Larry Bird

"The best player I ever played with was Dennis Johnson."

"Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, and you can't do it by loafing around."

"While day by day the overzealous student stores up facts for future use, he who has learned to trust nature finds need for ever fewer external directions. He will discard formula after formula, until he reaches the conclusion: Let nature take its course."

"Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get respect from the players."

"Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you're ready to play as tough as you're able to, you'd better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you're not giving it all you've got."

"I really don't like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it."