Basketball Legacy Quotes

To have Kobe retire as a Laker, that to me is really important.

First and foremost, Indiana will always be a basketball state.

Personal honors never meant much to Bill Russell, one of America's most successful athletes with 2 college titles, 1 Olympic gold medal and 11 - count 'em, 11 - N.B.A. championships with the Boston Celtics.

My life is bigger than basketball.

I don't want to see Kobe Bryant ever leave. If he was 100 years old and still playing, I'd be happy.

Kobe is part of the Laker family and he always will be. There's not many players who play 18-19 years with the same franchise, and it's important to us that he has a chance to play his entire career with the Lakers.

Seven years ago, my father and I realized that our relationship was extremely unique, especially in the African-American community. He raised me to not only understand the fundamentals of basketball and to try to be a player with a high basketball IQ, but he wanted me to understand that my image and my name meant more than stats.

I never really officially retired from the WNBA, I just left the doors open.

The NBA has more than 435 players and there are at least 100-some players doing more than expected. Shaq is doing a lot. Dwight Howard, [Manu] Ginobli. Dirk [Nowitzki] is doing a lot, and not just in Europe; he's reaching out to Africa and all other places.

I have a prominent platform and I want to use it to promote respect for human rights, democracy, and personal freedom. For me, this is bigger than basketball.

I always wanted to be a Sixer... I always wanted to finish my career as a Sixer.

It's cool to be a Laker: that's basketball royalty, in a sense. The best franchise in basketball, so to be drafted by them is pretty cool, pretty special.

Just basketball in general in Indiana is just huge, so that's everybody's getaway. That's our main thing, to think about the history. Obviously, Larry Bird is a very, very big part of that.

Carmelo Anthony should do what makes him happy - either stay with the Knicks and be mediocre, or get with a contender and help them get over the hump.

I think the Lakers are a legacy franchise. Players know when they come here, this is the ultimate platform.

Kobe made an impact on basketball in a big way. He came in the League when he was 17 years old, but he was working on his game every day... The way he played, people all around the world loved the passion that he put in for basketball.

He'll go down as one of the guys who changed our sport in a lot of ways, not only the way he played the game, but also the way that he conducted himself on and off the court.

I am looking forward to continue my career in Orange & Blue and to work with Phil Jackson, a champion who builds championship teams. Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball and I am surrounded by the greatest fans in the world.

Duke as a program speaks for itself. Coach K is the greatest coach of all time.

If Lebron was playing in the late 80's and early 90's, just an average player

What is there about basketball that makes Larry Bird or Lenny Wilkens want to coach after their playing careers are done?

Every person that's in the NBA should experience playing in New York at least once in their career.

They say things happen in three. I won with the great Kobe, the great D-Wade and now it's my job to win one with the great LeBron James. We have everything in place. We just got to get it done.

A lot of freshmen will come in and say they can do what Carmelo did, but not everybody is Carmelo Anthony. He was a special player. Syracuse was a great fit for him.

There's a lot of pride I have coming from Chicago because so many great players have done so many great things in the league. I definitely want to keep that tradition going. So yeah, I want to represent Chicago in the best light possible.