MASAI UJIRI

It's my responsibility to put a team on the floor that will win, and that attracts players.

Every man, they say, 'oh my wife is my boss.' So why can't they be bosses at work?

People hear 'Africa' and they think about charitable commercials, or safari tours and animals. It's our responsibility to help change that perspective.

To give women more opportunity, women's empowerment is very, very close to my heart.

Two of the most difficult parts of our business is trades and when a player leaves.

I love it here. I really do. Toronto is home for me.

The more you give, the more you grow.

The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of those areas are bigger in one country than another, and some countries have real problems that they're working through. But there's great people, good people and a small percentage of bad people - just like everywhere else.

The natural thing in Africa is to start playing soccer at 8 or 9. You go outside and you play like kids play basketball here, and you grow a feel for the game. In Africa, the kids start playing basketball at 16 or 17 or 18, and when they get an opportunity to come here, they have been playing for only one or two years.

When my mom travelled, she would bring me basketball tapes.

I've studied the game in every different aspect that I can.

I don't really watch any TV. I'll glance at the TV sometimes if my wife's watching 'Empire' or 'Scandal.' I'll sit with her for an episode. But I don't have a TV show that I watch.

Manute Bol was one of the guys who taught me to be bold. To be fierce. To speak intelligently, and speak like you belong.

We play sports to win.

I value my staff and I believe in hiring people who are smarter than myself.

Kids in Africa start kicking a ball when they are six or seven years old, if not younger. It's like baseball, basketball and football in America. If you're talented, people will find you. That's what happened with soccer. The number of academies has grown rapidly, and people are really into it.

Winning influences, it helps, it gets the kids. Winning makes an impact.

It's a great thing that the NBA has done in Africa to develop the game.

Look at the teams that have been successful in the NBA. Yes, you have big, glamorous cities like L.A. But Miami has won, and so has San Antonio. Oklahoma City is a very successful team. They're not the biggest markets.

I couldn't shoot. When I went to play in Europe, I learned to shoot better. I could jump, so people would just back off of me.

I'm proud of Toronto. I'm proud of Canada. I'm proud of the NBA. I'm very proud of it.

You have to be unique in your own ways and the ways that you play to find a way to win. You can't always go with the trend that's going on. Sometimes you have to create the trend yourself and be confident in it.

Our job is to find out what's the next thing that is going to be advantageous to us and contribute to winning.

I was probably the best cherry picker in the history of African basketball. I got so many dunks, it was crazy.

You go for the best talent available, wherever it is. You fish it out. That's how I've scouted all my career. Doesn't matter where it is - international, domestic, college, anywhere.