Larry Bird

You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you'll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.

When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.

You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not going to win.

Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn't play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You've got to have them down before you can even think about playing.

It's been a journey, the NBA. It's taken me a lot farther than I ever expected.

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.

I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses intro strengths.

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 don't think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You've got to keep pushing.