Top 119 Quotes & Sayings by Jermaine O'Neal - Page 2

I know how hard it is to win a championship in this league.

This league is about trying to smell where the weakness is.

Kobe's been criticized unfairly. He's in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. If he passes too much, they say he's not shooting. If he shoots, he's called selfish.

I'm not in a position physically to take in five years of losses and downtime.

I respect people's ability to come out and perform and take care of their family based on their bodies.

I wanted to show people that I'm not a bust. I can play. I can do this.

I admire Tim Duncan, because he put on his hard hat and said, 'I'm going to stick it out.' He was dedicated to one team and to winning a championship.

I've always played with an edge.

I couldn't even chew bubble gum and walk at the same time. I wasn't very coordinated.

One thing about me, I think, over the years I've walked onto the court earlier than I was supposed to and it kind of lingered into something else.

It's hard to regret stuff. You make decisions and you go with it.

Going from a situation where you're the best player on the court every time to the fourth-best player in your position, it humbled me.

You make your decisions and you stand with them.

I'm a player that has sat, literally, on every side of the good, of the bad, of the ugly.

The league is getting bigger; the names are getting bigger. The league is getting younger and I really think it has some legs to it.

Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than you want it to take, but it's better to catch on late than never.

Anytime you have issues with your heart, that's scary, but I've taken every test that you can take.

I just don't want to be hurt.

God don't like ugly.

I didn't come to Boston for any money.

Sometimes when you have a disconnect within your team, there's no way you can win.

When your team is not together, you can never win.

I wanted to get as strong as possible, as fit as possible, and I put in a lot of time.

People talk about the term 'sacrificing your body' and I've done that.

At 40, your body and your mind doesn't do the same thing as it used to do.

I want to be able to function and that's the conversation that I'm having now more than ever - playing vs. functioning while I'm finished playing.

I didn't come back to Indiana just to compete. I want to win the finals.

I want to make it clear that I don't want to gut a team that I come to because then it'll be like I'm in Indiana all over again.

Obviously there's nothing like training camp.

My two years in Boston were very difficult to deal with, especially when you know that you still can play. But my knee was causing so much problems.

Any athlete can preach to this, that when things aren't going well, you tend to bring it home, and the people that take the brunt of it is the family.

Everything else I've been able to enjoy, but a Finals game is something that I desperately want to do I want to feel that environment.

Holding up Shaq every damn day - it's crazy, you do it four times a year, but doing it every day in practice is difficult.

There are only two things that probably can stop me from playing - rapture, God coming back, and an ACL injury.

Larry Bird is a hard man to deal with. He tries to make unfair trades.

I really wanted to focus on my legs, and get the legs strong, get the quads strong so I can control the knee.

I made a ton of money in my career.

And no matter what, at the end of the day whether it's with the Pacers or somewhere else, I'm going to continue to succeed.

I've always been an intense guy. Sometimes it goes over the line, sometimes it gets a team energized.

People, when they look at athletes, they tend to determine who they are based on 1., how they play, and 2. - more than anything - how much they make.

We can't wait around for Superman to come in here and save the town, save the team. It's up to us to get it done.

I think blocking a shot at a crucial point of the game is the most incredible feeling.

If I can go to the U.S. Army and fight the war at 18 why can't you play basketball for 48 minutes?

If we win, I don't care if I get 20 boards or five boards.

I'm a very emotional player. I use emotion because my team feeds off it.

If my team isn't motivated, it's my fault. I can't consider myself the best of the best until my team is able to get out of the first round.

I've taken my bumps and bruises, but you've got to be willing to get knocked down and pick yourself up. You can't get discouraged. You can't lose sight of what your goals are.

Austin had a concussion tonight. That's the way it goes for us. We get one back, we lose one. Or lose two. We've had the most difficult time the last two years just keeping a full roster. Hopefully at some point at the end of the tunnel some good things can happen for the Indiana Pacers.

I know I'm a good person. I know I can play basketball.

I always find a couple of hecklers... I'll kinda look at them, stare at 'em, and let them know I can't be stopped.

It's a huge, huge pressure that so many people depend on you. The type of player I am and people look at me to come out and perform a certain way. Not being able to play on the biggest stage of the season, it's frustrating. One thing I wanted to do was not be frustrated about it and figure out what I can do to change and better myself on the court.

I want to be in the best winning situation. I don't want to be around anybody who's just interested in playing out the season and then going home for the summer.

I think if I had one year of college, I'd have done better with the mental part [of the NBA].

My reward is just to be a better man. You're so close to losing a loved one ... the ultimate goal is to be a better daddy, a better son, a better teammate.

I wanted to prove people wrong who didn't think I could play at this level. I also wanted to take care of my family. It was a chance to play against the best players in the world. Mentally and physically I don't think I was ready, but I was ready to take on the challenge.

We shouldn't even get paid for this game. I'm not trying to take anything away from the Bobcats, they played a heck of a game, but we feel like we are at another level. I felt like we were the expansion team tonight. I'm thoroughly embarrassed.

In college you learn about college

We are a terrible defensive team right now. We're not putting forth the maximum effort that we need to put forth, especially in our position. You'd think that we'd put forth that maximum effort to not only win the game, but to get a good rhythm to get into the playoffs.

To represent the United States in international competition is special recognition that not many players receive and I am really looking forward to helping USA Basketball regain its status in international basketball.