“I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.”

“The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.”

“We are not interested in cloning the Michael Jordans and the Michael Jacksons of this world. The rich and the famous don't participate in this.”

“I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.”

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”

“I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

“I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life.”

“Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some ways that's about life too.”

“In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.”

“I'd like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it's never going to be completely normal.”

“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.”

“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.”

“As athletes, we're used to reacting quickly. Here, it's 'come, stop, come, stop.' There's a lot of downtime. That's the toughest part of the day.”

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

“When Michael Jordan quit, I suddenly found myself without a sports hero.”

“I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”

“In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.”

“Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

“I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.”

“I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.”

“I wasn't really a work conscious type of person.”

“If somebody says no to you, or if you get cut, Michael Jordan was cut his first year, but he came back and he was the best ever. That is what you have to have. The attitude that I'm going to show everybody, I'm going to work hard to get better and better.”