Top 163 Quotes & Sayings by Scottie Pippen - Page 2

I want to get into the NBA and make a name for myself.

If things work out for you as a team, then there are individual things that happen for you. But if you're not talented enough as a team, its hard for people to give you the recognition.

I guess guys who play on national TV get a lot of publicity.

I want to thank the NBA and U.S.A. Basketball. Words can't describe my feeling. I was a small town kid from Hamburg, Arkansas, and you provided me a platform to live out my passion, the game of basketball, on the world's grandest stage.

I love playing in Chicago, and the fans have been great to me.

He lifted weights, he rode the bike; he kept himself going before and after games, as well as practices. He always kept himself in top shape and was very determined. You put a relentless Dennis Rodman out on the basketball court, and you better have someone there to match his energy. If you don't, it's going to be a long night.

It's always been a passion of mine to come out and share some of my knowledge about basketball and the experiences I've had with the younger generation.

I knew I was a player that could break guys down and create for my teammates, and that is how I looked at it.

I love this city and the Chicago fans.

If you're not on a team that's winning, it takes a lot out of you as a player.

Playing with Michael Jordan would be a great opportunity for me. I would have someone around I could learn a lot from. I look up to him as a player and as a person, and that would make me a better player and person.

I was a guy that had a lot of tools and could do a lot of other things, but my main thing was controlling the defensive end of the court.

To be in a position where an organization like the Bulls creates a bust of you that will permanently be displayed in a building like the United Center says it all. It's hard to put into words because it is such an honor. It's great to know that something like that will be around forever.

The odds were against me when I arrived at Central Arkansas. I was barely 6-foot-2 and didn't have a scholarship. But I always felt I could make it to the NBA; it was as if I had foreseen my future, and I knew I would make it.

Chicago's where I started my career. I've had a lot of success playing here.

I'm never going to leave my family hanging out to dry.

As a player, you experience so many different moments, but you never truly sit back and reflect on them. You enjoy them, but with the championships, we were so busy celebrating with everyone that we didn't really realize what we had accomplished as individuals and as a team.

No matter how well you do in the regular season, it has to be capped off with a championship to really mark your legacy in the game.

The All-Star Game was one of my top highlights as a player. In my eye, it gave me a good idea of where I ranked among my peers. That was always my benchmark to say that I am still in the upper echelon of players.

I always dreamed of playing the NBA, but along the way, the road got a little cloudy.

It's not always about getting better on the basketball court. This game teaches you how to become a better person as well. It pushes you into the team concept.

When I look back at my first few seasons in the NBA, we didn't dominate as a team. There were a lot of nights where we took a beating and got whacked across the head. But we got better along the way, and we started to taste the success. With that came the pressure and expectations to be successful.

When I look at my career, I was really about defending.

When I got the call to guard Magic, I knew that I could cause him a lot of problems.

When you suffer a few losses in the playoffs, it forces you back into the gym early on.

I wouldn't give Charles Barkley an apology at gunpoint. He can never expect an apology from me... If anything, he owes me an apology for coming to play with his sorry, fat butt.

Some guys get into the NBA, get the big money, and are satisfied with themselves.

It's an honor to have kids. It's a responsibility.

Fatherhood is great.

I don't believe being a Hall of Famer is based on individual accolades. I think winning has a lot to do with it. But perhaps more than that, you simply have to show that you are the best or among the best at what you do.

The respect I had to give my brothers and sisters growing up I think has helped me. I want my kids to be raised the same way.

It doesn't really count as a great year if the team is not doing well.

If I could have written a script of how I wanted my career to be, I couldn't have done it any better.

I'm proud to be considered a member of the Nike family.

Statistics are one thing. But if you're not putting up the numbers as far as winning, they're not going to consider you for things like the MVP.

As a player, NBA All-Star Weekend contains a lot of joy and a lot of excitement. Even with all the hype built into the game, it's really a special honor to be selected among many great players.

I want to be a role-model player, someone respected and looked up to.

When the game is over, it's over. We leave everything on the court.

For me, getting your number retired is the greatest accomplishment. There is no accolade with more significance that you can receive from an organization or school. Whether it was my four years at Central Arkansas or all my seasons with the Bulls in Chicago, it's a sign of respect for what I have done.

You just go out and try to always play at your best.

While I dealt with my share of injuries throughout my career, I was fortunate to have been healthy for the majority of our run in the 1990s. The same can be said about Michael Jordan.

If you can prove that you're in that elite class on a consistent basis, it speaks volumes about a player's longevity. It also says that as a player, you were steady, stable, and great and that you deserve to be recognized.

As a young player, I always thought I was doing everything I could. But the longer you play, the more you learn, and the better you're prepared for what this game throws at you.

I've played basketball all of my life, and I've had things happen on the court that you eventually have to move on from. It's part of some of the obstacles that you meet in trying to reach your pinnacle.

My mentality when guarding a point guard was always to try and disrupt him and take them out of the offense.

I had watched Magic my whole career, even before my career, and so I knew the style of player that he was, and I knew what I had to do to prohibit him from being as effective on the basketball court as he had been throughout his career.

The influence of a high school coach can be so powerful.

I was lucky to play with guys who were not only good players, but great people.

I remember the night in December 2005 when the Bulls retired my number and will never, ever forget it.

Defense is something I take a lot of pride in.

When I grew up, I was just another kid who wasn't going to college.

I can be 60 years old, but I can always go back and play like I once did by just playing a video game. It's really great.

Basketball is such an escape from a lot of things.

When I say I played with the greatest, let's not forget I also played for the greatest coach of all time.

College was a very necessary step along the way to my professional career. As I look back, I realize how much of an eye opener it was for me in terms of moving forward and developing as a basketball player.

If I had an opportunity to hand-pick a team that I wanted to play in the NBA Finals, it would probably be the Lakers.

I wasn't really that interested in playing. I had gone through some hard times not playing in high school, but my coach had it in his mind that basketball was the way I would get an education.

There are a lot of people from my Central Arkansas days that I owe a lot of thanks to for how they helped me over the years.

I make a lot of money, but I need to be treated right.

I know how to win games.