Michael Jordan

I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot...and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's precisely why I succeed.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Sometimes things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.

Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you're in a fight.

My heroes are, and were, my parents. I can't see having anyone else as my heroes.

I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.

The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.

I can't speak for the future. I have no crystal ball.

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.

It's hard to say if the NBA is hurt by the influx of younger players but it's definitely impacted the league.

Playing sick. That is so hard to do. It has to be a total mental challenge as well as the physical challenge.

I play to win whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.

As athletes we're used to reacting quickly. Here it's 'come stop come stop.' There's a lot of downtime. That's the toughest part of the day.

The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge place I've always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It's been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It's a relationship that has evolved over time given me the greatest respect and love for the game.

You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.

The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.

Be true to the game because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game and in some ways that's about life too.

I realize that I'm black but I like to be viewed as a person and this is everybody's wish.

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.

It's a habit of mine now noticing labels logos shoes.

In reality I never want to grow up.

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot... when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people to travel and expand my financial capabilities to get ideas and learn about life to create a world apart from basketball.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

How many times have your parents told you not to do things, and the next thing you know you go do it? And you realized you shouldn't have done it.

Some people want it to happen some wish it would happen others make it happen.

I've never been afraid to fail.

My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn't stand the sideline.

I've had tendinitis since college.

I think the players win the championship and the organization has something to do with it don't get me wrong. But don't try to put the organization above the players.

I want to play for years.

If you accept the expectations of others especially negative ones then you never will change the outcome.

Even when I'm old and grey I won't be able to play it but I'll still love the game.

I'm not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.

I can accept failure everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player it's time for me to move away from the game.

I know the signs of scaredness.

Do I need my number retired throughout the course of the league to acknowledge what I've done? No.

Gambling is legal and betting is legal for what I bet.

I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.

Talent wins games but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

The game has its ups and downs but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.

I do not have a problem I enjoy gambling but I think people are trying to make it seem like I have a problem because people really don't know.

There is no "i" in team but there is in win.

In any investment you expect to have fun and make money.

It is nerve-wracking watching my kids' games.

Being Michael Jordan means acting the same as I always have.

Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.

I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life.

Winning isn't always championships.

To be successful you have to be selfish or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate.

I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent.

It's absolutely wrong that I don't want guys to challenge me. And the people who say that aren't in the room.

Ultimately if you can say that I'm a bad owner and we're winning championships I can live with that. But if we're not making the playoffs and we're spending and losing money then I have to look in the mirror and say maybe I'm not taking the necessary steps to doing what it takes to run an organization.

I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it go through it or work around it.

Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise.

For a competitive junkie like me golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you have accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball.

I wasn't really a work conscious type of person.

There's only one Michael Jordan.

I like control.

If you're trying to achieve there will be roadblocks. I've had them, everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it go through it or work around it.

My father used to say that it's never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said 'You never know what you can accomplish until you try.'

When I was young I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world but you still have to know the fundamentals.

I want to be the bridge to the next generation.

I never thought a role model should be negative.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

I'm patient.

I've always believed that if you put in the work the results will come.

When I was playing before I retired I never really understood the appreciation and the respect that people gave me. People had treated me like a god or something and that was very embarrassing.

I want people to understand gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the framework of what it's meant to be which is fun and entertaining.

I will not quit this game because of what the media has done to me.

I'd like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it's never going to be completely normal.

Limits like fear is often an illusion.

There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either.