Quotes from RED AUERBACH

I can't stand these guys who go into a game and can't wait to shake hands when the game is over, you know, nice game, all that.... For me, back in those days, when we lost, we got out of there. We're not congratulating them, we're figuring out, if we play them again, what are we gonna do to beat the hell out of them.

Did I ever tell you about Chamberlain? Chamberlain was the most unbelievable physical specimen ever. There wasn't anything he couldn't do on the basketball court. One year he scored fifty points a game. Another year he led the league in assists. He was so strong it was frightening. But there was one thing he couldn't do. He couldn't beat us.

I never had a set of rules. Every situation is different.

It's not what you tell your players that counts. It's what they hear.

Most coaches don't want to do something unless they think of it. Morgan has never had that kind of ego. He sees something good, someone gives him an idea, if it makes sense to him, he uses it. He never needs credit, never needs to prove he's the smartest guy in the room.

You got to be lucky. Like, for example, one time in the seventh game of a playoff, somebody took a shot -- I think it was Nelson or Ramsey or Sam -- and it hit the backboard, hit the rim, rolled around, went in, and made me a hell of a coach. You know what I mean?

Chamberlain -- he was bigger than Shaq, just as strong as Shaq, ran just as good as Shaq, rebounded better.... Everybody thinks the new players are bigger, stronger, faster and smarter. But they are not.

Everything can happen in the playoffs.

If you're keeping score, win.

What affects the game today is money. And the agents tell their players "It's all right to be a great defensive player and so forth and so on, but you better put some points up there so I can sell you to some teams." And you say "Well, he averages twelve points a game, only plays fifteen minutes, he's one hell of a player." But if I go to him and say, "I got a guy out here, he's a good defensive player, and he averages two points a game," you can't sell him. See. It's money.

If they think we got an edge, we got an edge.

You can't win without the ball.

The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.

I have two college degrees, but the only way I could make a living was by showing kids how to put a ball in a hole.

I don't believe in statistics. There are too many factors that can't be measured. You can't measure a ballplayer's heart.

All records are made to be broken.

I've turned down a lot of trades where I might have gotten a better player, but I wasn't totally sure of the chemistry of that new player coming in. Even though he might possess golden ability, his personality and the way he gets along with teammates might be things you just don't want to cope with.

I think it's very difficult for one man to beat you. Chamberlain once popped off, he says, "Give me five guys named Joe and I'll beat anybody around here." And they got him five guys on a playground and beat the hell out of him. It's not a one man game.

Any coach needs talent. You start with talent. Without talent, we're all in the soup.

We like our players to play for fun and to be happy rather than afraid. It's like that in any business. If you have employees who work through fear, you're not going to get any ingenuity out of them. You're not going to get any employees who will take a gamble or come up with ideas. All you'll have are robots that are going to do their jobs, have a low-key approach, stay out of trouble. They'll put in their hours and go home. But I'd rather have it the other way.

You see, in sports you have so many things that aren't expected. There's so much uncertainty. So when players find themselves in a situation where management has a great deal of integrity and they can depend on my word or anybody else's word in the organization, they feel secure. And if the players feel secure, they don't want to leave here. And if they don't want to leave here, they're going to do everything they can on the court to stay here.

Stand up for your players. Show them you care on and off the court.

They said you have to use your five best players but I found you win with the five who fit together the best.

If I'm going to coach the players, I want some say on who they're going to be.