Julius Erving Quotes

But you know, if you live an affluent lifestyle, there are all types of trappings that are there that you have to be cognizant of, and you've got to try and communicate freely and gain understanding about and then keep moving on, because you know, sometimes lifestyles are chosen for us as opposed to us choosing them.

Attitude is altitude.

Goals determine what you are going to be

The ones who become stars or superstars are the ones who have a head on their shoulders and know how to use it.

If you get depressed about being the second-best team in the world, then you've got a problem.

I've always tried to tell myself that the work itself is the thing, that win, lose, or draw, the work is really what counts.

I demand more from myself than anybody could ever expect.

I live my life trying to never appear to be a small man.

To be an innovator, you can't be worried about making mistakes.

Because of the makeup of the NBA, it cannot afford for the public to turn on them.

When I get a chance to power jump off both legs, I can lean, twist, change directions and decide whether to dunk the ball or pass it to an open man. In other words, I may be committed to the air, but I still have some control over it.

I am very proud to be featured, especially when you consider the outstanding champions who have had this honor. It is great company to be in.

So much of becoming a good athlete involves bringing other things to the table, other than physical skills. It involves intelligence, it involves many of the things that you learn during the process of being educated. How to analyze, how to assess, how to equate, how to reason.

To be great we need to win games we aren't supposed to win.

I didn't want to become a reserve player, or a bench player, and it was time to move on and take on another challenge.

I wanted to undertake the challenge of daring to be great.

I had to spend countless hours, above and beyond the basic time, to try and perfect the fundamentals.

One of the most predictable things in life is there will be change. You are better off if you can have a say in the change. But you are ignorant or naive if you don't think there will be change, whether you want it to or not.

At age 31, in 1981, I was voted the best player in basketball, and the most valuable player in the league.

I came from a broken home, so my mom was a major influence in my life.

And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it.

But you know, we have a very normal family. We've had our ups and downs. You know, we've had our issues, but we've had great cause for celebration.

My role models in the business were the older guys on my team when I first got there: Gray Scott, Adrian Smith, Roland Taylor. These were the guys who took me under their wing, and really schooled me in terms of what the business was about.

Being a typical Pisces, I might have experienced mood shifts, but I don't remember any depression, or needing to do anything, or to have someone bring me out of being depressed.

There's the typical books, Moby Dick and, I guess in my adult life I began to read biographies more than fiction. I started to want to relate to other people's lives, things that had really happened.

If you've experienced having control, you don't want to be moved to a subordinate position, if you have your druthers.

That was just my own personal program: I didn't want to get too high over the good moments because I didn't want to be saddened and depressed when things didn't go as I had planned.

I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence.

When handling the ball, I always would look for daylight, wherever there was daylight.

Goals determine what you're going to be.

The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.

You know, just in terms of having to have a life on the road, you know, having the celebrity aspect be a burden for my family, friends and extended family.

When the crowd appreciates you, it encourages you to be a little more daring, I think.

One of the commitments that I personally have now is to a diverse approach to buying businesses, and the operation of those businesses.

My mom is one of 14 children. She's a great lady. She's a Taurus. Has been a profound influence in my life, still is to this day. Born in meager surroundings in rural South Carolina.

Right up until the time I retired at age 37, I felt like there were still things that I could do better.

LA Clippers should come to Louisville

If you do things with a certain type of result and cause a certain type of reaction or effect, then you increase your market value. It's very much a competition for the entertainment dollar, and that's never been more clearly evident than in today's NBA game.

If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end.

With the crowds on your side, it's easier to play up to your potential.

I think I was chosen by basketball, although I never really physically got drafted to any team that I played for.

And I continued to grow until I was 25 years old.

I pulled the plug on it at a time that I thought was right for me to exit.

One of the things in the back of my mind is that, after my sports experience, I never want to be, totally consumed by any one endeavor, other than my family life.

I liked the game, I enjoyed the game, and the game fed me enough, and gave me enough rewards to reinforce that this is something that I should spend time doing, and that I could possibly make a priority in my life, versus other sports.

I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.

You can feel the vibes, feel the people pulling for you.

I think that my God-given physical attributes, big hands, and big feet, the way that I'm built, proportion-wise, just made basketball the most inviting sport for me to play.