Ray Allen

“There's always a thrill to see a guy's face when you sent 'em packing because you're gonna be the last person they thought about, the whole offseason.”

“The minimum I run each day is 2 1/2 miles. I'll get to the weekend, and sometimes I'll run 10 miles. I've gotten up to 16 miles on the weekend. Running keeps me locked in.”

“It's important for parents to put kids in positions where they can succeed and to teach competition because competition exists not only in sports.”

“When you get traded, the first thing you have to do is self-reflect and think about how you can get better. It has only helped me become a better player and think the game through.”

“There are so many good players in the NBA, and I just want to be at the top of the talent pool. I want opposing coaches and players to fear me.”

“A successful man is built of 1,000 failures.”

“It doesn't necessarily have to be championship-or-bust for me to go back to the NBA. I want to be in a situation where I thought I could help, play a little bit, and help where they have good young talent.”

“What I learned in my career is to know how to take care of my body and treat it with respect. I will never forget that and never let go of that.”

“I want to run a marathon in the immediate future. In the future future, I want to do ironmans. I cycle long distances. The only thing I have to work on is the swimming. I'm a good swimmer, but I've never done long distances like that.”

“I know what my purpose is. I know what I need to do out there on the floor. Sometimes you won't score a bunch of points, but breathing confidence into the people around you is the biggest key, the biggest role.”

“Without my success in basketball, I'm nothing. My family, my daughter, my teammates, my foundation, my acting career - they all depend on that success.”

“Money can make people look at you in strange ways. You get phone calls from people you haven't spoken with in a long time, and they'll leave a message saying, 'Do me a favor, call me back. I have something I want to ask you.' I'm not going to answer those calls, because there's always something behind it, like a loan.”

“I've always been about progress and accomplishment. When you set your mind toward a goal, you continue to have follow-through.”

“I'm always going to be a Celtic no matter what. It's always going to be in my veins. Once you live there and play for that team and win a championship, it doesn't matter where you go.”

“I give a lot of shoes away, but there are some shoes that sometimes I'm like, I don't think they ever even released these. Sometimes, I don't know what they've released. But sometimes, friends of mine that work for Nike will visit and say, 'They never made these, so you need to hold on to these.'”

“I want kids to believe that I was just like they were, and to believe that they, too, can aspire to great things.”

“As a human being, it's in your nature, when somebody says something about you negatively, to defend yourself and lash back. That's what we all have to learn not to do. You have to forgive a person. And when you forgive a person, you have to forgive yourself.”

“I never question a guy that wants to win, especially on my own team.”

“If I get into a game, I'm going to win. There's no backing off.”

“I like to get on the court three hours before the game. That way, I can get out of everybody's way, and I can do what I need to do for me and get up the shots that I need and then be in the locker room and getting my stuff taken care of physically - if I need treatment or whatever may be.”