The constant expansion has diluted the talent. Other than that, it's still the same game.

I was a baseball fan myself, I wanted to play baseball.

If I hadn't become a professional basketball player, I would have become a history teacher. There's so much to learn from history.

A lot of players think the game is all about individual performances when it's really all about a team game.

Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also. I don't think there's any comparison. Elgin did it without three-point lines. His game was attacking the hoop and hitting jumpers inside 20 feet. Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way.

The transition was difficult. It's hard to stop something that you've enjoyed and that has been very rewarding.

I was especially impressed with Pauley Pavilion [at UCLA campus ]. The floors hadn't been laid down yet, when they gave me the tour, each new room got my heart thumping. They even had a surgical operating room in case an athlete was severely injured.