Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Vlade Divac - Page 2

I thought, 'I'm going to play in Yugoslavia, then I'll go to play in Italy or Spain.' Then I'll be 28 or 29 and I'll try NBA. I never thought I can play in NBA because NBA was totally different world for us in Europe.

I don't know what is flopping. I think Derek Fisher does a better job of that than I do. It's taking a charge. It's for the refs to decide.

I can't be against my people.

One year I grew 15 centimeters.

My dream, play in NBA. When I come here, very difficult for me. It's new country, new language. But is still basketball for me.

NBA is totally different in style. In NBA, we play much more aggressive, much harder. It's not time for thinking. In Europe, we play every week, one game. Here we play every second day so if you lose, you don't have time to think about losing. Just go forward.

We are trying to give something back to not just our own communities but to the communities of the world.

I started playing in school. Lots of kids in Yugoslavia play basketball.

Success in sport comes with responsibility.

Am I perfect? Not at all. I'm just like everybody else.

Yugoslavia is a little country, and everybody likes basketball. If I don't play for my national team, everybody be sad.

The year when I left my country, there was still peace. The year after, the war broke out, a lot of people lost their homes, lost their families. When I go back 20 years later I still find people living in refugee camps. So I tried to help them find homes.

It's really tough in the NBA.

I had to earn the respect from everybody, from referees to opponents, but my teammates, they saw some European guy coming here and I had to prove myself. Luckily, I proved myself, but with big help from the entire Lakers organization.

In soccer, you don't want to see anybody get hurt.

Because I play in NBA, I am like ambassador of Yugoslavia. Los Angeles before, nobody hear of Yugoslavia. Now I think much people who look at basketball hear of Yugoslavia.

Playing basketball taught me the value of determination and teamwork.

I always enjoy playing against great players. You can learn from the best.

When I came to New York for the draft in '89, they told me I should be like 10 and 15, and it didn't happen. So I was very disappointed, like, nobody wants me.

In NBA anything is possible.

When you do something bad, you can't sleep.

The Lakers are really the biggest team in the world. Everybody knows the Lakers.

I don't enjoy playing against Shaq.

Well, I tried to play defense. But when they did call a foul on Shaq, I tried to make sure they called a foul.

Thank God there was no yellow card in basketball because I would get a red card every game.

I really, really like Los Angeles.

It's always a good feeling when you can help instead of just receiving help.

I love basketball, but it's just entertainment, just business.

I would just like the people of Yugoslavia to live good.

I'm a Yugoslavian who loves America - my kids are Americans, you know. They're always going to be half and half because they were born here and, I hope, live here, but they will always have a background of Yugoslavian. I'm still a Serbian, but with an American lifestyle.

I like baseball.

Since the age of 12, I was on my own. Everything I do, I get my parents' support.

It's a team game. I feel happier when I pass the ball than when I score.

If you try to win and you lose, you can say, 'OK I tried.'

My generation started in big tournaments. '88 Olympics, we got silver. '89 European Championship, we got gold. 1990 World Cup in Argentina, we got gold. '91 European Championship, we got gold, and then there was a civil war, and for three years, we didn't play.

I have to give a lot of credit to David Stern to open up the league, but also in my case, Jerry West and Dr. Buss that had the vision of international guys making it to the NBA.

In any profession, you can't reach the top without loving what you do.

Being a role model was part of my life and I could either ignore it or take responsibility. I chose to take it.

I'm happy that I helped basketball develop; I was trying to help basketball be the world's most popular sport, to bring people together from all over the world, it doesn't matter the background. We are all the soldiers of basketball.

We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads.