Top 21 Quotes & Sayings by Ahmad Rashad

One of my dear friends became Michael Jordan. That gave me a lot of access there. But I had access to everybody from Larry Bird to Magic Johnson to all of the other guys.

I wanted to represent African-American athletes in a better way than what I saw when I grew up.

If you think I can't do it, I'll show you I can do it. Just remaining confident. Because if you don't, it's going to chip away at you and it'll take everything away from you.

In sports, you play until you can't win anymore.

That the Dream Team played against each other every day. The greatest games ever were the practice games they played. Everybody was talking smack. It wasn't Michael the only one talking. Magic Johnson was really good, too.

I feel like I know a lot of people. But I must've made an impact on them, for them to want to know me, too.

When I was a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, I lost in Super Bowl XI. It was a crushing defeat. Now I don't even think about it. It doesn't even come to mind. Had we won, maybe it would've been in my head longer.

When I was doing 'NBA Inside Stuff' and 'NBA on NBC', I always saw my interactions with players as a conversation.

NBC producer Dick Ebersol always taught me that if you can show the fans what the players are like - and get the fans interested in them - then they're more likely to watch. I've always taken that approach.

You don't become great by thinking you're great. Working gives you all the confidence in the world.

Tiger Woods has been one of my best friends for 25 years. I first met Tiger at an event I was hosting in Chicago; he was getting an award.

Not a day goes by that I don't see somebody that tells me they grew up watching 'NBA Inside Stuff'. Not one day goes by.

Having been a football player, most viewers associated me with just that. It was tough to go from football to basketball, but what really helped was that my show, 'Inside Stuff', was personality driven.

During the whole time we were covering the Bulls, I would get blasted by every other sports reporter who thought I had unfair access. I don't think it was unfair. It was just fortunate for NBC.

If you were the greatest, you were the Michael Jordan of whatever business you were in.

We were doing sports. It was entertainment. It wasn't like it was investigative reporting.

Some people get knocked down and they have a hard time getting back up. But when your mind is right and you have a goal and you're trying to achieve that goal, nothing can deter you from that.

Defense has changed because you can't hand-check guys anymore. Back in the day, if you drove to the hoop against the Bad Boy Pistons, you'd find yourself on the ground.

It's always interesting to talk to people who have done something.

That happens to everybody who rises up in stature: They build you up and then they start trying to tear you down.

Sports can unite a group of people from different backgrounds, all working together to achieve a common goal. And even if they fall short, sharing that journey is an experience they'll never forget. It can teach some of the most fundamental and important human values: dedication, perseverance, hard work, and teamwork. It also teaches us how to handle our success and cope with our failure. So, perhaps the greatest glory of sport is that is teaches us so much about life itself.