David Lee

“I really came to the conclusion that the reason I'd keep playing was so that I could sit in this interview and say I played fourteen years instead of twelve. Ego-wise, I'm not a Hall of Famer, so what stats am I trying to pad, and for what reason?”

“I think oftentimes we make the game pretty complicated, thinking about how can I get up shots here and there and what can I do better? I think a lot of times keeping it simple and thinking, I'm going after every rebound, play hard on defense every possession and let everything else fall into place.”

“As I've gotten older in the NBA, I'm one of the more experienced guys and kind of know what to do in every situation - whether I can execute that or not is another story - but I know what to do.”

“I was of course about winning but, at the same time, I definitely had some selfishness like a lot of players do. But it finally became more important to me towards the end of my career about being a good teammate, being a part of a winning culture.”

“To me, playing video games is a way for me to put my feet up and relax during the season.”

“All season long, it's sacrificing, not just me but other guys. That's what it takes to win a championship.”

“The biggest thing is athletically, I don't feel, other than a guy like Vince Carter, nobody is out of my league athletic-wise.”

“When you have player movement, ball movement, and everybody involved, it's going to make it easier for everyone on the floor.”

“I'm absolutely not a perfect player.”

“It is tough to go out as a rookie and play every game perfect. It is tough to be consistent.”

“Any young guy who comes into the league and says they don't have a certain level of selfishness probably isn't playing many minutes or getting very far.”

“Ultimately, I got my chance in the NBA Finals, and got to help my team win an NBA Championship.”

“I'm just happy I ended up in New York. It's funny because growing up, I used to play 'NBA Jam' all the time, and I would play as the Knicks. I was a huge Michael Jordan fan, and I would always be mad because he wasn't in the game. I would play as Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing and just rough everybody up.”

“I've done some pretty cool individual things in my career, but my greatest memories come from times of sacrifice.”

“When you're holding teams to one shot, I think it makes the other team frustrated.”

“I started my career inactive sometimes and barely played.”

“I'm motivated by fear of failure a lot of times.”

“Amare's a heckuva player. It's unfortunate what 's happened with some of his injuries.”

“We were in Golden State, we listened to music before the game in the locker room, everyone's laughing, everybody's playing cards on the plane, everybody's going out and having a drink together. It was a very, very loose atmosphere, and when it came down to it, we got the job done and we won a championship.”

“When you're hurt, I don't care how many games you sit and cheer for your teammates, you don't feel part of the team.”