Education is worth its weight in gold. Make no mistake about it.
Because coaching is a challenge, it makes you want to come back. But if you do, you know you're going to be negligent in other areas.
That's the part of basketball that we have to understand. You can never look at it as an individual sport. You rely on so many other people.
Without the hand check rule, players are more likely to work their way open.
You have to understand, the Blazers and their fans had a unique relationship. I'm not sure there has ever been a love affair between an NBA team and its fan base like we had... We had good players and good citizens.
Houston fans want a high value for their entertainment dollar, and if you don't win, they will drop you and go on to the next big deal.
Everybody's mom plays a huge role in their development and support. Mom was awesome. There is no one better. I had a good family. I had six brothers and six sisters, and they were all very supportive.
You may score 50 points and grab 40 rebounds and have 30 assists, but if I don't make the free throws at the end of the game, and we lose, does that make you not a champion?
It makes you a better player when you're around better competition. If you pay attention, you can learn something.
All kids need to figure out how to manage their time as a young adult.
I retired at 35 in '98 and thought, 'There's only one place to go, and that's downward.' I retired at a good level. I was at peace after 15 years - I was lucky to play that long.
I love the game and played from 13 to 35 for almost every single day.
If you're a young man, and you're being coached by someone like Guy Lewis, you're going to become a better man.
Going to the Portland Trail Blazers, who actually took the time to invest in me, was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me in my career. I got to a small market where I could focus on basketball, basketball, basketball. No distractions.
Growing up, people will tell you that you have a better chance to become an astronaut than becoming an NBA player. So when you finally get to the NBA, you've beat the odds. So when you put on that jersey, everything else is downhill.
My favorite player growing up was Julius Erving, because I loved the way he played above the rim, all of the tricks with the ball, big hands, and just phenomenal showmanship.
In my day, defenders played you with two hands and an elbow. You're not getting by a guy, especially if he has an elbow and a hand on you and is a strong defensive player.
If I had a great game, and I was hot, usually we were up by 20-30 going into the fourth quarter. That means I don't get to play in the fourth quarter.
This should be a written rule: Guards should always defer to centers. I don't care how good you are, those big guys make the game so much easier for every other person on that team, and without them, everyone else needs to work twice as hard.
There's a lot to be learned by watching. I think the younger generation could fare a lot better in their game if they could sit down and watch some of the games of the past.
