Quotes from Rich Paul

I was watching 'The Godfather' at a very young age.

When I was just a young kid who grew up in the inner city of Cleveland, I used to catch the bus downtown to grab a dollar hot dog at Public Square.

We come from an environment that has been created in our industry that's a 'yes' environment. Due to that environment, it has set back a lot of our youth that are not just basketball players, but young men who happen to be able to play the game of basketball really well.

When I travel back to neighborhoods like the inner city of Greater Cleveland where I'm from, young black kids tell me that they see my career as another path for them out of their troubled surroundings.

For anywhere - not Los Angeles, not Miami, not Detroit, Milwaukee - I think for LeBron, and for most athletes, the most important thing is about winning.

The area I grew up in is a beautiful sight in an ugly picture. At 13, you're 18. At 18, you're 25, and the reason being is that the streets raise you. You have to grow up really fast. The decisions you make could be one of life or death. There's a lot of stress.

Magic understands what it's like to be LeBron. He was a 6'9'' point guard. He was an MVP. But he was also Tragic Johnson.

We all know how this works. Unfair policy is introduced incrementally so people accept it because it only affects a small group. Then the unfair policy quietly evolves into institutional policy. I'm not sure what the technical term is for that because I didn't finish college but I know it when I see it.

He was the father of the neighborhood and the voice of reason for everyone. Everything I needed to know to run my business and to be a good human being, I got right here from my father.

I had great teaching. Working with Nike and at CAA, that's the equivalent of going to Michigan Law School and to MIT.

Lucky Me' is the story of every young black man who grew up like me. I want to use my story to uplift and inspire those who lived this and educate those who didn't.

LeBron had no obligation to me. I was not entitled to anything. I wanted to be valuable.

As an agent, you probably know the talent through and through more than anybody.

I always say the dents in a man's armor show he's battle-tested.

We used to say, There's nothing cool about being a dummy.

Anytime you make a move or advise someone in a business decision, the end result and the best result is to come out on top of that move.

Being young and black and going into a business where you are trying to establish position and where you are able to make business decisions with the lack of what people would call an education, not having a degree, no one wanted to give us a chance.

I think LeBron looked up to him as another person he could learn from, and LeBron is an avid learner.

For LeBron, the best thing he could have done for me is give me an opportunity.

LeBron is the best player on the planet.

Growing up, we always had an affinity for fashion but had very limited resources to express ourselves, and few examples of what success could look like off the court.