Top 101 Quotes & Sayings by B. J. Armstrong

When you're losing by 20 to 30 points night in and night out, that's no fun. You can't accept that as a player.

M. J. was M. J. His body of work speaks for itself. We've seen his career, we've dissected his career and had the chance to watch it. That's done.

The fact that Phil Jackson asked a young kid when he didn't have to and said, 'Hey, do I have permission to coach you?' Those are very powerful lessons that you learn. That's only happened to me a couple times in my entire career, that coaches would actually ask me that question. That just lets me know that he saw me for who I was.

The one thing I didn't expect was to learn how much of a sense of humor Jerry Reinsdorf has. He's really funny. I never got a chance to see his sense of humor when I was working for him or playing for him.

Michael was the first person to show me what it meant to be a star... but you cannot be that star and not accept all the things that came with it.

Now that I've had a chance to play for a team where we won 30 or 35 games, you understand how special winning is.

I don't know what position Scottie was; he was just a basketball player. He could dribble, shoot, pass and rebound. Defensively, he was excellent. He had quick hands and quick feet with a great understanding of the game. He could do it all.

I can create offensive situations for myself and I can create situations for other people.

I played, but I never got a chance to see how the business worked. How the NBA offices and other teams worked. I learned that when I was an assistant General Manager for five years.

I wanted to learn how the business worked. I wanted to see how people got drafted, how players got traded, how they got picked up in free agency, how the salary cap worked, how do you manage an organization, how do you negotiate contracts. The Bulls gave me an excellent opportunity to answer all the questions that I wanted to ask.

I have pride, and my pride won't allow me to accept losing by 30 points four games in a row.

One thing I can say about Michael Jordan, nothing was going to deny him to achieve what he wanted to achieve. That includes the Bulls' front office, the league, or whomever. The man just had an undeniable spirit about himself.

For all that Michael Jordan could run, jump and entertain, he is best known for one thing: He won. If you want to be a great player in this league, you have to focus on one thing - the bottom line, which is winning.

Michael Jordan was going to do whatever was ever necessary, and certainly I can say without question, he was going to achieve and stop playing whenever he wanted to stop playing.

Playing sports is a craft that has to be worked on and perfected just like anything else.

I don't wish stardom on anyone. When I hear people say, 'this guy's a star,' I always say, 'good luck.'

Since I've been a part of this league, I can't recall when they've actually made rules that have actually helped to improve the game of basketball.

In the back of my mind, I always knew I wanted to be in the sports representation business. Being an ex-player, I knew that those were the people I wanted to work with.

Jordan never stepped out on the court to have a good time. He stepped out there to establish that he was the best.

LeBron James has proven he can lead by example. My wish for LeBron is to understand the following: He's an exceptional leader because he leads by example. The next step on the road to Legend, which he's already on, is to trust he's the best player in the best system anywhere in basketball.

Tremendous teammate, that's what comes to mind when I think of Scottie Pippen. He was a very caring teammate who was always concerned about the team. The way he played and expressed himself on the floor exemplified who he was as a player.

I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time and play with Michael Jordan.

Being an NBA general manager really is a lot of pressure. There's so much that goes into the job.

Michael Jordan was the greatest practice player I've ever seen.

Individual success comes as a result of team success.

Either you change with the times or you get rolled over.

This is to LeBron James: If you want to be the best, get rid of the comparisons. Get rid of all the comparisons that are out there. That's what Michael Jordan did.

I remember as a young player I had this dream of playing in the NBA.

Isolation basketball will always be part of the game. But the system has to be predicated on ball movement and, more importantly, player movement.

When things are going good, I get nervous.

I always say, to this day, that the Air Jordan guy was great and God bless him. But I'll always just remember Michael, the guy.

I've been around enough athletes to know when someone is working, someone's not.

When I played, I would never, ever try to run Reggie Miller off the line because I knew Reggie. If I ran at him, and I was trying to run him off the line, I was going to get kicked.

My adult life, I grew up in Chicago. When I go back there, I always have fond memories.

If there was ever a true emotion of a Chicago Bull, Derrick Rose embodies it. Because he is Chicago. That kid will do anything for the city of Chicago.

Jordan had phenomenal talent. He had phenomenal understanding. But he also had a mentality that I haven't seen. He had a sense of urgency every time he stepped on the floor.

It didn't work out for me at Golden State, in terms of wins and losses. Still, I tried to exhibit what a competitor is all about.

You learn a lot of about people in failure.

Understanding is the solution to every problem.

Winning is the easiest thing that I ever did in the NBA, but being able to come to the realization of what it means to compete in this league no matter what - win, lose or draw - was the most difficult thing.

No one beat Michael Jordan. No one. You could say a lot of different things, but the man was unstoppable. He was unstoppable. And I will continue to say that.

I grew up as a point guard, and as a point guard you learn how to navigate situations.

Every time he steps on the floor, LeBron has to establish that he's the best. Every year is an opportunity for him to raise his level to the best of the best.

If your best players are taking a shortcut, they're going to have problems holding everyone else accountable and responsible.

Just because you're the coach, you don't automatically have the authority. You have to work the people. You have to gain the trust of the people.

Winning covers a multitude of sins. If you play bad and you still win, everyone says that's the sign of a good ballclub. But when you play bad and you lose, all of a sudden you have problems and everyone wants to know why.

My previous experiences taught me my true passion was working with the players. I love the business. I love sports. I love everything about the team aspect. But I have this deep appreciation for the players and their perspective.

For every LeBron James that jumps onto the scene, or every Derrick Rose that does really well in year one, you have a lot of others that take time to transition. Those guys are just brilliant in their own way, but a lot of other guys need a little help along the way.

My signing of Derrick Rose was like anything in life, I think it was just luck. I played in Chicago. Derrick is from Chicago.

Greatness is empowered in a system where you pass the ball, not pound it.

It is interesting that I have gone through the process of representing clients as an ex-athlete. I am certainly not naive to think that the possibility of corruption isn't there.

So much has been said about Michael Jordan as a basketball player, but when I played with him, the Michael I knew was just Michael. I guess more than anything is that I got to experience the human side of the so-called gladiators, warriors and heroes that we worship.

Scottie's game changed with where he was at physically. He wasn't the same player at 21 as he was at 30. Both he and Michael aged gracefully in this league and that's the beauty of being a professional player. You continue to grow and continue to change your game, but you do it to be just as effective.

I'm from Detroit, but Chicago is a second home for me.

I was very fortunate to come into sports representation with Arn Tellem; he has helped me understand the business in the same way that we help out clients find solutions to their problems.

Society is fast - fast food, fast cars, fast everything.

In 1989-90 I became one of the group known as the Jordanaires, a.k.a. the Bulls. From the day I arrived in Chicago, I knew what everyone else on the team did: Michael Jordan was a phenomenal talent.

Having a mentor gives someone a huge advantage in life.

All the other things that happen, they don't resonate with him other than winning the basketball game. That's just who he is. He's just a humble kid and he's just trying to go out there and do his thing. I wish I could say some secret formula or training method, but sometimes you got to let things be. That's who Derrick Rose is.

Whether you're playing sports, starting a business or anything else in life, you need to identify your talents. Your responsibility is to find what you do better than anyone else. Once you identify what that is, you need to put yourself in the best position to succeed.