But I like to think an athlete is an athlete.

This is where young players today want to land. They want to be NBA players because of the money.

When you play against different people from all walks of life you can't do the same thing against every player defensively or offensively. You have to change up the way you go at a player.

I'd like to think that the nature of the two teams - Boston being a championship team over the years and the Lakers, same thing - was a lot bigger than Larry Bird or Magic Johnson.

It's a sad commentary when I have to say that sometimes in our country we are real sensitive to race.

Some players are more physical than others, some play with more finesse. Some are just really great all-around players. So you have to change your game.

I played when I played, and played, I think, against the greatest players in the greatest time in the history of basketball.

I think that everyone should be able to dribble. Everyone should be able to pass. Otherwise, why are you out there?

You have to teach now - tell a kid how to box out, tell him how to pass, teach him footwork. Players don't understand that anymore.

But I think the image that's thrown out on television is a bad image. Because you see players who want to imitate hip-hop stars. And the NBA is taking advantage of the situation.

We're all Americans trying to compete. Magic was competing for his team and Larry for his team.

Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life.

I haven't had a single moment of terror since they told me [I was dying]. My only regret is to die four pages too soon. If I can finish, then I'm quite happy to go.

I would love to do a dramatic comedy. All of that, it all interests me. At some point I want to do my 'Monster,' like Charlize Theron, so I'm buckling up for that.

A real fox calls sour not only those grapes that he cannot reach but also those that he has reached and taken away from others.

Immigration is an issue of global significance in America. And if you look at the terrorist alerts and attacks, Latinos [as a group] are not in the top five list [for] terror alerts.

I get paid to play football, not to sit on the bench, I don't enjoy that. Over the years loads of players have been very happy to do that and pick up their money. That used to really wind me up.

I don't speak Arabic - I know a little to get by, but that's all.

A successful restaurant makes everything in it, including the patrons, seem a little better than they are.

I've started to experiment [in the studio] with texturing the canvas, building up the surface with large brushes, palette knife or fingers. I want to say more in my art.

And by the same token, I appreciate math, because I can't do math. If I have to read a map or figure out the tip on a restaurant bill, I might start to tear up a little bit.