Scottie Pippen

“Defense was one thing I was really able to work at and get better.”

“When I grew up, I was just another kid who wasn't going to college.”

“The influence of a high school coach can be so powerful.”

“I'm proud to be considered a member of the Nike family.”

“Defensive awards and accolades aside, to have your jersey retired puts you in a position where you'll be known forever.”

“Everyone likes to strike while the iron is hot. That's a philosophy I've always liked.”

“It was truly an enjoyable moment in my life that I will never forget having the opportunity to play for two gold medals. But I think nothing sticks out more than winning a championship in 1991 for me.”

“Fans are demanding. They want to win. They want it now. If you have an injury, they want you back the next day.”

“In the playoffs, it's win or go home. You might not have a chance to look back at a game and say, 'Man, we didn't box out here.'”

“There are a lot of people from my Central Arkansas days that I owe a lot of thanks to for how they helped me over the years.”

“When I was four or five, I had an older brother who got paralyzed from the neck down in junior high school. Some kid did a wrestling fall on him and hit his spine. We had to take care of him. I went from being the baby to not really being the baby anymore.”

“If I could have written a script of how I wanted my career to be, I couldn't have done it any better.”

“I don't believe being a Hall of Famer is based on individual accolades. I think winning has a lot to do with it. But perhaps more than that, you simply have to show that you are the best or among the best at what you do.”

“As a player that has played this game, I know, at the end of the day I've had numerous amount of surgeries, and the doctors released me at numerous amount of times to go and play. But a lot of those times didn't mean go and play against the best in the world right now, but to get yourself ready to compete again.”

“I'm a guy who is easy to get along with, and I'll put up with a lot of things. But not dishonesty.”

“When it's late in a game and things are tough and you need a basket, someone has to step up. That player has to have the ability to create opportunities and draw fouls.”

“To be named as one of the finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2010 on Friday was a special moment for me. As a player, it's something that you dream about. It's an honor that you have to earn based on your career and the respect from your peers around you.”

“When you speak of the Pat Rileys, the Phil Jacksons, you have to speak of Don Nelson and the success that he has had in the game.”

“When I got to Central Arkansas, I was a small, slim guy with little chance of playing in the NBA. Then, I went through a two-year growth spurt, and suddenly, I was 6-foot-7.”

“The odds were against me when I arrived at Central Arkansas. I was barely 6-foot-2 and didn't have a scholarship. But I always felt I could make it to the NBA; it was as if I had foreseen my future, and I knew I would make it.”