Quotes from Jermaine O'Neal

Maturity is everything.

Some of these parents in the basketball world want to be paid for their kids and want to be given this and given that. That's not what this is supposed to be. This is supposed to be about getting rewarded off of your hard work.

Basketball was just secondary, and I never had the opportunity to really address the issues that I was having physically.

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.

If I had a bad game, people would point that out.

The problem is that I've never been a player who complained or let people know how bad things were.

One part of being a leader on a basketball team is you have to be there for yourself and others.

It was very tough to be patient.

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 important to know that there's a reason why I won the federal case. It's important to know there's a reason why I got reinstated to play. I'll just leave it at that, but the biggest thing is that my relationship with the Pacers has not wavered.

We don't need to block people down and get flagrants.

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

I didn't come to Boston for any money.

I'm saying in general, the bottom line is you play to win.

You can look back on a lot of things and things that could have been changed, but ultimately those things make you who you are. It builds character. I'm OK with that.

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

I love suits for formal engagements. But I also like to wear jeans and button-ups.

I'm from Columbia, S.C., and my family is very religious. We'd go to church and Sunday school and we always had to dress up. I enjoyed that.

I had a fantastic time in Boston with the city, the fans were phenomenal, the organization was phenomenal, I just don't know if the playing situation was right to be quite honest.

Obviously there's nothing like training camp.

I'm getting to the point, I'm in my 11th year, I don't want to play 82 games and then exit to watch somebody else pop champagne I'm tired of that. I want to compete for a championship.

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

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.