Quotes from Gary Payton

I don't miss basketball because I've already got in my mind that I did what I had to do for 17 years. I think I'm satisfied with what I did.

This is what kids want to see. You see these Playstations, they scoring 50 and 60 with one player, that's what they want to see on TV and I don't go with that.

I want to finish my career in Seattle but it's rocky.

I like comfortable clothes, so I get most of my pants and shirts made.

You've got to be on all-league teams before you can say that you are going to be a great basketball player.

Part of being a leader means knowing who you can go after and who you should pat on the butt.

I'm a big fan of Marcus Smart.

My family played a big part of my success.

Because of how I am on the court, people think I'm wild and crazy. But really, I'm a kick-back guy, so Seattle suits me fine.

To Seattle, Washington, the SuperSonics organization and its fans, the best owners ever in the Ackerley family, I love you. But the best part is that you loved me back.

Money and all that stuff doesn't equal a ring, because you'll always be in the books as winning a championship and being on one of the best teams ever to play the game.

My father and my brother are chefs.

No one superstar can win a championship by himself. You've got to have help.

When we were playing, it was rough and tough. Even superstars like me fouled out a lot.

My dad was known as a mean guy. He never smiled, and he had 'Mr. Mean' put on his license plate. But he was one of the neighborhood dads who looked out for everyone. He would take kids in and help them out.

Don't hate, just play better, and then get that money.

Every rookie that thought they was good, I went at them to make sure they knew I was the best point guard in the league, and they had to go through me. That's just the way I was.

I got suspended from school once, and my dad came to the school and whooped me in front of everyone. I didn't want that to happen again, didn't want to be embarrassed like that. The guys that I ran with, they respected that and respected my dad too.

George Gervin was my childhood idol since I was little. In Oakland I had all his posters on my wall.

If he's averaging 25 points and I can contain him to 17, then I've won the battle. If he averages 12 assists and I kept him to seven, I'm winning the game.

I don't give a damn about MVP.

My way is to talk to my opponent so he makes it a personal thing. He starts playing me one-on-one, and forgets about his team. Meanwhile, I'm still playing team ball and eating him up. Some guys tried talking back, but you can't get a talker when a talker's talking to you.

Larry Bird was a talker. He'd tell you something and you'd be like, are you kidding me? You're really telling me that?

Basketball has turned into an offensive-minded situation. They don't play on both ends. They don't play defense.