Basketball IQ Quotes

Basketball isn't just a sport. It is an art, one that must be mastered to succeed.

I've got a good first step and things of that nature. So it's just about using your body to make the defense play at your tempo and react to you.

I still play my fast-paced style but when the game slows down it allows you to see the little things - the right passes, where to lay the ball up.

When I come off the ball screen, I'm always trying to draw another defender, so where I can get my teammates open, and if not, I can score the basketball.

I know what I bring to the table. I know my game offensively and defensively. I think I'm one of the best, if not the best, playing two-ways.

When I think about defending Kyrie, I think about respect. His shooting percentages were close to 50/40/90 as a 19-year-old rookie. When you come into this league with numbers like that, defenders have to respect your jumper.

For me, it's just finding ways to create shots. I feel like if I got a shot off, it has a good chance of going in. So it's finding ways of creating different shots. Being smart. I watch film a lot, and different tricks that I can do to get my shot off the ball and creating ways to get shots off of pick-and-rolls or one-on-one situations like that.

You can't surprise LeBron any more. He's such a smart player. His intellect has caught up with his athletic ability.

The league is changing, and we don't have many back-to-the-basket players. We now have a game that requires skill and versatility. A lot of that is about being able to think. It makes all the difference in the world to have a player in there with a high basketball IQ who can make the right decision.

You can't say, 'You're a scorer, you score. You rebound, you rebound.' Basketball is more than that. Basketball is knowing the next step, knowing the next play, knowing how to make things happen.

If you're versatile, there's no reason a coach can't have you in the game. That's what my dad's philosophy was, so from a young age, he taught me to be a guard first and a big second, though I don't think he had a crystal ball to be able to see what the NBA would become.

Being a physical specimen doesn't mean you're any good at playing inside. Positioning, using your head, the mental stuff - that's my game. That's what makes a good inside player.

A lot of players know how to play the game, but they really don't know how to play the game, if you know what I mean. They can put the ball in the hoop, but I see things before they even happen. You know how a guy can make his team so much better? That's one thing I learned from watching Jordan.

I don't back down. Like, I don't know how to flop. That's never been a part of my game. For me to know if a guy likes to turn left shoulder or right shoulder in the post, I have an advantage. Or if he likes to go left all the time, I have an advantage. Or if he can't make open jump shots, I have an advantage.

My game is really played above time. I don't say that like I'm saying I'm ahead of my time. I'm saying, like, if I'm on the court and I throw a pass, the ball that I've thrown will lead my teammate right where he needs to go, before he even knows that that's the right place to go to.

I always tried to be an all-around player. In college, I felt like I needed to add to my game to get to another level, to get to the NBA. The NBA has really turned to positionless basketball, so it was very important to me to have an all-around game so I could stand out in front of other guys.

I've never seen a player that can dominate a game the way LeBron James can. He don't always have to score. He makes plays for other guys. But when the game is on the line, and you need a shot to be made, he's going to make that play.

Al Horford is a very good player; a great team player.

Even when I wasn't a shooter, when I was younger, I used to watch Rip Hamilton. He was one of my favorite players with the way he moved without the ball.

The advent of so much dribbling has created a different kind of player, and it starts at a very early age. We have so many gifted ball handlers. Everything is pick-and-roll. Unless he's a catch-and-shoot guy, a player is going to put it on the floor and attack. Kevin Durant is a wonderful ball handler.

LeBron is like a coach. He is a coach on the floor. He has a great basketball IQ.

I love Joe Ingles. I think Joe Ingles is a tremendous glue player, terrific shooter, passer, defender.

I shoot a lot of bank shots and a lot of shots around the perimeter. There's a lot of things I like to work on, but I know my bread and butter when it comes down to it, and that's in the post.

We all know LeBron's IQ is on another planet.

I think I have the skills. I'm a great judge of talent. I just know basketball.