JOHN STOCKTON

If I pass the ball to Karl Malone, he still has to make the shot, or nothing has happened.

I had little or no expectations coming in. I was thrilled when I was drafted in the first round because that meant I was going to be given a full year's chance to make the team.

Struggles are what made everything worth while.

The games can go any way. As we know in this league, you can win by 30 or lose by 30 the next night. That is just the way the league is.

I don't like to miss games.

I don't think you ever hear anybody shoot the last shot and say they didn't think it was in.

I never thought I'd make it in the NBA, so everything else is gravy.

All I know is the same lessons you need to learn at Little League basketball, you need to learn at the upper levels. It's the little things you learn when you're little that apply in college.

I had been told I might be drafted in the fourth round. 'Great,' I said at the time.

Essentially, when you join a team, you're making a commitment to your team. You can't take that lightly.

My impression is that the NBA always precluded anything else.

I want my kids to have a life like I did growing up. The greatest gift I was given in life was from my parents. Though I can't match them, I'd like to be that kind of parent.

Obviously, being in the league for so long, you do have something to offer as a coach.

The main thing I worry about with the shoes I wear is comfort. What you're comfortable wearing is what you're going to play your best in.

I don't like to give in to injuries. I don't like to use them as excuses. Everybody has them.

You can't afford to hop around and act like a kid when you have to get back on defense and worry about the other parts of the game. But at the end, when the buzzer sounds, you have the luxury of hopping around and looking foolish for a while.

I've been lucky to have great coaching, great teammates, and a desire to keep getting better. That, slowly over time, helped me grow from an average high school player to the NBA.

I've benefited from great coaches my whole life, starting in sixth grade. To be able to pass that on is a neat experience for me.

I'm a bartender's son. Some things you never forget.

I heal quickly, and I stay in good shape, and I will stay in good shape.

I guess I'd rather be comfortable and play well because I'm comfortable than to get recognition and play someplace where I wouldn't be comfortable and wouldn't enjoy myself.

You don't get this opportunity many times in life to compete against the best in the world every night. I certainly didn't expect to have 10 or 11 years of chances at it, so I don't want to take that for granted.

I think records are irrelevant, but I'm being approached about it all the time. If I could avoid it, that would be great.

I don't go home to parades.

The West is tough. Great teams. Great records, top to bottom.