One day, you might look up and see me playing the game at 50. Don't laugh. Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.
— Michael Jordan
We all fly. Once you leave the ground, you fly. Some people fly longer than others.
I do not have a problem, I enjoy gambling, but I think people are trying to make it seem like I have a problem, because people really don't know.
I want to play for years.
When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it's time for me to move away from the game.
Do I need my number retired throughout the course of the league to acknowledge what I've done? No.
In any investment, you expect to have fun and make money.
It is nerve-wracking watching my kids' games.
When I was playing before I retired, I never really understood the appreciation and the respect that people gave me. People had treated me like a god or something, and that was very embarrassing.
The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I've always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It's been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It's a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.
In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.
Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise.
Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you're in a fight.
I know the signs of scaredness.
I wasn't really a work-conscious type of person. I was a player. I loved to play sports.
There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either.
I've never been afraid to fail.
I won't have any competitive instincts in any sports, other than golf. I can't see being competitive in sports any more.
I'm not a Twitterer, I'm not a twerker, I'm not a Facebooker, I'm not nothing. I'm old school.
Gambling is legal and betting is legal, for what I bet.
Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some ways that's about life too.
It's absolutely wrong that I don't want guys to challenge me. And the people who say that aren't in the room.
I can't speak for the future. I have no crystal ball.
The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.
I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life.
You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.
I think the players win the championship, and the organization has something to do with it, don't get me wrong. But don't try to put the organization above the players.
Being Michael Jordan means acting the same as I always have.
I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.
How many times have your parents told you not to do things, and the next thing you know, you go do it? And you realized you shouldn't have done it.
For a competitive junkie like me, golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you have accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball.
When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.
I'm not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.
There is no 'i' in team but there is in win.
It's a heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can and provide entertainment for everyone who wanted to watch basketball. Obviously, people may not agree with that; again, I can't live with what everyone's impression of what I should or what I shouldn't do.
I will not quit this game because of what the media has done to me.
Winning isn't always championships.
I want people to understand, gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the framework of what it's meant to be, which is fun and entertaining.
Playing sick. That is so hard to do. It has to be a total mental challenge, as well as the physical challenge.
Ultimately, if you can say that I'm a bad owner and we're winning championships, I can live with that. But if we're not making the playoffs and we're spending and losing money, then I have to look in the mirror and say maybe I'm not taking the necessary steps to doing what it takes to run an organization.
It's hard to say if the NBA is hurt by the influx of younger players, but it's definitely impacted the league.
I'd like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it's never going to be completely normal.
I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.
In reality, I never want to grow up.
It's a habit of mine now, noticing labels, logos, shoes.
I want to be the bridge to the next generation.
Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.
I like control.
I'm patient.
I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.
