Role Player Quotes

I'm a manager's player, in a way, because he can use me in a lot of different ways, and I'm willing to do that.

Coming off the bench behind a fine young center like Alonzo Mourning fits my style.

I'm just going to do my job, what coach wants me to do, be a defensive piece, and when needed to be a scorer, I'm going to be that.

There were always kids better than me. Because of that, I had to learn to be a role player and do my part.

I wanted to prove that I could be a starter. And then once I realized I was gonna be a sixth man and it wasn't gonna change, I just relished the role. I just said, 'I'm going to make it really hard on whoever it is that has to guard me these next 10-11 minutes that I'm in here.' And after a while you just create an identity.

I think there's a role for everybody. Even a guy who's not known as a scorer, like a DeAndre Jordan - he sets the best screens, he blocks the most shots, he gets the most rebounds, he's great for your team, he helps you win games. Like, he helps you win big.

Being considered for Sixth Man is definitely something that is pleasing.

I was just one piece of the puzzle, a very small piece at that. I really enjoyed my time with the Knicks, and we had a great run.

An NBA star is a role player. Your role is to score a lot of points; your role is to get a lot of rebounds.

I'm a role player, a journeyman. I know who I am.

I don't score many goals or do much dribbling, but I still feel very much an important part of the team.

I don't want to be known as a super sub. But you have got to be ready to come off the bench and make an impact if you're not in the starting team.

I'm a person, and everybody wants to be an all-star. Nobody wants to just be a role-player. I've thought about it. But the number one goal is to keep winning, so I'm more focused on that than being an all-star, honestly.

At Kentucky, I was kind of a role player.

Occasionally, a young catcher is born with a backup's soul. Bob Montgomery was on the Red Sox opening day roster for the entire 1970s, yet he never had more than 254 at-bats in a season.

I was an all-around player - if I was just a scorer, there's no way the Hawks would have won 50 games four years in a row.

Oh, hello," Dr. M says, shaking Balder's hand. "Wonderful costume. I'm a bit of a role player myself on the weekends. Tell me, where did you get the helmet?" It was forged in the North, blessed by the hands of Odin, given to me by my mother, Frigg," Balder answers. Lovely. I got mine on the Internet.

Most of my career, I've always kind of been off the bench, so, for me, it's not about if I start or not.

They don't draft you to sit there and stand on the sideline.

Let's say I have a new respect for guys who come off the bench every day. That's not easy to do.

For me, being a starter doesn't matter. Of course, I'd like to be in at the end of the game, to be a big part of the team, and to play as many minutes as I can play. But starting and coming off the bench are two different challenges.

In a normal season, the sixth man always seems to get the most minutes on my team.

Would I have been a great basketball player? No. But I think I would've been a good basketball player, one of those grinders getting eight to 10 rebounds. I would've been like Kobe and been in the gym five to seven hours a day and never missed a 10-foot jump shot. I would've been a great role player for a team.

A guy that's going to do all of the dirty work, that guy that is willing to defend anyone and do the little things and not really care about all of that other stuff. I think every championship team needs that.

A lot of sixth men have more responsibility, and they've made more of an impact sometimes than 80 percent of the rest of the guys on the team, so it's just a name.