B. J. Armstrong

I had played on the police athletic league, but my father had a unique thing, he always said, 'Before you start going to basketball camp and doing all the things, you should learn about yourself first before somebody else starts telling you how to play.'

Anytime the coach gives you the ball and some encouragement, you get a sense of freedom.

Greg Anthony's a good player.

Like I've said all along, whatever's good for the team is good for me.

I can create offensive situations for myself and I can create situations for other people.

I can score with the first team or the second team. It really doesn't matter with me because I can create my own shot.

Who says a center can't make the pass into the post? Michael Jordan, effectively, was a post player and you saw with the championship teams players able to do multiple things.

I learned this lesson very quickly when I came into the NBA: Almost all the media and accolades go to the No. 1 guy. But if you're building a team, the most important player is the No. 2 guy. Because if the No. 2 guy wants to be the No. 1 guy, you have a major problem.

Individual success comes as a result of team success.

Tim Duncan was a marvelous player. He played the game from the four, the five position. He was one of the unique players, like a Michael Jordan, who could get to spaces on the floor you that you couldn't do anything about.

To me, that's the brilliance of Michael Jordan. He was an incredible, amazing individual player who matched his talents to the team, matched the team's talents to him, and he lived in the middle of those extremes. I don't know how you do that.

He was so confident. But underneath that, behind the scenes, I knew Michael Jordan was a country kid from North Carolina, and it was that simple to him. He was a young man, at heart, who wanted to be one of the guys who loved to play and was willing to do whatever was necessary.

He made the game look easy. But being Michael Jordan, and all that came with it, that wasn't easy.

Sometimes you have to be very bad before you can be very good.

To be honest with you, I just want to be true to the game of basketball, and that's what I've always tried to do.

The city of Detroit is always home, and I'm very proud of where I'm from.

It's really the city of Detroit that I owe the thanks to and all the people along the way, so many people that played a role in my success in giving me the dreams and aspirations to go to college and do the things that I did.

I just happen to love problems. Because I see problems as opportunities.

I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time and play with Michael Jordan.

When things are going good, I get nervous.

The fact that Phil Jackson asked a young kid when he didn't have to and said, 'Hey, do I have permission to coach you?' Those are very powerful lessons that you learn. That's only happened to me a couple times in my entire career, that coaches would actually ask me that question. That just lets me know that he saw me for who I was.

Just because you're the coach, you don't automatically have the authority. You have to work the people. You have to gain the trust of the people.

Jordan had phenomenal talent. He had phenomenal understanding. But he also had a mentality that I haven't seen. He had a sense of urgency every time he stepped on the floor.

Michael Jordan was the greatest practice player I've ever seen.

Michael Jordan was going to do whatever was ever necessary, and certainly I can say without question, he was going to achieve and stop playing whenever he wanted to stop playing.

There's a way to win, and a way to play, and when you play like that, the ball's moving and guys are looking for each other, the game is fun.

The more time you play, the more confidence you get. The more confidence you get, you get a little success.

Every now and then you have to be a little nasty, a little aggressive on the floor. That's part of being a basketball player.

Guys are more apt to test me than they are to test a Charles Barkley. I think I have to go out and prove myself all the time, and that's fine, because I've had to prove myself my whole life.

With my face, everybody always thinks I'm so young, this little guy.

Players who create advantages for their team at one end or the other are rare.

With my teammates, I'm more open, funnier than people see me.

To me, the All-Star Game is just another step. I try to take all my experiences and put them together. To make the NBA was something, and then to be recognized as an All-Star - although I don't consider myself a star. I see myself as just trying to reach my potential as B. J.

Being an only child, I was alone a lot and I had to make up games.

If I could do anything, I'd ride horses all day.

Society is fast - fast food, fast cars, fast everything.

As a parent, when I fail to listen to my kids, when our kids stop bringing us our problems, we have all failed as parents and as leaders.

I just go out there and play and work hard.

One thing I can say about Michael Jordan, nothing was going to deny him to achieve what he wanted to achieve. That includes the Bulls' front office, the league, or whomever. The man just had an undeniable spirit about himself.

When you come into this league, everyone tries to put you in categories - 'this is what he is' or 'this is what he can do.'

I've learned how to function in chaos.

I'm what you would term a lifer. Basketball is what I love. It doesn't matter where I'm doing it or in what position I'm doing it. I just love contributing to the game.

Being an NBA general manager really is a lot of pressure. There's so much that goes into the job.

Somehow you get past languages. I don't speak Mandarin. I don't speak fluent Italian. I don't speak German. But it's amazing how when you need to get something done, it finds a way.

A true champion walks off with his head high.

Character and class are character and class. Either you have it or you don't.

When you're going out with the attitude that you want to win, you can't get caught up in the style of play.

I'd rather play bad and win than play good and lose.

Moral victories are really more for coaches than players.

To point the finger at one guy, at each other or at the coaches, won't do any good. It's not supposed to be the coach. It's our team. The coaches can do a phenomenal job preparing you, but it has to come from within.