Top 102 Quotes & Sayings by Serge Ibaka - Page 2

Most of the time when you're open that's when it's tough to make shots because you try to get some different focus than normally when some guys try to contest your shots.

Not all players want to play defense. You get in foul trouble, you're going to be on the bench.

My dream is to keep doing the best I can to help kids, give back and make them smile.

It's always pressure in sport. It was a lot of pressure since Day 1 in Orlando, and it's going to be always pressure, but I think those pressures make us better.

At first, I wanted to be a good player in the NBA. When I get to a team where you have one of the two best scorers in the league, I just said to myself that I needed to do something. I need to do something to help my team, something to make my name. That's where I started to focus on defense.

It's life, man, and life is never easy.

When kids start playing basketball, they all think about scoring.

My dad used to play basketball, now he gets to see me in the NBA Finals.

Always feels good to give back.

Whatever you have, you need to thank God and his blessings. You never know what other people are having trouble with or what is going on with their lives.

Without pressure, I'm not going to wake up every day to go work, or do extra shooting, or lifting.

I'm a blessed man.

You need to love to play defense.

I will never forget where I come from, and my journey to becoming an NBA Champion has been hard to believe.

Whatever it takes to help the team to get wins, I'm going to do it.

To know how I am very important to my team on defense, how my teammates need me on defense, it means a lot to me.

I love defense.

In this world where we live, some people are going to love you, some people are going to hate you - that's what it is. You cannot try to force everybody to love you, it's not gonna work.

Mentally, starting the game versus coming off the bench, there are different vibes.

The most difficult thing with a new shot is if you go two or three games without making it, or you struggle, and people start saying, 'You can't shoot 3s,' or, 'Why do you shoot 3s?'

One of the things I learned playing on a good team is when the team wins, when you make the playoffs, everybody looks good.

I always put in the work.

After winning a championship, I learned something about this: To win a championship, you need everybody. You need everybody to be out there, everybody to have confidence to play at a high level.

I love this game. When I step on the court I'm going to compete. That's one of the reasons I work hard every day.

Money will not make you happy. It's most important that you need to be happy. You need to do something you want to do.

I've been learning when to block shots against who I'm playing. I'm not just going to leave a shooter to go block shots.

It's good to score, but there are some other things that are important in basketball too.

I'm trying to do whatever it takes to help my team.

I come from zero and I've had to push myself up to where I am today. I'm not going to give up and I'm going to keep pushing.

In life, sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down.

You cannot control everything - you try to control what you can control.

I don't care how good you play, if the team is losing, it doesn't matter.

Everywhere I go I have a lot of friends and family.

My confidence comes on defense.

I can shoot, or I can roll, I can finish inside, I can take two-point shots, I can switch on defence and I can protect the paint.

When you play in the NBA, everybody wants to play in the All-Star Game. I really want to.

I can play both ends of the floor.

Defense, in the game, is something that I just really enjoy. Some people enjoy assisting the ball. Some people like to score, score, score, but to me the first thing that comes up is defense.

My focus is to start my game with my defense every night.

The Godfather has, maybe, one good scene.

Mandela? He lasted 27 years in prison but he never could've done 30.

Carl Lewis wasn't a great sprinter. He could only run fast for like 9 seconds.