Larry Johnson

If I put on any pressure. I put it on myself. Nobody else puts pressure on Larry Johnson.

Most of the power forwards in the NBA are 6'10', 6'11', making it difficult for a player at 6'7', 6'8' to the play the position.

When it comes to the younger generation, anything on the floor I'll criticize - not playing hard, not doing this, fighting, not giving your all. Off the floor, you guys are on your own.

I'm always on the players' side, of course. The owners are going to take their fill, but I'm always on the players' side.

The UNLV championship game against Duke, I didn't shoot the last shot. Choked. It took 10 years for me to say that. I had to be in the NBA five, six years for me to say that aloud.

I only won one national championship.

When people talk to me, they want to know about Grandmama, they want to know about UNLV, and how was it playing with Muggsy. You don't have to be a basketball fan to be a Muggsy fan. The shortest guy to ever play in the league, I get that question all the time.

I can remember my jersey being the No. 1 seller for like two years, and I think it was the color of the jersey.

I've been in the frame of mind in Charlotte that, O.K., I'm going to play defense. But I've never been in a frame of mind that my defense is going to generate my offense.

I have always wanted to spend my entire career in the Charlotte community and concentrate on bringing the city a championship.

There's no place like New York. There's nothing like the New York fans.

What I do in the off season that hurts me is I take a month off and I do nothing.

We never played ball for money. We played because it was fun and I was good at it. But a lot of guys get paid big money to play this game, and I have a family I want to help out. But basketball will always be a game to me.

My five years in New York were unbelievable.

Girl-wise, I never got the girl. Because of my mother and our economy, I never had clothes. And I never - like I said - dated. I didn't date at all. I was never a guy who had girlfriends.

When I was in Vegas, people asked, 'Did you ever regret not going to SMU?' What? I'm in Vegas. I'm on TV every Saturday. I'm winning titles. Did I regret it? That's a silly question.

That was fun with the Grandmama. But it's something I can live without.

If it's a nationally televised game in the past, and I've been scoring 6, 7 and 8 points, I feel like I had a bad game in my mind.

I love to drive and run the floor.

Charlie Ward was the best dude ever.

One of my goals is to get my degree, get my education and stay healthy.

No one man can rise above the masses or the condition of his people.

Most people lose weight during the season, but I tend to gain weight during the season.

In Dallas, I eat bean soup and bean pies every day. On Saturdays, I treat myself to a veggie pizza.

I feel I was born to play basketball.

You'll hear guys talk all the time about coaches being a father figure. Well I'm 45 years old and I've never met my father. I consider Jerry Tarkanian my father.

When you think about the Knicks, you associate Patrick Ewing with the Knicks, you associate Walt Frazier with the Knicks. If I do all the right things and perform up to my capabilities, I hope you associate Larry Johnson with the Knicks someday, too.

My back is terrible, man. I mean, you're always going to have some pain, but nothing that will stop me from doing what I want to do.

I've turned down several assistant jobs in the NBA that I just didn't feel good about. I would love it at UNLV.

I just play the game. Stats aren't a big issue with me. I've been around six or seven years, and I've had stats in this league. I've had individual accomplishments. To me, it's overrated.

My main goal is to win me a championship.

It hurts to lose night after night.

You can be totally focused on the game and all of a sudden at the Garden, you'll snap and go, 'Whoa!' It's super loud and you can't help but take a second to admire what's going on.

There's a roller coaster effect when you're playing good. Everything seems to go your way. But once you start playing bad, you're playing bad.

If I'm going to get suspended, I want to hit the guy.

New York fans want a winner. They strive for a winner.

I hope people understand that Jerry Tarkanian gave young black males a chance to better themselves and the lives of their families when no one else would. The way Coach talked to me, he spoke my language. I needed that type of voice in my life.

If I don't like a person and a person doesn't like me fine, that's mutual respect.

My plan is to go back to Dallas and build my house. I want a spread 50, 60 or 70 acres. 'Cause Dallas is where everybody's at' that I can really relate to.

Since this basketball thing has started, some way or another I've become the most handsomest man in the world, because everybody's like, 'Oh!' I think, 'What's happened to me?'

As far as me going out to a movie or going out to eat, and people coming up, that's fine. I love that. I'd rather have it than not have it.

I want to play 11, 12 years right here and then retire - and win us some national championships, and be the Michael Jordan of Charlotte. This is the place that drafted me, that paid me. This is the place I should be loyal to.

What I want to do for Mom - I want her to be able to understand that she can do anything she wants. I want her to be able to say, 'I've never been to so-and-so,' and go. She deserves that.

This is a beautiful country, the best country, but it's not holy, it's not righteous.

Don't come to me and smile and then stab me behind my back.

It's important to get some balanced scoring on the floor. For me, I've got to make shots.

Yeah, we've made beautiful strides, but what percentage of black people has made that stride when I go back to my neighborhood and see the same thing? I'm the only one who came out of my neighborhood. All of them dead, on drugs, selling drugs. Am I supposed to be honored and happy just by my success?

If I'm on fire, don't spit on me. I won't spit on you. That's respect. You go your way, and I'll go mine.

MSG is the world's greatest arena, and New York is so competitive.