicrous the way they take kids away that are certainly not prepared to play.
We can never thank David Stern enough. His vision to use basketball to improve the quality of our lives to make this world a better and saner place, that guy, is the most important man in the history of basketball.
We’re all about trying to teach the kids life through basketball.
If I had not played basketball and made the millions of dollars that I had made, I would never have been able to build a hospital in Congo. It started in 1997, and 10 years later I was able to unveil the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, named after my mother, in my hometown outside of Kinshasa. It was such a blessing.
If you’re getting ready to do a really emotional scene then, right before it, you’re probably not going to be outside playing basketball.
I love the game of basketball. I love being able to work every day. I love being able to watch film, be a student of the game. It may not show emotionally, but I just love that I’m able to do this.
