After I played him for the first time, I said 'Let's see. He's four or five inches taller. He's 40 or 50 pounds heavier. His vertical leap is at least as good as mine. He can get up and down the floor as well as I can. And he's smart. The real problem with all this is I have to show up.

The last five or six days, I've been running. The last two days, I've been running pretty hard. Everybody's got to be someplace.

The only important statistic is the final score.

Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying "We work to become, not to acquire."

After I played him for the first time, I said 'Let's see. He's four or five inches taller. He's 40 or 50 pounds heavier. His vertical leap is at least as good as mine. He can get up and down the floor as well as I can. And he's smart. The real problem with all this is I have to show up.

If Shakespeare can compare all of life to a stage, maybe it's not odd to believe that part of the play can take place on a basketball court.

I think that David Stern is probably the greatest commissioner that any sport has ever had in the history of this country.