Kobe Bryant Quotes

Scott Skiles was a master tactician - they're all masters, but he is elite. He knew how to manipulate his team from an X's-and-O's standpoint.

Larry Brown thought Steve Francis was a Larry Brown type of player.

I have coaching friends, and when we get together, we often talk more about what we're doing to get players' attention than we do about the fascinating X's and O's of our sport.

For me, the most important thing is running a good clubhouse. The X's and the O's - you sit up in the stands and, for the most part, a lot of fans go to the game and they know what's going to happen. You're going to hit and run, steal, put a pitcher in, take a pitcher out.

Being on the court you can really negate your athletic ability by just being in the right position.

I'm a huge fan of basketball. Any time you get a chance to watch basketball, I do it.

Phil Jackson is a mastermind, and he knows how to keep his team from being complacent.

Getting somebody like Phil Jackson to come in and build the team is sort of like getting Einstein to help you with your math homework.

Under Pep Guardiola, it's hard work. For me, Guardiola is one of the best coaches I've ever met. He's incredibly clever and tactically really good, and he knows how to speak to us, how to motivate us, and that's what it is like.

When you have a chance to get Phil Jackson to run your team, you just do it, plain and simple.

I study history. I study the game. I study the NBA and the team I'm working for very, very closely.

My favourite sport's cricket and one of the key things in cricket is to know when to declare.

I got interested in coaching while I played at St. Joseph's. Because we played a national schedule, we played teams coached by Nat Holman, Joe Lapchick, Hank Iba, and others. I could see the impact the coach had on their teams, and I thought, 'That's a pretty good thing to do.'

Basketball was my first love. I still love the game of basketball.

I'm starting to figure it out - figure out my spots, where I should be on the court, where I'm most effective, and how I handle double teams - and it's paying off.

I signed a contract with Phil Jackson, the man who has more championship rings, as far as I know, than anybody else. He was the best guy we thought we could find to run the New York Knicks.

That's what I'm a big believer in, giving everyone touches and energy on both ends of the floor.

I've probably watched more basketball games than anything.

You don't win games as a coach during games. You win games as a coach before games. Players win during games, not coaches

What is the best thing you can do in a close game? Drive to the basket and put pressure on the defense! Not jack up jump shots

But it's still a coach's game. Make no mistake. You start at the top. If you don't have a good one at the top, you don't have a cut dog's chance.

All really successful coaches have a system.

You've got to avoid overcoaching. You've got to avoid talking too much. You've got to avoid showing players that you're the boss every time. You don't have to do that. They know you're in charge.

I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it into Chris Mihm & Kwame Brown?

I took Hedo (Turkoglu) in the first game and Rashard (Lewis) hit the winning shot. I took Rashard in the second game and Hedo hit the shot. If I could clone myself, we'd be all right. But I can't.